The FT reports on Zopa’s progress as they move into their fourth country and have their third birthday.  What intrigues me a little is the nature of their expansion, that I believe is a mix of licensing and direct involvement.  Their business model is also different in each country, particularly US which has a strange interest sharing arrangement.  So its not clear to me, yet, that Zopa Japan particularly supports the title of this article in terms of volume until the model is clearer for Zopa in their expansive activities. FTAdviser.com – Social lending set to soar Since its launch, … Continue reading FT reports social lending set to soar | thoughts on Zopa

I missed this event for LendingClub back in December 2007.  They have formed an alliance with WebBank, thus bringing the weight of a regulated FI to support their business model. http://www.kansascity.com Lending Club, for example, has entered a partnership with WebBank, a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-insured, state-chartered industrial bank organized under the laws of the state of Utah to originate the loans in a consistent manner nationwide. As a result, Lending Club loans are regulated under WebBank’s industrial loan charter. The winds of regulation are catching up with P2P Lending in those jurisdictions where that had not been the case … Continue reading Lending Club establishes alliance with WebBank

Nice description of his investment strategy from LazyMan – a Prosper investor.  Worth the read, and nice way to place Social Lending in perspective too. Prosper Blog: Prosper, the online marketplace for people-to-people lending » Blog Archive » Are You Diversified? The last 5% of my investment is with Prosper.com. One of the reasons I lend money on Prosper is that it further diversifies my portfolio. I have a few friends who got depressed when the Dow drops from 14,000 to 12,700. I slept very well at night knowing that 60% of my money was invested elsewhere. Continue reading Social Lending in perspective | a diversification play

A real coup for Credit Unions here, and I am impressed and not surprised to see FORUM involved.  Zopa going live with Credit Unions as partners “The merging of financial services and social networking is a great way to reach the younger generation,” says Doug True, senior vice president of FORUM Credit Union of Fishers, Ind., one of Zopa’s launch partners. Having said that, I will need more detail before I understand the model being implemented, that appears to involve CD’s at the Credit Unions.  I hope there is a simpler explanation that that provided at the WSJ. Lenders, meanwhile, … Continue reading Zopa enters US market with Credit Union partners

Social Lending displays aspects beyond the specifics of the business model.  Prosper is a good example in their display of account metrics, and in their annual conference.  Jim from NetBanker is on a panel this year, and its great to see bloggers pulled in.  Jim is an advocate for Banks’ to try new things, and having him at Prosper Days is a great add. “Prosper Days” User Conference Videos Repurposed to Educate Customers (NetBanker) The conference is an excellent idea, creating a buzz around the company and providing a platform for its most loyal customers to share success stories and … Continue reading Prosper Days | Feb 2008

The trends within Prosper are interesting since the sub-prime crisis hit.  Two things stand out that show promise to bear out earlier predictions: trend of regular borrowers towards using Prosper, who would otherwise have used traditional lenders, and these lenders are Prime or Near Prime [Prosper designations] borrowers seeking to pay off credit card debt;  typical retrenchment behaviour,  during rough times, but these borrowers are using Prosper, not Banks. Media Room – Prosper Of great interest is the anecdotal evidence of prime and near prime borrowers turning to Prosper for loans that would have historically been steered toward mortgage, auto, … Continue reading Prosper trends towards average borrowers, and sets itself up for stepped up growth

Virgin have been all over the net today, and I wasn’t sure which story even to comment on.  This one at the Independent is a good one, because it summarises quickly the recent direction at Virgin. Virgin Money launches US ‘friends and family’ lender – Independent Online Edition > Business News Virgin Money, the business unit through which Sir Richard Branson hopes to acquire Northern Rock, yesterday launched the next stage of its US expansion, with a novel new service enabling friends and families to lend to each other. Virgin Money USA launched the Family Mortgage after acquiring CircleLending, a … Continue reading Virgin is seeking a different business model in finance