Prosper is Baaacckkkk....
Leading online social lending platform Prosper.com has the green light to facilitate personal lending in most states. In case you're not familiar with Prosper, they were one of the first major players in the growing "social lending" or Person-to-Person (P2P) lending business. Often dubbed the "eBay of personal lending," Prosper funded some $180 million in loans before closing the doors to new loans to meet securities registration requirements. Borrowers post a loan request and lenders bid on the loan. The more bids, the lower the interest rate.
Now that their registration process with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is complete, Prosper has resumed lending in all states except Iowa, Kansas, Maine, and North Dakota. Lenders may participate if they live in one of fourteen states, with more expected to follow soon.
New Enhancements
A new "floor" on interest rates adds protection for lenders. And with the minimum bid dropped to only $25, lenders will be able to spread their risk around even further.
High-risk borrowers will no longer find Prosper as welcoming. The minimum credit score has risen from 520 to 640.
Prosper's relaunch is welcome news in a time when other lenders are reining in credit offers. Let the bidding begin!
Gerri Detweiler – Personal finance author and Credit Advisor for Credit.com, Gerri contributes budgeting, debt recovery and savings information online. She is also the co-author of Reduce Debt, Reduce Stress: Real Life Solutions for Solving Your Credit Crisis.
Good informative blog, thanks
Posted by: Dropshippers | July 23, 2009 at 11:54 PM
Can things really get any worse on Prosper? 40% of loans are not being re-paid. Any random slot machine in any random casino has a better pay-out than Prosper.com
See for yourself:
http://fred93blog.blogspot.com/2009/08/prospercom-080109-late-loan-stats.html
Posted by: Prosper Lender | August 05, 2009 at 02:42 PM