Prosper Updates Results For People-to-People Lending Marketplace

“This milestone signals a shift in the way Americans are managing their money, proving that many of them desire a greater degree of access and control over their finances,” said Chris Larsen, chief executive officer and co-founder of Prosper. “Over 100,000 individuals are now funding more than $20 million in loans in a marketplace that has historically been dominated by larger financial institutions, and we believe that these numbers will only continue to increase as more people realize the financial benefits available to them through participation in the credit marketplace.”

Prosper’s people-to-people marketplace is intuitive for those who have used eBay, but instead of listing and bidding on items, people list and bid on loans. Interested borrowers begin by creating a loan listing for up to $25,000 that includes the maximum interest rate they are willing to pay. Lenders can then begin bidding to fund amounts as low as $50 toward loan listings, potentially driving down the interest rate. Once the auction has ended and the loan is funded, Prosper consolidates the bids with the lowest rates into one simple loan for the borrower. Prosper handles all ongoing loan administration tasks, including loan repayment and collections.

Lenders on Prosper can fund loans to other individuals by searching for loans that meet their specific criteria, including: 1) “Prosper credit grades” based on credit scores; 2) debt-to-income ratios; and 3) historical default rates. In addition to these factors commonly used by institutional lenders, Prosper lenders can consider borrowers' personal stories and group affiliations. These groups and social networks on Prosper are critical to bringing people together for the common goal of borrowing at better rates. Once people are ready to bid on a loan, they set the minimum interest rate they are willing to earn, and bid in increments of $50 to $25,000 on loan listings that they select. Lenders often minimize their risk by bidding on many loans across different credit grades instead of concentrating their money in one large loan to a single individual.