SAN FRANCISCO: Investments into online lending platforms have fallen sharply this year, according to a new report, largely a reaction to the woes at Lending Club and increased regulatory scrutiny that have made investors shy away from the risks. Equity investments into online lending companies is down about 44 percent, to $2.1 billion from $3.8 billion, for the first half of the year compared to the back half of last year, according to a report out Friday from PitchBook Data Inc, a venture capital database that tracks deals and valuations. Online lending companies encompass a diverse group of consumer and business lenders that may make direct loans over the web or connect a borrower with a lender, generally an investment bank, and use data and technology to assess a borrower’s risk.