Peer-to-Peer Lending Giants, Prosper.com and Lending Club originated a total of $7.2 million during the month of September, according to internal statistics from both companies. Both companies saw a significant increase in new loans during the month of September.
Prosper.com enjoyed a 44% increase in the amount of loans that it originated, partially due to a significant new online advertising push from the company. Prosper.com is now advertising through Google’s AdWords programs and on many major websites, including Hotmail, to attract new lenders. In total, Prosper originated $1.3 million across 340 new loans, with an average loan size of $3,880. This represents an increase of $395,000 in lending activity from the previous month.
Lending Club originated a total of $5.9 million in loans during the month of September, representing a 37% increase in lending activities. In total, Prosper.com originated 593 loans with an average loan size of $9,962.
Both companies enjoyed positive press during the month of September. CNN’s Christine Roman did a feature on the industry that aired on the network. There was also a significant article in the Washington Post that discussed how consumers are turning to peer-to-peer loans during the down turn. The fledgling peer-to-peer lending industry was also mentioned in a recent article on Business Week.
Lending Club is currently originating new loans at a much faster rate Prosper, but still has a way to go to catch up with Prosper. Prosper has originated a total of $181 million across 29,558 loans since the company launched in September of 2005. Lending Club has originated $57 million across 5,463 loans since the company began operations in June of 2007.
