Every Saturday I bring you the latest news from the world of peer to peer lending. These are the best of the news articles and blog posts from around the web that I shared on Twitter this past week.
The last few weeks have seen several articles about p2p lending pioneer, Zopa, in the UK. Some of us were wondering just how large they have become and this week we received our answer. The article from Mortgage Finance Gazette below shows their loan volume at £8.2 million in January – a little less than I expected. But good to see they are showing some strong growth there. I have been in contact with Zopa’s CEO and hope to have an article published on the blog about them in the next couple of weeks. This week saw plenty of blogger updates of their p2p lending investments but one final piece I want to highlight is the Financial Times article about CreditEase, China’s leading p2p lender. They have a different business model to Lending Club and Prosper – with a large employee base and locations all over the country – but I found it very interesting reading. Enjoy your weekend.
Nickel Steamroller – A Sneak Preview of p2pxml.com – An Open Standard for P2P Lending Data
Sweating the Big Stuff – Lending Club Returns at 15.87% in February 2012
San Francisco Chronicle – Silicon Valley’s huge economic divide
Bible Money Matters – Lending Club Returns Continue Upward Trend At 11.44%
Cult of Money – Prosper update – $3.50, I’m rolling in it P2P style!
Mortgage Finance Gazette (UK) – Zopa members lend £8.2m in January, its biggest month ever
Financial Times – CreditEase shines in China peer-lending market
P2P Lending News – My Peer to Peer Lending Performance: February 2012 Update
The Wisdom Jounrnal – Factors I Consider as a Lending Club Investor
Thanks for the mention, always appreciated!
I’m an expat currently in China and have found p2p lending as a sound investment alternative to the traditional stocks and funds.
The article on CreditEase and the growing p2p lending market in China made me think of another article I caught the other day: (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/epaper/2012-01/31/content_14511791.htm). The site China Daily showcases is ppdai.com and the loans on there have terms as short as 6 months.
@CultofMoney, You’re welcome.
@Henry82, Thanks for the link, that was another fascinating article. I have heard of ppdai.com before but I had no idea they had grown so much. Around $32 million in total loans originated is a good effort. Looks like there is a very entrepreneurial environment for p2p lending in China right now. Will be interesting to watch it develop there.
I’m not surprised, China is the 21st century version of the Wild West. You should have seen the amount of short term money (2-5 weeks) that was loaned from tour (i.e. junket) operators to gamblers heading to the world’s gambling capital (not Las Vegas) last year before the government took notice & curtailed it. You could safely add a couple of zeros to your figure and still not be close to the ballpark.