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. Have a great weekend.
Mint.com – Should You Take the Plunge into Lending Club?
Lending Club – White paper with commentary on the equity markets (PDF)
Zopa – Savers shunned by banks when looking for inflation-beating solutions for their savings (press release)
P2P Lending News – Lending Club PRIME: An Automated Way to Invest in Peer-to-Peer Lending
The Independent (UK) – Social lending: Get better returns and help small firms
As always, Thanks for the mention!
Zopa’s UK default rate since its inception 6 yrs ago is 0.8% ?? That’s just outstanding.
@Dan, I know it quite impressive. From what I gather this isn’t an annual default rate, but a total default rate on all loans. I have no idea how they keep their default rate that low, they must have some strict underwriters. Also, their risk profile is a little different – they don’t lend to the riskier borrowers – most loans are under 10% interest (for the borrower).
I’m also guessing that all loans are made to what is equivalent to A/A- rated borrowers in the US. Still that’s a very impressive number.
A bit off topic but I don’t think that most of us fully appreciate what a unique interest rare environment we’ve been in these last few years where individuals can get unsecured personal loans for 5-6%.
@Dan, I completely agree. We will look back on this time in a few years and marvel at the cheap money that was flowing around for borrowers. I am guessing after next year we will not see interest rates this low for several decades, probably ever.