There also needs to be an EU-wide regulatory framework for non-bank providers of microcredit (banks are already covered by existing rules), defining them as non-deposit takers, with the ability to conduct credit only activities and to on-lend. There should be harmonised, risk-based rules on authorisation and supervision.
This would help p2p lending services.
Thank you to Peter Petrovics of Noba.hu for supplying the link.
When analysing numbers on p2p lending activity, users can rely on independent third party sites gathering statistics for many p2p lending services. These services either obtain the raw data via an interface provided by the service or they do parse the web pages of the service to collect the data.
Most of the statistic sites offer reports and tools to analyse and graph the overall development of the marketplace as well as the status of an individual lender’s investments.
The majority of the users are lenders, as the borrower usually needs the information only once – before applying for a loan – to determine what interest rate is appropriate.
Feel free to copy this list, but please do set a link citing this page as source. If you know another social lending / p2p lending stats site, please let me know.
Long term readers may remember that the Wiseclerk.com domain initially started as a report site on Prosper.com. It was in fact together with Savagenumber.com the first service of this kind.
It has been said before – there might have been no better time to establish p2p lending. With the established system shaken and many consumers not getting loans as easily as before the market environment is good for peer-to-peer lending.
P2P lending gets good media attention. The Uncrunch.org initiative (in which Lending Club takes part) in the Change.org vote for new ideas finished in the Top 15.
On the demand site all p2p lending companies benefit from the crisis. On the supply site, in my opinion the effect is mostly positive too, but some lenders are hesitant to invest their money in a new, innovative model and rather seek a save haven for it.
P2P lending sites that have demonstrated low default rates over a longer time and therefore low risk fared best – especially at Zopa UK supply rose strongly lately.
The video was made by Kiva fellow (volunteer) Kieran Ball, who worked for Kiva in Cambodia. It explains the transfer of the money for a Kiva loan from a lender in London to a borrower in Cambodia.
This is a great example how many people can be reached over the internet with a well made video in a short time. Online since only 8 days the video has been watched over 32,000 times and was embedded in many websites (at least 50).
Just a short heads up: Kivaplans a developer program allowing 3rd party applications to use data from the Kiva (lender) pages.
We’ve been working hard over the past few months to create a developer program at Kiva. This will be a place online where software engineers can get creative with Kiva and build applications that use Kiva in new ways. Perhaps someone will build a spiffy new tool to help you make a loan on your iPhone, or a text messaging service that notifies you when loans from your favorite country are available. A Facebook application that helps you keep up with new journals from your loans and share them with friends would be handy too.
Initially while browsing the PertuityDirect.com and the related NationalRetailFund.com site I was a bit puzzled where the peer to peer lending aspect is to be found? I learned:
Lenders buy shares
Borrowers credit information details are never shared. Only Pertuity Direct knows them
There is no auction
Interest rates are set by Pertuity Direct
Then I read the National Retail Fund II prospectus and learned that the Fund is allowed to do other investments then funding loans of Pertuity Direct borrowers. It may:
buy T-Bills, money market funds and other cash equivalents
buy bundled consumer note securities, even if part of them is deliquent
The NationalRetailFund website explains:
How is this related to Pertuity Direct?
Pertuity Direct is a separate entity and is one of the fund’s service providers and acts in an administrative role. They underwrite and originate borrower loans. Those loans are an investment option for this fund.
On the same FAQ page I then found what this all has to do with p2p lending:
Where is the ‘Social’ aspect in all of this?
If you choose, you have the option to engage in the social lending network associated with the borrowers within the funds. By selecting the option, you will be able to see the various borrowers in the funds, get to read their stories and track their progress over time. You will also have the ability to engage directly with any borrower or group of borrowers that you find compelling and help them accomplish their goals with a rewards program.
Lenders can use so called Pertuity Bucks, which they receive free upon sign up, to reward borrowers whose stories they find compelling. The balance of the borrower is reduced by the amount of Pertuity Bucks the borrower receives.
My review summary of the p2p lending aspect of Pertuity Direct
While it may be a smart construct in respect to overcoming regulation hurdles it offers much less direct peer to peer interaction between lender and borrower.
Pertuity Direct decides which loans get approved
Pertuity Direct sets the interest rates
The fund decides on the investment strategy in detail
Interaction takes place only through the Pertuity Bucks community feature
But let’s see how the concept develops and what borrowers and lenders think about it.
