"Compare P2P Lenders and Find a Great Deal..."

"Match Makers for Direct Loans"

(from Borrower's point of view):

Notable differences: (1) Borrower's Closing Fees (charged only if loan gets funded) and (2) How Interest Rates Are Determined (Prosper rates via lender bidding while Lending Club rates are based directly on credit history, debt, income & other factors).

Company	Prosper	Lending Club	Loanio
Link to Company's Website			Not Yet Live
Overview	Prosper works like other online auctions, with users listing and bidding on loans through Prosper's online auction platform. Borrowers create loan listings for up to $25,000 and set the maximum interest rate they are willing to pay, and then Lenders bid on loan listings they choose based upon credit scores & other criteria. The bids with the lowest rates for a particular loan win the right to fund that loan and earn the interest associated with their bid.	Lending Club is open to US residents. In order to qualify for funding, you will need a FICO score of at least 640 with a debt-to-income ratio (excluding mortgage) below 30%. In addition, you should have no current delinquencies.	Loanio was expected to launch in Fall 2007, but the service is still not live. Their website home page reads "Coming Soon (final pre-beta testing in progress)"
Minimum Loan Amount	$1,000 though higher in 4 states	$500
Maximum Loan Amount	$25,000 though lower one state (VT - $4,000)	temporarily $10,000 (normal maximum is $25,000)
Term/Duration of a Loan	36 months (3 years)	36 months (3 years)
Prepayment Penalty?	no restrictions or penalties	no restrictions or penalties
Link to Company's Website			Not Yet Live
Application Fees	none	none
Closing Fees Charged to Borrower (if loan is funded)	1-3% of the amount borrowed or $25 (whichever is greater). Percentage depends upon Borrower's credit grade (better credit = lower rate).	"Borrower Processing Fee" of between .75% and 2.00%, depending upon the loan's credit grade (better credit = lower rate).
How Are Interest Rates Determined?	Borrower sets maximum rate they are willing to pay and prospective Lenders bid, with the lowest interest rate bids winning and lending you the money.	Each loan request is assessed a grade ranging from A1 to G5 (based on the borrower's credit history, current situation, income, debt and other factors) and a corresponding interest rate between 7.37% and 18.61% (as of March 2008)
Servicing Fees Charged to Borrower	none	none
How Are Loan Payment Funds Transferred?	Automatic withdrawls from a bank account (option to pay via bank draft at 1% additional interest)	Automatic withdrawls from a bank account
Link to Company's Website			Not Yet Live
What Happens If Monthly Payment Is Late or Fails Due to "NSF", But Is Made In Full Within 1 Month?	$15 charged the day after Due Date. If second payment attempt fails, greater of $15 or 5% of the unpaid installment amount is charged on 16th day after Due Date; After 1 month, more fees plus referral to collection plus notice of deliquency to national credit reporting agencies.	"Unsuccessful Payment Fee" of $15 for EACH unsuccessful attempt to collect a monthly payment, plus a $15 "Late Payment Fee" after a 15-day grace period (charged only once per late payment).
What Happens If Monthly Payment Is Delinquent By More Than 1 Month?	Loans deliquent 30+ days are turned over to a collection agency to pursue collection from the borrower. Loans not collected within 3 months will be considered uncollectable, marked as "Defaulted", and sold to a debt buyer (borrower will be reported to credit reporting agencies). percentage of any recovered funds as the service fee for their efforts. Collection fees are deducted from the amount recovered, as a percentage of recovered funds, based on the age of the delinquency	Loans deliquent 30+ days are sent to Lending Club's contracted collection agency. Collection fees are deducted from the amount recovered, as a percentage of recovered funds, based on the age of the delinquency. Presumably, notice of deliquency is also sent to national credit reporting agencies.
# of Members	580,000 as of Feb 2008	not stated
Total $ of Loans Funded Since Inception	$137 million+ as of April 2008	At least $16 million
US Launch Date	Feb-2006	May-2007	sometime in 2008
Link to Company's Website			Not Yet Live

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"Facilitators of Indirect Loans"

(from Borrower's point of view):

Notable Differences: (1) Borrower's Closing Fees (charged only if loan gets funded) > GlobeFunder has these, Zopa does not; (2) Zopa has a five year loan term without prepayment penalties while GlobeFunder's loan term is negotiable with each loan (prepayment penalties are not stated) (3) interest rates for both are based upon credit history, etc, but Zopa's lenders can lower ("help") a borrower's interest rate after learning about borrower's situation

Company	Zopa	GlobeFunder
Overview	Not really a P2P Lender - company describes itself as in the business of "social finance". Investors purchase NCUSIF-insured "Zopa CDs" (certificates of deposit) from Zopa's partner credit unions. Zopa will earmark some invested funds, depending upon the interest rate you choose, to "help" the borrowers you choose from profiles on Zopa's site. Investors do NOT bear the risk if a borrower defaults on a loan. Eligibility: any U.S. resident 18 or older with a FICO credit score of at least 640, adequate income and several years of credit history. Limit 1 loan per borrower.	GlobeFunder doesn't fit neatly in any P2P category. It's actually like a lending institution that lets prospective Borrowers request a loan amount, term and interest rate they'd like and GlobeFunder performs a real-time credit check and decides whether or not to fund your loan at the interest rate you requested. GlobeFunder may use funds from "accredited" outside investors, but otherwise isn't a true peer-to-peer lender. That said, they may still be an option to consider.
Minimum Loan Amount	not stated	not stated
Maximum Loan Amount	$25,000	$25,000
Term/Duration of a Loan	5 years (60 months)	Varies based upon each borrower's loan request
Prepayment Penalty?	no restrictions or penalties	not stated
Application Fees	none	none
Closing Fees Charged to Borrower (if loan is funded)	none	Greater of 1.75% of the amount borrowed or $50 for loans with automated payments (ACH); Greater of 3.75% of the amount borrowed or $200 for loans without automated payments
How Are Interest Rates Determined?	Interest Rates on Zopa loans vary according to borrowers' credit history, from a low of 8.49% to a high of 16.99% APR, in addition to how much "help" a Lender chooses to bestow upon borrowers they choose.	Based on credit reports and a scoring system from a credit reporting agency, the "Expected Minimum (Interest) Rate" borrowers would pay is between 9.5% and 19.75% (per GlobeFunder's site April 2008 for October 2007)
Servicing Fees Charged to Borrower	None if loan payments are made via automatic account deduction. However, if payments are made manually (via check) there is a per-payment processing fee of $15.	none
How Are Loan Payment Funds Transferred?	Automatic withdrawls from a bank account (option to pay via check with $15 additional fee per payment)	Automatic withdrawls from a bank account. Alternate options exist, but are not specified on website
What Happens If Monthly Payment Is Late or Fails Due to "NSF", But Is Made In Full Within 1 Month?	Late Payment Fee of $15 for each late payment; "NSF" fee of $15 each time a payment is rejected by your financial institution	Failed automatic monthly payments will be charged the lesser of $25 or the maximum allowable under your state's lending limits; if your monthly payment is 15 days late, you will be charged a late fee, which depends on your state's late payment fee limits (presumably the maximum allowable).
What Happens If Monthly Payment Is Delinquent By More Than 1 Month?	not stated	not stated
# of Members	need info	need info
Loan Funding Volume	need info	need info
US Launch Date	Dec 2007, but started in Europe Dec 2005	January 2008
Link to Company's Website	need info	need info

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"Friends and Family Go-Betweens"

(from Borrower's point of view):

Summary: Virgin Money is the only firm of this type that offers Loan Servicing (for an extra fee). Virgin Money is substantially more expensive, but offers personal service and a wide range of options.

Company	Virgin Money	LoanBack	Nolo
Company	Virgin Money	LoanBack
Overview	Virgin Money, known as CircleLending until acquired in 2007, manages personal loans between relatives and friends (with or without loan servicing). Additional specialized loan types, also between relatives and friends, include business, education and real estate loans - these are not included in this comparison matrix). Has options with extra fees to secure loans with collateral.	LoanBack provides two options: (1) LoanBuilder, where a user goes through an online interview and creates customized documents, amortization & repayment schedules; and (2) Fill-in-the-blank loan documents in Microsoft Word format	Nolo offers forms for various types of "promissory notes", including individual business or personal loan forms, or as part of larger packages of legal forms.
Fees from company for transferring funds to/from your financial institution?	not stated	not applicable (company does not provide loan servicing or have any contact with funds)	not applicable (company does not provide loan servicing or have any contact with funds)
Company	Virgin Money	LoanBack
Interest Rate, Duration & Amount of Loan	as parties agree	as parties agree	as parties agree
Terms & Penalties If Borrower Prepays Ahead of Loan Schedule	as parties agree	as parties agree	as parties agree
Application Fees	none	Fees are either $9.95 or $14.95 for access to the legal language in LoanBack's downloadable forms.	Fees for various loan document packages range from $9.99 to $14.00. Customers can buy access to the legal language in Nolo's books, CD-ROMs or downloadable forms.
Closing Fees Charged to Borrower (if loan is funded)	$99.00 for "Handshake Basic" (no loan servicing); $199.00 for "Handshake PLUS" (includes loan sevicing). These fees are paid by either lender or borrower, per their agreement.	none	none
Servicing Fees Charged to Borrower	None with "Handshake Basic" (no loan servicing); "Handshake PLUS" (with loan sevicing); $9.00 per electronic payment or $14.00 per manual payment (via check)	None (company does not provide loan servicing). Optional email payment reminders with LoanBuilder product	None (company does not provide loan servicing).
Company	Virgin Money	LoanBack
What Happens If Monthly Payment Is Late or Fails Due to "NSF", But Is Made In Full Within 1 Month?	Late payment fees as agreed between borrower and lender; failed "NSF" fee of $15 each time a payment is rejected by borrower's financial institution	as borrower & lender agree (LoanBack provides no loan servicing)	as borrower & lender agree (Nolo provides no loan servicing)
# of Members	need info	not applicable	not applicable
Loan Funding Volume	more than $200 million	not applicable	not applicable
US Launch Date	2001 as CircleLending, acquired and renamed Virgin Money in 2007	need info	early 1970's
Company	Virgin Money	LoanBack

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