Prosper
- Named one of the 50 best websites of 2007 by Time
- Passed $100 million in loans (now at $108 million)
- Changed the way they interact with members - after several forum riots and other tense public clashes with some members Prosper deletes their forums without notice and re-opens another more moderated forum; started an official blog; starts a monthly lending market survey; starts webinars to educate new lenders and borrowers
- Registers with SEC to create $500 million secondary market for p2p loans
- Announces plans to spread to Japan
- Receives $20 million in venture capital for a total of $40 million raised
Lending Club
- Launches inside of Facebook and loans $100,000 during the first month (now at $4.5 million)
- Expands to users outside Facebook
- Becomes the first p2p lending platform to loan to borrowers nationwide without state-by-state lending caps
- Hosts popular YouTube video contest
- Receives $10 million in venture capital
- (Disclosure: I recently started blogging for Lending Club. Read my Lending Club posts here.)
Zopa 
- Expands from the U.K. to the U.S.
- They announce a very new P2P lending model comparable to a certificate of deposit at a bank or a termshare certificate at a credit union. You also have the option to reduce the rate to help out borrowers. The loans are federally insured and currently earn 5.1%.
Circle Lending/Virgin Money
- Richard Branson purchases Circle Lending and rebrands it as Virgin Money USA
- Announces they will launch on October 2nd but then delays for "lending licenses and website development"
- This week they just launched a new webpage and appear to be open for institutional lenders and will allow borrowers to sign-up, but individual lenders must wait
Loanio
- Receives some minor attention in the media during the summer and, like GlobeFunder, announces they will launch in the fall but delays
- Currently advertising on homepage that they are "Coming January 2008"
In June we started Prosper Lending Review. It's been fun and we have learned a lot. According to visitors, these are our most popular articles in 2007.
15 Most Popular Articles of 2007A Prosper scam: The story of Jessica Wolcott
Prosper: A hands-on education in risk management
How does Prosper compare to other investments?
Prosper Lending Review - the first month
When to bid on Prosper loans
Review: Top Prosper Blogs
What is Loanio?
Borrowing money to lend on Prosper: Wise or Foolish?
Credit Scores on Prosper - Part 1 of 2
Why would a borrower use Prosper instead of a traditional bank?
Equity sharing - Prosper for real estate
Loanio prepares for fall launch
Prosper Lending 101 - webinar review
Prosper CEO: Lenders avoid subprime and 'flight to safety'
Lending Club announces $5000 video contest
The most popular articles are not always the most useful articles. While A Prosper scam: The story of Jessica Wolcott may be interesting reading, it is not going to provide solid actionable investment advice like some of the following articles. If you are about to commit your hard earned money to p2p investments it makes sense to do as much research as you can. Of the 100+ post of the last year I recommend that following ten as required reading for all investors (I'll also note they they were all written by the other co-author of this blog, Matt):
10 Best PLR articles of 2007
How does Prosper compare to other investments?
Prosper: A hands-on education in risk management
Why would a borrower use Prosper instead of a bank?
Borrowing money to lend on Prosper: Wise or Foolish?
Most Prosper lenders do not diversify
Are all Prosper loans within a credit grade created equal?
An analysis of pre-payment risk on Prosper loans
Are non-homeowners a safer lending risk in a declining house market?
Credit Scores on Prosper - Part 1 of 2
When to bid on Prosper loans
We look forward to 2008 and the many changes it will bring to the p2p lending marketplace. Happy New Year!
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