Review of peer to peer lending developments in 2008

December 22, 2008December 21, 2008 wiseclerk 3 Comments

As the end of 2008 approaches here is a look back on the highlights of peer to peer lending news in 2008:

February: Gartner predicts that by 2010 social lending captures 10% market share; p2p lending in Poland takes off; IOUcentral launches in Canada – only to be suspended by regulator a week later
April: Lendingclub enters quiet period for SEC registration; Cashare launches p2p lending service in Switzerland; Prosper goes national with 36 percent max. interest rate – partnering with WebBank; Zopa UK reshapes markets – concentrates on 36 and 60 months loan terms
May: MyC4 has new interface and shifts currency risks to lenders
August: Zopa UK launches young market; Maneo launches p2p lending services in Japan
September: Kiva repayments are now immediately available for reinvestment; Zopa grows in Italy – has secondary market
October: Loanio launches in the US; Friendsclear launches in France; Smava raises more venture capital; Zopa US closes; Veecus launces p2p microfinance; Lending club comes out of quiet period and introduces secondary market note trading platform; Prosper enters quiet period for SEC registration; Kiva wins grant; more than 685M US$ p2p lending volume; two funds will invest more than 2M Euro in Africa through MyC4
November: 50 million US$ Kiva loans reached; Comunitae gets funding; SEC orders Prosper to cease and desist; Loanio suspends operations
December: Class action lawsuit and other legal troubles challenge Prosper

Loanio suspends operations

November 26, 2008 wiseclerk 6 Comments

Asked to comment on the recent developments, Loanio CEO Michael Solomon told P2P-Banking.com:

In light of recent events beyond our control, Loanio, Inc. has suspended its business so that we may begin the process of registering our promissory notes with the appropriate securities authorities and agencies. As a direct result, please be advised that effective immediately Loanio will no longer be accepting registration from lenders or borrowers and/or any new bids on loans or loan requests until further notice.

This message will be posted on the Loanio platform today.

Loanio says it won’t face registration process in near future

October 17, 2008 wiseclerk 2 Comments

Asked by Netbanker whether Loanio.com will face an SEC filing process and a quiet period like Prosper and Lending Club, Loanio CEO Michael Solomon answered:

“…from the perspective of (Prosper) going silent, it is actually great for us as I think we will quickly gain lots of lenders and hopefully we can wow them into sticking around. From a regulatory standpoint, we believe that at some point we will seek to introduce a secondary market platform, but we will focus the greater part of the next 12 month on building our platform and seeking out a national bank partner to cover the rest of the U.S. Our plans for a secondary market are too far ahead for me to contemplate at this time.”

Loanio credits you a $25 sign-up bonus

October 4, 2008October 4, 2008 wiseclerk

If you sign up at Loanio.com as a new lender using this link, the peer to peer lending service Loanio will credit you $25. This promotion may be time-limited, so sign-up now, even if you want to start lending later.

Loanio – more loan listings on first day

October 2, 2008 wiseclerk 2 Comments

After the Loanio launch yesterday, already some more loan listings are up at Loanio.com. Right now I count 8 listings. Probably more are in the making. No bids yet, which is not surprising as the lenders have to sign up and transfer money to Loanio first.
Michael Solomon, the CEO and founder of Loanio had a lucky week according to the Loanio blog – not only did he launch Loanio, but he also won $1,000 in the New York State Lottery.

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Loanio launch II

October 1, 2008 wiseclerk 3 Comments

Last week I titled ‘Loanio Launch‘. That was a little premature (I was not the only one fooled by the site apparently going live – see Tom’s blog). Well today Loanio.com is really live. And there are 5 listings at the moment (see screenshot). For a list of features see the previous loanio coverage.

Netbanker has a list of states (with max. interest rates), open to Loanio borrowers. You are welcome to discuss your thoughts on Loanio in Wiseclerk’s Loanio Forum.