Prosper.com, a company which operates a peer to peer lending marketplace, has recently decreased the interest rates that it charges to borrowers.
Previously, borrowers with Prosper.com’s top credit rating would pay interest rates of 7.6% APR. Prosper.com recently announced that its best customers would now receive personal loans with interest rates as low as 5.9% APR.
Both Prosper.com and Lending Club have lowered their interest rates over the last year in order to attract new borrowers. Lending Club is currently offering three and five year loans to borrowers with interest rates starting at 6.78% APR. Prosper.com is offering one, three and five year loans with interest rates as low as 5.9% APR.
Prosper Marketplace Inc. is the world’s largest peer-to-peer lending marketplace with over one million members and more than $211 million in funded loans.
Prosper allows people to invest in each other in a way that is financially and socially rewarding. Borrowers list loan requests between $2,000 and $25,000. Individual and institutional investors invest in minimum increments of $25 on loan listings they select. In addition to credit scores, ratings and histories, investors can consider borrowers’ personal loan descriptions, endorsements from friends, and community affiliations. Once the auction ends, Prosper handles the funding and servicing of the loan on behalf of the matched borrowers and investors.
Prosper was co-founded by Chris Larsen, co-founder of E-LOAN. Prosper has raised $57.7 million in venture capital and is backed by financial and technology luminaries including, Jim Breyer of Accel Partners; Bob Kagle of Benchmark Capital; CompuCredit; Omidyar Network; Capital One Co-founder Nigel Morris of QED Investors; Court Coursey of TomorrowVentures; and Larry Cheng of Volition Capital.
