Which site is the Peer-to-Peer Lending Leader Now?

[go4reward]

Does anybody have any stat on which site (Prosper, LendingClub, etc.) has the most lending volumes and users? Is Prosper still in the number 1 contender now?

[BAEVentures]

LendingClub.com has been consistently outperforming Prosper since the quiet period. Volume on a monthly basis for Prosper can be found at Ericscc.com , while lendingclub volume can be found at lendingclubstats.com.

BAEVentures

[go4reward]

So lendingclub is the leader in p2p lending now?

[BAEVentures]

They are both still losing money hand over fist, but yes, for the moment it appears as though LendingClub is destroying Prosper in overall $$ loaned monthly.

BAEVentures

[go4reward]

Does this mean we should transition to Lendingclub not Prosper? It takes Prosper such a long time for Marylanders to clear.

[deskguy]

Does this mean we should transition to Lendingclub not Prosper? It takes Prosper such a long time for Marylanders to clear.
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marylanders still not authorized to participate in lendingclub.
 deskguy

[BAEVentures]

LendingClub and Prosper are two entirely different animals in my opinion. The way I like to invest and help others on Prosper is not really an option on LendingClub. Average return over 9% for lenders however they still don't have any notes hat have reached maturity. I wouldn't mind throwing a few bucks into LendingClub if they start to turn a profit, but have no interest in investing in either until that happens.

BAEVentures

[go4reward]

So no p2p lending for Maryland? period?

[deskguy]

no p2p lending for maryland, period.

 deskguy

[go4reward]

no p2p lending for maryland, period.

 deskguy

Wow! Looks like it is the fault of the Maryland government.

[deskguy]

Wow! Looks like it is the fault of the Maryland government.
 go4.
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 yup. as i've pointed out before, maryland is a blue state with a rather rancid view of business. the attorney general is a liberal, as were his predecessors and as will be his successors. i don't know what specifiically is the hang-up but lendingclub applied for state authorization simultaneously  in all 50 states - and d.c. - when it emerged from its quiet period. that is about 16 months ago. i assume prosper did the same thing.

 more than a year ago i queried he attorney general's office via email re lending club and never got a reply.

 i keep hearing from posters here that prosper is in financial difficulty and may go belly-up. don't know if that is true but i've been drawing down my account regularly since prosper initially went into its quiet period and have reduced it by more than half. still have about 5k at work.

 i'd like to resume lending if and when maryland signs on but i'd need to know a lot more about prosper's financial situation first.

 deskguy

[go4reward]

I will vote him with a big "NO" when election comes. As far as Prosper goes, I will have some money in Prosper, I hope they don't go belly up. It is such a pity for this concept to go away. i really like the p2p lending business.

[BAEVentures]

Prosper's financial situation will be confirmed shortly (just waiting to see their Q4 2010 10-Q statements filed with the SEC. You can see their Q3 filing http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1416265/000141626509000247/0001416265-09-000247-index.htm .

This filing indicates that in December of 2008 Prosper had 9 million of the original 41 million they borrowed from creditors in cash. By September of 2009 this cash had decreased to just over 2 million.

Operating income for the three months ending 9/30/09 (about 2.5 months after quiet period ended) was $191,882. "Cost of services" during this 3 month period was $152,428 providing total revenue for Q3 2009 of $41,000. 1.1 million was paid as compensation and benefits to employees. After other misc expenses (facilities, admin, professional services [lawyers?], net loss for the quarter was $2,238,138.

Cash and equivalents at end of the period (3 months ending 9/30/09): $2,079,624. This is hardly 3 months operating capital. They were financed for another $1,000,000 back in December.

If Prosper is not bankrupt by the middle of February, we should see their next 10-Q filing, which will tell us exactly where we stand. I'm expecting bad news.

BAEVentures

[go4reward]

I wonder what would happen to our loans if they go belly up. I know the official word from Prosper, but I fear the worse for the lenders.

[BAEVentures]

Investar just provided the below update to his group members and supporters.

A surprise good evening to ya,
Thanks to a surprise good morning from Prosper this morning....


Did you see Prosper's blog post, "Prosper VC’s Bridge to Series D Fund Raise" this morning? They've secured a 60-day, $2 million bridge loan. Their new 8K filing at the SEC says that on February 1, 2010, Prosper Marketplace, Inc. entered into a Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement with certain of its existing investors. Prosper signed a series of Convertible Promissory Notes in the aggregate principal amount of $2,000,000. All principal and accrued interest under the Notes are due in a single payment on April 1, 2010. The APR is 15%.

"What is the group view on this?" Karmanxten asked. "Does not seem like enough to me?"

What we have here are two insiders and the rest of Prosper's current investors, those who already have $40m on the table, dipping into their collective jars of pocket change to keep things running for 60 more days. I get the impression this was an "okay we'll give you 60 more days if you think you can close that stock deal you've been working on." Prosper says these notes are "unsecured" debt by the way, meaning our 87¢ remains in play.

Prosper will now continue its search for a real solution. A stock deal is referenced in this filing and the last one where they borrowed $1 million. All appearances, they are trying for a $5 million float. Both this 2mil and the last 1mil can be converted into that stock. I'm unclear if the end result would yield $8 million or if today's news means 3 of the 5 million is effectively "spent" at this point.

The blog post says the process is going well but I believe they meant to say "as well as can be expected" (grin). They claim there is strong interest from a number of world class investors and I hope that's true. They've apparently been shopping this door-to-door for several months and do not have $5 million in pledges to date. If they did, they'd have issued the thing instead of going for more 'payday-cashcall' type money.

Bottom line, if we see a number and it is $8 million, they would have a full years sustenance in place (counting January past, this month, etc). If during 2010 they can show record-breaking progress, and I mean record-breaking, they just might pull it out of the ditch and get on down the highway after all. Meanwhile, we're 'good to go' for sixty more days!


Yours for informed lending,
Investar



As always, thanks for the due diligence Investar!