Comments on: P2P Lending Update

By: Dividend Growth Investor

Dividend Growth Investor — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:24:28 +0000

I have loans on Prosper and Lending Club, but nothing big. I read somewhere that the default rate is ticking up at Prosper. Even though the return is higher than say CD’s, at least my CD is guaranteed to not lose value..

By: Brett @ Personal Loan Portfolio

Brett @ Personal Loan Portfolio — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:41:39 +0000

Great summary and an excellent candidate for the next p2p lending carnival.

I have been thinking about investing on Kiva.org too. I wish that they would offer a “ZERO return” option. Hmm, I’ll have to explain my thoughts on that in a future blog post…

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:30:13 +0000

Debt Kid,

I think anyone can justify “investing” in kiva. It’s about sharing what we have with others. Definitely a good thing.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:27:46 +0000

Very cool, deepali. I’ll be sure to highlight the article in my weekly roundup.

By: deepali

deepali — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:15:16 +0000

I actually posted about Kiva last week (my first loan was paid back!). It’s a pretty cool feeling. I admit I haven’t been keeping track of my Lending Club or Prosper accounts, mostly because they are long-term loans. But I also got the LC sign-up bonus, so as soon as that is paid back, I’ll send it over to Kiva.

By: Peer Lending Enthusiast - DebtKid

Peer Lending Enthusiast - DebtKid — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:02:41 +0000

Ryan, nice overview. I agree that P2P lending has huge growth opportunities ahead, assuming some hurdles can be overcome.

Right now peer lending is still very niche. Even with more and more publicity in the past 12 months, both Lending Club and Prosper are no where near household names. In time though, I think they very well could be. The potential is definitely there.

Kiva is great. I’d love to someday be able to justify “investing” there.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:02:47 +0000

Hi Christine,

I haven’t used Kiva.org, but based on everything I’ve read, it seems just like you described it. It wouldn’t hurt me to look into lending some money out with Kiva.org. The feel good aspect is just as important as the monetary aspect.

Thanks for bringing that to everyone’s attention.

By: Christine

Christine — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:56:36 +0000

I think you brought it up in a previous post, but I just wanted to mention Kiva.org. I consider it more of a microfinance/charity organization because you don’t get a return, but it does use a P2P model.

It’s low-risk and often guarantees a feel-good result, if not a financial return.