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Compare P2P Lenders from a LENDER's point of view

Match Makers for Direct Loans help unacquainted borrowers and lenders connect and arrange P2P loans between them

Facilitators of Indirect Loans similar to #1 above, except the firms make loans directly to individual borrowers

Friends and Family Go-Betweens when borrowers & lenders already know one another, these firms formalize loans by creating written documents

"Match Makers for Direct Loans"

(from Lender/ Investor's point of view):

Loanio is not yet live, and as of April 2008 Lending Club has temporarily suspended outside investors from making new loans. Thus, for the time being, Prosper is the only game in town (in this category, for investors/lenders).

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.	As of April 2008, no outside investors may make new loans through Lending Club - they will not resume until they meet filing requirements with regulators. Borrowing will be directly from the company, but otherwise unaffected 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 Investment Amount To Become A Lender	$25 (twenty-five dollars)	not stated
Maximum Total Amount Lenders Can Invest	$2,000,000 (two million dollars)	not stated
Link to Company's Website			Not Yet Live
Fees from company for transferring funds to/from your financial institution?	No Inbound or Outbound fund transfer fees from Prosper	No fees for Inbound or Outbound funds via check. $25 fee for Outbound transfers; No fee for Inbound transfers (in fact, Lending Club pays lender $25 to cover any fees from their financial institution for Inbound transfers of $1,000 or more). Can also initially add funds via PayPal
Are Deposits Not Currently Invested In Loans Gov't Insured (FDIC / NCUSIF) and Do They Earn Interest For Lenders?	No Interest is Earned, need info about FDIC insurance	Lending Club account cash balance is covered by FDIC pass-through insurance. Lending Club holds these funds at Wells Fargo Bank. This coverage does not include funds that have been lent out to borrowers. Need info about interest
Link to Company's Website			Not Yet Live
Minimum Amount A Lender Can Invest Per Individual Loan	$50 (fifty dollars)	$25 (twenty-five dollar) minimum per individual loan, but to lend through a diversified portfolio Lending Club builds for you the minimum contribution level is $500 (five hundred dollars)
Maximum Amount A Lender Can Invest Per Individual Loan (if loan is funded)	$25,000 (twenty-five thousand dollars)	not stated
Term/Duration of a Loan	36 months (3 years)	36 months (3 years)
How Long Are An Investor's Funds Committed?	Funds are committed for each loan a lender/investor funds, per the payment schedule of principle and interest (except for delinquency or prepayment)	Funds are committed for each loan a lender/investor funds, per the payment schedule of principle and interest (except for delinquency or prepayment)
Terms & Penalties If Borrower Prepays Ahead of Loan Schedule	No prepayment restrictions or penalties for Borrowers. Lender simply has funds earlier than scheduled (can withdraw these funds or reinvest them in other loans).	No prepayment restrictions or penalties for Borrowers. Lender simply has funds earlier than scheduled (can withdraw these funds or reinvest them in other loans).
Link to Company's Website			Not Yet Live
Application Fees	none	none
Closing Fees Charged to Lender/Investor (if loan is funded)	none	none
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 Lender/Investor	0%-1% annual loan servicing fee (highest borrower credit rating of "AA" = 0%, otherwise 1% service fee is accrued daily, and is based on the current outstanding loan principal)	1% of each monthly payment from the borrowers.
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?	A late fee of $15 per late payment is passed on to lenders in proportion to their funding of the total amount borrowed. Failed payment fees are paid to Prosper, and cover the fees that Prosper's bank charges for failed payments.	A late fee of the greater of $15 or 5% of the unpaid installment amount per late payment is passed on to lenders in proportion to their funding of the total amount borrowed. Failed payment fees are paid to Lending Club to cover the fees that Lending Club's bank charges for failed payments.
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
# 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 Lender/ Investor's point of view):

Notable Differences: (1) Borrower's Closing Fees (charged only if loan gets funded) > GlobeFunder has these fees, Zopa doesn't have them (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.	Opportunities to lend or invest through GlobeFunder are limited to sophisticated and wealthy "accredited" investors. No further lending information available
Company's website	Zopa.com	GlobeFunder.com
Minimum Total Amount Lenders Can Invest	$500 (five hundred dollars)
Maximum Total Amount Lenders Can Invest	No maximum investment stated, but NCUSIF insurances only up to $100,000 (one hundred thousand dollars)
Fees from company for transferring funds to/from your financial institution?	Not explicitly stated, but it appears that there are no fees from Zopa (transfers are made via ACH electronic funds transfer to/from your financial institution)
Are Deposits Not Currently Invested In Loans Gov't Insured (FDIC / NCUSIF) and Do They Earn Interest For Lenders?	Yes, insured by NCUSIF (National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund). Unclear whether funds not currently invested in Zopa CDs earn interest, such as when CDs reach maturity and are not automaticly reinvested.
Minimum Amount A Lender Can Invest Per Individual Loan	not applicable
Maximum Amount A Lender Can Invest Per Individual Loan	No maximum investment stated, but NCUSIF insurances only up to $100,000 (one hundred thousand dollars)
Term/Duration of a Loan	For Lenders, term of Zopa CDs is one year (can be renewed at then-market rates)
How Long Are An Investor's Funds Committed?	Investors may cancel a Zopa CD early, but with a penalty of 90 days worth of interest
Terms & Penalties If Borrower Prepays Ahead of Loan Schedule	Investor's Zopa CD continues paying same interest rate until the end of the original agreed-upon term, though "help" given to original borrower will be reallocated
Application Fees	none
Closing Fees Charged to Lender/Investor (if Loan is Funded)	none
How Are Interest Rates Determined?	Lenders can choose in the interest rate on their "Zopa CD" (within a range) by choosing how much "help" to give one or more borrowers. Giving lots of "help" to people or endeavors a Lender/ Investor wishes to support will lower the interest rate these borrowers pay on their loans, but also lowers the interest rate the Lender / Investor receives.
Servicing Fees Charged to Lender/Investor	none
What Happens If Borrower Is Late or Defaults?	Zopa CDs continue paying same interest rate to Lenders / Investors until the end of the original agreed-upon term, regardless of payment delinquencies. Lenders / Investors do NOT bear the risk if a borrower defaults on a loan.
# of Members	not stated
Loan Funding Volume	not stated
U.S. Launch Date	Dec 2007, but started in Europe Dec 2005	January 2008
Company's website	Zopa.com	GlobeFunder.com

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"Friends and Family Go-Betweens"

(from Lender/ Investor'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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