tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61785473442178184982024-03-13T17:53:13.510-07:00Prosper Lending ReviewNews and tips for the peer to peer (P2P) loan marketplaceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger347125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-38339715145284373832009-10-21T03:07:00.000-07:002009-10-21T03:10:55.837-07:00Financial Start-ups Form ‘Coalition for New Credit Models’<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Washington</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">, D.C. – October 20, 2009</span></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">– </span></b>Amid historic regulatory reforms being considered by the new administration and lawmakers on Capitol Hill, the </span></span><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.newcreditmodels.com/" title="blocked::http://www.newcreditmodels.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Coalition for New Credit Models</span></span></b></a></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> announced its formal launch today as its representatives descended upon Washington. The Coalition is made up of non-profit, for-profit, and social enterprises using new technologies, products and business models to provide credit and information to millions of consumers and small and midsized businesses. These models serve as innovative alternatives to existing banking and financial institutions and are backed by venture and social capital to stimulate the economy, shore up financial markets, and enhance local communities. They have a special focus on bringing transparency, fairness, durability, and accountability to consumers and to our credit markets.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Chris Larsen, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of </span></span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.prosper.com/" title="blocked::http://www.prosper.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Prosper</span></span></b></a></span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">, America’s largest peer-to-peer lending marketplace</span></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">,<b><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></b>said,<b><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></b>“This country has been in an energy crisis for years and we are now in a financial crisis. America’s economic future depends on new and alternative credit models being embraced in the same way green technologies are being nurtured by policy leaders to help solve the energy crisis. We are at risk of being suffocated by rigid regulations that threaten rather than embrace new technologies and models.”<b><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">The current regulatory environment has stifled many entrepreneurs in this nascent industry, and it is clearly time for new policies and fresh thinking from lawmakers and regulators. At a time when the credit crisis and recession have adversely affected consumers, families, small and mid-market businesses, Coalition members have created alternatives and innovations that will make the country less dependent on any single point of failure, or institutions that are too big or too interconnected to fail. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">James Gutierrez, Chief Executive Officer of </span></span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.progressfin.com/" title="blocked::http://www.progressfin.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Progreso Financiero</span></span></b></a></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">, said, "Without new innovators providing better options, millions of Americans will be left out, far away from the American Dream and stuck with predatory choices, simply because they lack established credit history. We believe government can do more to provide greater access and financial inclusion to all consumers, especially the underbanked, and help cultivate new models that do so on responsible terms."</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Nicolas Perkin, President of </span></span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.receivablesxchange.com/" title="blocked::http://www.receivablesxchange.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">The Receivables Exchange</span></span></b></a></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">, said, “Now more than ever, America’s businesses should have unfettered access to alternative and reliable sources of capital to meet their business financing needs. As the economy regains momentum and technology continues to accelerate the pace at which business is conducted around the world, only innovation and an uncompromised focus on transparency and responsible financing models will drive sustainable growth and prevent businesses from being reliant on a single source of funding<span style="color:#1f497d;"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">, </span></span>and thereby exposed to unnecessary risk.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">The Coalition for New Credit Models recommends that Congress and the administration:</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size: 4pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span>1.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Adopt legislation classifying person-to-person lending as a consumer banking service, not a securities offering.<br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span>2.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Create a liquidity fund to provide capital for companies making small consumer loans to underbanked individuals.<br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span>3.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Establish a federal backstop for small and mid-sized businesses to provide access to working capital through electronic marketplaces.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span>4.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Enable the emergence of a robust U.S.-based private company stock market to provide the exit path necessary to attract investment capital back to this country, bolstering domestic small businesses, innovation and job growth.<br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span>5.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Create a Start Up Liaison at Treasury Department or within banking regulators to guide and fast-track the development of new financial products by start-up companies and organizations seeking to innovate the way consumers and businesses raise and access capital.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Background on Coalition Members</span></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">:</span></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.creditkarma.com/" title="blocked::http://www.creditkarma.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Credit Karma</span></span></b></a></span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;"> (San Francisco, CA)</span></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> is the consumer’s advocate for demystifying credit, is the only Web site that provides consumers free access to their credit score, and has a range of tools and information resources to help them monitor and manage the credit aspect of their financial health. Credit Karma’s goal is to help consumers easily digest the contents of their credit report and understand what makes up their credit score. Credit Karma works with a range of partners, including mortgage lenders, credit card providers, banks, and wireless providers.</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></span></li></ul> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.loanio.com/" title="blocked::http://www.loanio.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Loanio, Inc</span></span></b></a></span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">. (Nanuet, NY) </span></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">is an Internet-based peer-to-peer lending platform where individuals can request personal loans that are funded by other individual (or corporate) investors. Interest rates on loans are set by auction, where lenders/investors bid on loan requests that they find attractive. Through patent pending features such as Platinum Verification and Co-borrowing, Loanio’s goal is to provide access to a significantly underserved borrower market and stronger security for its lenders/investors. Loanio, Inc. suspended its business activities in November 2008 and is currently registering its securities with the SEC.</span></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.profounder.com/" title="blocked::http://www.profounder.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">ProFounder</span></span></b></a></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Palo Alto, CA)</span></b></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">is a platform where entrepreneurs raise seed funding from their social network and affiliates through a legally compliant and dynamic process; and individuals invest small amounts of money in companies in exchange for ownership. ProFounder is co-founded by Jessica Jackley, Evan Reas, and Dana Mauriello. Jackley is Co-Founder and former Chief Marketing Officer of Kiva.org, the world's first peer-to-peer microloan website which has made almost $100M in loans since its inception at the end of 2005.</span></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.progressfin.com/" title="blocked::http://www.progressfin.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Progreso Financiero</span></span></b></a></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Mountain View, CA)</span></b> is the leading provider of consumer friendly loans to underbanked Hispanic families in America. Progreso has developed a proprietary credit score based on over 25,000 initial loans, and in turn, can lend money at fair rates and lower losses to families who lack FICO scores and traditional banking relationships. Progreso's mission is to help its customers build a credit history and fully realize the American Dream, and to provide ground floor innovation that helps move the underbanked up the financial services ladder. With over 100 employees and $26 million in venture capital, Progreso is rapidly expanding throughout the Southwest, and aims to serve over 1 million underbanked families with credit, debit, savings and other mainstream products by 2012.</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></span></li></ul> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.prosper.com/" title="blocked::http://www.prosper.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Prosper</span></span></b></a></span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;"> (San Francisco, CA) </span></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">is America’s largest peer-to-peer lending marketplace. Since its launch in February 2006, over 850,000 Americans have joined the community and $180 million in loans have been facilitated. Prosper is an auction-based platform, where borrowers set the maximum rate they’re willing to pay, and individual and institution investors bid at or below the rate set by the borrower. In October 2008, Prosper halted its marketplace and entered a quiet period as part of the process of registering with the SEC. Nine months later, in July 2009, Prosper’s registration statement with the SEC was declared effective. <i><span style="color:black;"><span style="color: black; font-style: italic;">Notes offered by </span></span></i></span></span><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.prosper.com/prospectus" title="blocked::http://www.prosper.com/prospectus" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic;">Prospectus.</span></span></i></a></span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></b></li></ul> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.receivablesxchange.com/" title="blocked::http://www.receivablesxchange.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">The Receivables Exchange</span></span></b></a></span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;"> (New Orleans, LA) </span></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">is a real-time, online competitive marketplace for accounts receivable that gives small and medium-sized businesses the ability to generate cash flow quickly and as competitively as possible. The Receivables Exchange allows businesses to sell their receivables to a global network of institutional investors and access working capital in as little as 24 hours. When you consider the typical remittance term of 48 days, or as much as 180 days, The Receivables Exchange is a welcome financial tool for small and mid-sized businesses.<br /></span></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.secondmarket.com/" title="blocked::http://www.secondmarket.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">SecondMarket</span></span></b></a></span></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:black;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:black;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">(<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">New York</span></b><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">, NY</span></b>) is the largest centralized marketplace for illiquid assets, including auction-rate securities, bankruptcy claims, collateralized debt obligations, limited partnership interests, private company stock, residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, warrants/restricted securities in public companies, and whole loans. SecondMarket’s online trading platform has more than 4,000 participants, including global financial institutions, hedge funds, private equity firms, mutual funds, corporations and other institutional and accredited investors that collectively manage over $1 trillion in assets available for investment.</span></span></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-39748594214901187622009-10-14T11:07:00.000-07:002009-10-14T11:11:04.218-07:00Some news from SmartHippo<em>We covered SmartHippo back during Finovate Startup, but wanted to update our readers on some exciting developments at their firm. Please see the attached press releases for more info.</em><br /><br /><strong>SmartHippo names former LendingTree GM Lori Collins CEO</strong><br />Previously grew revenues from $7 million to half a billion over seven years<br />SAN FRANCISCO, CA AND MONTREAL, CANADA -- October 14, 2009 -- SmartHippo,<br />the first web site that let consumers use the power of the community to shop for<br />financial products, announced today it has named Lori Collins as its new CEO.<br />“Weʼre very excited by Loriʼs unique experience in both the web and finance sectors,”<br />said Founder George Favvas, who will continue his involvement in the company as VP<br />Corporate Strategy. “Iʼm confident that with Lori at the helm we are well positioned for<br />our next phase of revenue growth.”<br />As General Manager of the LendingTree Exchange, Collins was responsible for sales,<br />relationship management, and product management for the LendingTree lender<br />network. She was part of the executive team which increased revenues from $7 million<br />to $476 million over seven years.<br />“SmartHippo has a very compelling business model,” Collins said. “Community-driven<br />product comparisons have become the norm in other industries, and Iʼm excited to be a<br />part of the company that is bringing these innovations to the financial space.”<br />Unlike intermediary web sites which match consumers with lenders based on business<br />relationships, SmartHippo is an open, transparent marketplace where consumers help<br />each other find the best financial products. They can ask questions, compare rates and<br />share reviews and experiences with other consumers and make a more informed<br />decision. Lenders and brokers participate by answering questions and posting rates,<br />and consumer feedback keeps them in check.<br />In another announcement today, SmartHippo announced it is expanding into the<br />Spanish market with the launch of HipoListo.es in partnership with Financialred<br />Network.<br /><br /><strong>About SmartHippo</strong><br />SmartHippo.com is the first-ever website that uses the power of community to help<br />consumers find the best mortgage rates and save money. SmartHippo allows any<br />individual to post information and feedback on the rate they received, and to compare<br />rates with other members of the community with similar profiles. Members of<br />SmartHippo can see real rates reported by real consumers, and sort through banks<br />based on feedback posted by other members of the community. The company is<br />privately held with offices in San Francisco and Montreal. www.smarthippo.com<br />Contact:<br />George Favvas<br />Founder and VP Corporate Strategy<br />george (at) smarthippo.com<br />(514) 242-5730<br />Media advisory: Lori Collins will be delivering the closing keynote at Startup Camp<br />Montreal tomorrow, October 15th. The event takes place at the Society for Arts and<br />Technology, 1195 Saint-Laurent boulevard, Montreal from 6pm to 11pm. Admission is<br />free. For info see: http://www.startupcampmontreal5.wikidot.com<br /><br />************<br /><br /><strong>SmartHippo expands into Spain with launch of HipoListo.es</strong><br />Joint venture with Financialred Networks poised to become leading player in market<br />SAN FRANCISCO, CA and MADRID, SPAIN -- October 14, 2009 -- SmartHippo, the<br />first web site that let consumers use the power of the community to shop for financial<br />products, announced today a strategic partnership with Financialred Networks which will<br />see the launch of HipoListo.es in the Spanish market.<br />Under the terms of the agreement, Financialred has acquired an exclusive license to<br />market the SmartHippo brand and technology platform in Spain.<br />“The web finance space is in its infancy in Spain and we believe we have an opportunity<br />to rapidly establish HipoListo as the dominant player in a market of 50 million<br />consumers” said Jesus Perez, Chief Strategy Officer of FinancialRed. “By leveraging<br />the SmartHippo platform we were able to significantly reduce our time to market.”<br />As part of the partnership, SmartHippo will manage the software platform while<br />Financialred focuses on localization and sales and marketing. As of todayʼs launch,<br />HipoListo.es mortgage vertical, with other verticals planned for early 2010, he added.<br />“Weʼre thrilled to be a partner in bringing the first social financial comparison shopping<br />engine to Spain,” said Lori Collins, CEO of SmartHippo. “Our partnership with<br />Financialred signifies our commitment to work with and drive profitability to media<br />companies with existing user bases.”<br />Separately today, SmartHippo announced that Collins, formerly GM at LendingTree, has<br />joined the company as its new CEO, taking over from George Favvas, who will remain<br />onboard as Founder and VP Corporate Strategy.<br /><br /><strong>About SmartHippo</strong><br />SmartHippo.com is the first-ever website that uses the power of community to help<br />consumers find the best mortgage rates and save money. SmartHippo allows any<br />individual to post information and feedback on the rate they received, and to compare<br />rates with other members of the community with similar profiles. Members of<br />SmartHippo can see real rates reported by real consumers, and sort through banks<br />based on feedback posted by other members of the community. The company is<br />privately held with offices in San Francisco and Montreal. www.smarthippo.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-62635201675460754322009-10-06T13:06:00.001-07:002009-10-06T13:09:06.392-07:00PEOPLE CAPITAL LAUNCHES HUMAN CAPITAL SCORE COLLEGE PLANNING TOOLThe following is a press release from People Capital, posted exactly as sent to Prosper Lending Review.<br /><br /> <em>New Web Tool Allows Student and College Planning Consultants to Compare College Options</em><br /><br /> <br /><br />NEW YORK – People Capital (<a href="http://people2capital.com/">http://people2capital.com/</a>), a Web resource for college students to obtain student loans via an online lending exchange, has launched the <a href="http://www.humancapitalscore.com/">Human Capital Score™</a> College Planning Tool (http://www.humancapitalscore.com/). The new Web tool is designed for students (and college planning consultants) who want to use the Human Capital Score to compare multiple projected income scenarios based on colleges they are considering attending. <br /><br /> <br /><br />The Human Capital Score College Planning Tool is a Web based college scenario planner that is targeted for students who are planning to go to college and need help measuring the economic value of various schools they are considering. Namely, the tool can help students decide whether it is worth the money spent to go to one school as compared to another, based on the income potential from the academic choices they make. The planning tool works when a user inputs key data about themselves (GPA, SAT scores, planned college major) and the various schools they are considering. The tool then calculates the data and presents a graph and chart documenting results of several scenarios (up to five maximum) of the user’s potential income 10 years after graduation, allowing the user to compare the results between colleges she is considering. This tool can also be used by college planning consultants and high school guidance counselors with a professional version available for their consulting needs. <br /><br /> <br /><br />The Human Capital Score College Planning Tool is predicated on the Human Capital Score, a Web calculator developed and launched earlier this year by People Capital. Built on research developed at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Insurance Department, the Human Capital Score helps students assess their student loan risk by using academic merit data such as GPA, standardized test scores, college and major, along with traditional demographics data and metrics, to give insight into their future earnings potential. <br /><br />“Since launching the Human Capital Score earlier this year, we have received feedback from users who found the tool helpful and insightful, but thought that the ability to compare various college scenarios would be an added benefit,” said Thomas Shelton, founder and CEO of People Capital. “The Human Capital Score College Planning Tool now adds this level of functionality; as students can use it to create multiple scenarios to help them better evaluate their loan risk, future potential earning income and possibly the college or university they will spend the next several years at.” <br /><br />The Human Capital Score College Planning Tool is available in three tiers of pricing:<br /><br /> <br /><br />· $19.95 – Compare and contrast up to two scenarios at a time, for one time use only<br /><br />· $29.95 – Compare and contrast up to five scenarios at a time, for one time use only <br /><br />· $199.95 – Compare and contrast up to five scenarios at a time for six months with unlimited usage<br /><br />About People Capital<br /><br />People Capital (http://www.people2capital.com) was founded by a team of world-class talent with backgrounds in student loans, consumer finance, credit ratings and new media in order to develop the next generation of credit risk management and funding for student loans. Its lending platform allows students to finance their college educations through improved access to private student loans. Its patent-pending Human Capital Score™ (http://www.humancapitalscore.com) measures students without credit history by using academic and credit data to model future individual income levels, and therefore their future ability to pay off the loan.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-69610955809690173662009-09-21T09:53:00.000-07:002009-09-21T09:56:46.835-07:00Green Sherpa Flexes For Competition With Mint/Quicken<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHi1wvZ_s1JmtTyvK4GEyPc0SAlFTygjvgBd1cEkmyfQOLx1hHReexB4Cx3n6S14Jm4HlgPYuDiFiFKnK4d2u3Irqrfw-Y_X78k2AO-8n6Wu0Vg6Cd706RmDW-vqSldsPi52ivNUYLGLi/s1600-h/gs_logo_500yb300.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHi1wvZ_s1JmtTyvK4GEyPc0SAlFTygjvgBd1cEkmyfQOLx1hHReexB4Cx3n6S14Jm4HlgPYuDiFiFKnK4d2u3Irqrfw-Y_X78k2AO-8n6Wu0Vg6Cd706RmDW-vqSldsPi52ivNUYLGLi/s320/gs_logo_500yb300.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383965575396375954" /></a><br />A few days ago I had the opportunity to talk with Erin Lozano, the COO and founder of <a href="https://www.greensherpa.com/static/media/index.html">Green Sherpa </a>about how the company has changed since the launch a year ago. <br /><br />Green Sherpa ended its Beta program in August and launched its full subscription services. They now support more than 10,000 financial institutions and in addition to those already serviced by Yodlee, also can manually establish connections to their customers’ banks—a service the competition isn’t offering. They’ve also added more cash-flow planning tools and goal-tracking tools for users and are getting ready to debut a few more new tools in the next 60 days (though I don’t get to report on those...yet.). <br /><br />Green Sherpa is one of the only hybrid aggregating services as they can combine automated aggregation as well as set up individual connections. Green Sherpa worked to establish additional layers of security beyond what is offered by their aggregation provider. They’re also one of just a handful of software-as-a-service (SaaS) or “cloud” software providers that is charging a fee for an online-only product in the personal financial management field.<br /><br />The company is lean and mean, with six employees and a ridiculously low breakeven point of only 5,000 subscribers, but their personal touch and low price (US $7.95 a month or $5.95 for pre-paying a year) sets them apart from other companies who provide software. Greens Sherpa is striving to provide its customers with an intimate snapshot of their own financial progress and future, not data on a dashboard.<br /><br />Green Sherpa eliminates the manual data of Excel and Quicken, but also allows customers to download their own data to save, archive and manipulate, even if they choose to cancel the service. <br /><br />The company also has an active advisory team including former leadership from Commission Junction. <br /><br />Green Sherpa rolled out an affiliate program this month, which is fully operated on their site, not served through an ad company. <br /><br />I asked Lozano about how the marketplace has changed since we spoke last in March. She explained that Mint and Quicken have released features that are becoming more forward-looking, and hence now more competing in the same space. Following the recent announcement that Mint would be moving under the Intuit brand, Lozano surprisingly said this is good news to her. “We think that this validates the web based personal financial management space which will be good for all remaining players in the market, including Green Sherpa” she said via email in a follow up conversation. <br /><br />One thing that hasn’t changed is Green Sherpa’s commitment to a valuable forward-looking product, zero conflict of interest (not advertising/selling to subscribers) and complete privacy to users. <br /><br />Green Sherpa has changed in one way—temporarily suspending subscriptions, giving users a 90 day free trial period to use the service. Existing subscribers will receive an additional 90 days free. The official company announcement to subscribers is expected out this week.<br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer in Seattle, writing on family and personal finance. You can also find her online at <a href="http://www.jessicaward.me">www.jessicaward.me </a>or <a href="http://www.thepennywisefamily.com">www.thepennywisefamily.com</a></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-14265116763695429782009-09-15T17:54:00.000-07:002009-09-17T13:32:49.066-07:00A Note on Note TradingPeer to Peer lending has been around via <a href="http://www.prosper.com">Prosper.com</a> and <a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-2535342-10598673">LendingClub.com</a> for a while now, but another option that is less prominent is after-market note trading on these sites.<br /><br />There are many advantages to after-market note trading. For sellers, this means having some liquidity in your investment—being able to cash out before the loan fully matures—shortening a three year loan into one or two years or even less time. <br /><br />For buyers, the advantage is being able to see some repayment history on the loan. If you’re unsure about jumping into peer to peer loans, this might be a good way to go. <br /><br />Also, for prospective buyers on Prosper, a note is a loan that has already funded, so you don’t have to wait for an auction or funding period. Your note will be earning interest and expecting payment much faster. <br /><br />Prosper.com uses Folio Investing as their note trading partner, and charges sellers a 1% transaction fee. LendingClub.com uses Folio<em>fn</em> and also charges a 1% seller fee. <br /><br />Prospective note buyers should remember that they’re not circumnavigating the investor account maintenance fees at 1% at both Prosper and Lending Club—regardless of if you bought the loan at issuance or the note later in the after-market, if the money is owed to you, the maintenance fees are charged to you. <br /><br />Also, at Prosper the note trading platform only applies to notes issued after July 13th of 2009. At Lending Club your notes can be a little older if you want to re-sell them. The Lending Club platform extends to notes issued back to October 12, 2008. <br /><br />Overall, the note trading process is fairly smooth. You usually have to digitally “sign” an agreement with the trading platform but otherwise the sites are smoothly integrated. You don’t have to open another account or fund another account—your funds will move fairly seamlessly between your Prosper or Lending Club and the designated note trading platform account whether you’re buying or selling the notes. <br /><br />If you've done any note trading, I'd love to hear your feedback and comments. I haven't tried this system myself yet, but may consider it in the future. <br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer based in Seattle. She writes on family, business and money. </em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-15058776248295566492009-09-14T14:12:00.000-07:002009-09-14T14:21:59.398-07:00Mint Selling to Intuit for $170 Million<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kN3Gc1az41ToHOZWL_RP8GHVMGR3JmBqydc1OBccV0-43RBmh5xSlHKOZK2LH3kEmrIavaq1n3Yanr3oBqVOo2_nSUU-8TyjVkgcVSaOeSz5SPu15AB3uSt9qvLoSaNUpA15MVJsAX-E/s1600-h/mint_white.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kN3Gc1az41ToHOZWL_RP8GHVMGR3JmBqydc1OBccV0-43RBmh5xSlHKOZK2LH3kEmrIavaq1n3Yanr3oBqVOo2_nSUU-8TyjVkgcVSaOeSz5SPu15AB3uSt9qvLoSaNUpA15MVJsAX-E/s320/mint_white.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381434716747944706" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.mint.com">Mint.com</a>, the leader in online personal financial management has just signed an agreement to be purchased by Intuit (makers of Quicken, QuickBooks and TurboTax) for an amount disclosed as “approximately $170 Million” in an Intuit press release. <br /><br />Intuit’s Quicken Online is a competing free service to Mint.com and users of both services may be wondering “will Quicken Online/Mint remain free?” <br /><br /><a href="http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/09/14/intuit-buys-mint-com-both-remain-free-to-users/">Josh Smith, of Wallet Pop </a>cleared that up for everyone in a story released today, quoting Scott Gulbransen of Intuit who assures users that both services are expected to remain free. <br /><br />Mint.com CEO and founder Aaron Patzer will be joining Intuit as the General Manager of the Personal Finance group where he will be responsible for “online, desktop and mobile consumer personal finance offerings” for the company. <br /><br />Patzer reported on the Mint.com blog that the sale is good news for Mint users who will gain from Intuit’s size and status as a leader in financial software citing that “by joining Intuit, we can accelerate our ability to add more fantastic new product functionality into both Quicken and Mint." <br /><br />The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. <br /><br />Since launching two years ago, Mint.com has garnered 1.5 million users and is tracking $200 billion in transactions according to an Intuit press release. <br /><br />Intuit was founded in 1983 and had an annual revenue of $3.2 billion in FY 2009. They have 7,800 employees worldwide according to their press release. <br /><br /><a href="http://about.intuit.com/about_intuit/press_room/press_release/articles/2009/IntuitToAcquireMint.html">Intuit Press Release</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mint.com/blog/updates/why-mint-com-plus-intuit-is-a-big-idea/">Mint.com blog Post</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><em><a href="http://www.jessicaward.me">Jessica Ward</a> is a freelance writer based in Seattle. She also blogs at <a href="http://www.thepennywisefamily.com">The Penny-Wi$e Family</a> and <a href="http://www.debtkid.com">DebtKid.com</a></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-85702268780606058962009-09-01T18:58:00.000-07:002009-09-01T19:01:35.183-07:00Lending Club Reaches Another MilestoneLending Club began issuing loans in September 2007, and has just reached the $50 million loaned mark. Loan demand has surpassed $500 million (yes, folks, that’s half a billion—we’re almost talking government sized dollars here!).<br /><br />Underwriting has kept Lending Club to issuing just the $50 million in loans, and investors have received a 9.64% net annualized returns (that’s doing the math after fees and bad loans are taken out).<br /><br />This does make Lending Club the “biggest fish” in the P2P sea right now.<br /><br />So far in August, Lending Club has issued $3.1 million in loans.<br /><br /><em>Author's note: This post replaces a post from yesterday which included a factual error. Apologies for the duplication. </em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-4690749295361745152009-08-28T12:35:00.000-07:002009-08-28T15:01:52.405-07:00Many Changes at Mint.Com<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSNzyqv9N8vCDnwWVF6JhPxR3cBOuw8lTZw4Ga4ReQYPAO7w2lqaGkOSV2JIn9VNrxQj9tGeZaxrGDxNbuh_mIFS0psTKRM5j4lJ89X5pPveyXBQq2gB-dlSUPqHvH08h-_6A0kWezqkj/s1600-h/MintLogo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 215px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 84px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374359105014139730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSNzyqv9N8vCDnwWVF6JhPxR3cBOuw8lTZw4Ga4ReQYPAO7w2lqaGkOSV2JIn9VNrxQj9tGeZaxrGDxNbuh_mIFS0psTKRM5j4lJ89X5pPveyXBQq2gB-dlSUPqHvH08h-_6A0kWezqkj/s320/MintLogo.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Earlier this month <a href="http://www.mint.com/">Mint.com</a> received another $14 million in series C funding. This round was led by DAG Ventures, and includes Founders Fund. Already investing in Mint are Benchmark Capital, Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital, and Sherpalo Ventures.<br /><br />Mint.com doesn’t disclose it’s revenues, but Aaron Patzer, CEO told TechCrunch earlier this month that revenue is up over eight times year over year.<br /><br />Mint has 1.4 Million registered users, tracking $175 billion in transactions and $47 billion in assets.<br /><br />Also this month, Mint has offered a new improved Web site to its users. Improvements include better graphing and trending tools as well as the ability to budget for income as well as expenses—which will better help users to project cash flow. Mint now has sixteen graphs that can show you the way around your personal finances.<br /><br />The budgeting tools have also improved to include an “everything else” category (showing your spending in non-budgeted categories). Also, amounts can be rolled over in Mint from one month to the next. Refreshing indeed!<br /><br />I’m especially enjoying the new traffic-signal type alert system that shows my budget categories as “All Good,” “Slow Down” and “Over Budget,” in the appropriate red, yellow or green, but responses on the Mint Blog are showing that many readers want the old “bar system” graphic returned (yes, it is helpful, so I can’t blame them).<br /><br />The iPhone app came out a while ago, but there isn’t one yet for us Blackberry users, I’m hoping that will come soon.<br /><br />Also, Mint is wisely beginning to utilize some of the vast amounts of consumer data that is available. Since membership is anonymous Mint users like myself don’t have to feel outraged, but companies can study consumerism trends from the data accumulated by Mint. This use will likely help to keep Mint free to users, and profitable, the elusive golden egg that seems to prove so troublesome for so many of these internet finance startups.<br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer based in Seattle, Wash. She writes on money, family and life at <a href="http://thepennywisefamily.com/">The Pennywise Family</a> and <a href="http://www.debtkid.com/">DebtKid</a>.</em> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-8865474243609967442009-08-27T16:01:00.001-07:002009-08-27T16:06:57.431-07:00Spoke too soon?I've had several corrections today about my earlier post today regarding Loanio.<br /><br />I took their recent S-1 Amendment showing that they'd sold the code for cash as an exit strategy but some readers think that this is a reasonable strategy to maintain operations during a quiet period. Fair enough, I just can't understand what would happen when the quiet period ends, and they don't have the original code. Then what? Perhaps they've got a coder would could write a new one? Perhaps sell the entire operations? There are more opportunities than I'd initally estimated, and thanks for filling me in.<br /><br />That said, that's my problem, and not Loanio's, and I don't want to lead anyone astray, so I'll retract my suspicions that they may be gone. Sadly, the quiet period leaves them unable to let us know what really is going on, so we'll just have to wait and keep watching. <br /><br />My apologies for the hype/suspicions, and thanks to all the dedicated readers who took the time to set me straight either in comments or via email.<br /><br />--JessicaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-72273976602241636072009-08-27T10:05:00.000-07:002009-08-27T10:05:00.050-07:00Another One Bites The Dust. Loanio Has Sold Code for Cash.<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeeohUBp-wREekpxbY400iGur-g-__B0OQLob0hmAO1RGoUJXDwEFFrtOuUSEs-BOPDJetr6YMq7jFx7x7Qw2JSesfOXPlGsqBMMas9IqCvlT76RtD2YoYd6Ev21syIhJ7UXyRXmIeUkr/s1600-h/LoanioLogo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 72px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374319989003844050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeeohUBp-wREekpxbY400iGur-g-__B0OQLob0hmAO1RGoUJXDwEFFrtOuUSEs-BOPDJetr6YMq7jFx7x7Qw2JSesfOXPlGsqBMMas9IqCvlT76RtD2YoYd6Ev21syIhJ7UXyRXmIeUkr/s320/LoanioLogo.jpg" /></a><br />American peer-to-peer lending platform Loanio appears to be vanishing as well.<br /><br />The company, which originally launched in October 2008 has only issued seven loans, one if which is now thirty days past due. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpyeLqvd3kuF_aWwWyW8s-jvW1sW08KEO9F9B1gDlOZhb1TFO0YevKhfRJEISHp_VznIM5oRF1upqcIgRU5fILelF22zztKwndYWKnDRNruFjPqWkI3cXxlwTSPUlzjK2gTcG3WUZmZBUA/s1600-h/loaniomessage.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 66px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374320101414577522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpyeLqvd3kuF_aWwWyW8s-jvW1sW08KEO9F9B1gDlOZhb1TFO0YevKhfRJEISHp_VznIM5oRF1upqcIgRU5fILelF22zztKwndYWKnDRNruFjPqWkI3cXxlwTSPUlzjK2gTcG3WUZmZBUA/s320/loaniomessage.jpg" /></a><br /><br />The latest amendment to their S-1 filing (August 14) discloses that they’ve permanently licensed their source code to an unnamed corporation. The code was sold for $375,000, of which $100,000 was the down payment, and the remainder will be paid over 18 months. The blog p2plendingnews.com notes that the Loanio engineering team has shrunk from five full time engineers to three part timers since their last filing with the SEC. </div><div> </div><div>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer and blogger from Seattle. She blogs on family and frugality at <a href="http://thepennywisefamily.com/">The Pennywise Family </a>and <a href="http://www.debtkid.com/">DebtKid</a>.</div><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpyeLqvd3kuF_aWwWyW8s-jvW1sW08KEO9F9B1gDlOZhb1TFO0YevKhfRJEISHp_VznIM5oRF1upqcIgRU5fILelF22zztKwndYWKnDRNruFjPqWkI3cXxlwTSPUlzjK2gTcG3WUZmZBUA/s1600-h/loaniomessage.jpg"></a> </p><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-73858803286950912092009-08-26T15:10:00.000-07:002009-08-26T15:11:34.934-07:00Review Those Statements! The CARD Act Is In Effect NowJust a friendly reminder to our readers to check your credit card statements. Many Americans are discovering that in the month of July their credit card providers snuck up on them and slipped in fees, higher interest rates or other charges in advance of the enactment of the CARD Act, which will further regulate issuers of credit cards.<br /><br />Here’s a breakdown of the phases and what they include.<br /><br />First phase: August 2009<br />Consumers will now receive statements 21 days in advance of their payment due date. The industry standard before was just 14 days.<br /><br />Card issuers must also give consumers 45 days of notice prior to an interest rate change.<br /><br />Second phase: February 2010<br />Card issuers can only raise rates on existing balances if the consumer is A: 60 days or more past due, B: A promotional rate expired, or C: A consumer doesn’t complete the workout plan or D: A variable rate increase because of movement in an index.<br /><br />The CARD act will also restrict access to credit cards for borrowers under the age of 21 without a co-signer. I expect that P2P lending will be a place to turn for these borrowers—and potentially as part of a long term trend, as these borrowers won’t be “hooked young” by credit in it’s plastic form.<br /><br />Already credit card borrowers are turning towards peer to peer lending as a replacement/payoff strategy to their credit cards. Blogger Matt Jabs, of <a href="http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/">DebtFreeAdventure</a> is conducting a “DIY Consolidation” with Lending Club after his credit card company hiked his rate up. I considered it myself after a credit card I no longer use increased its annual fee, but I decided instead to close the account, as interest on my remaining card is still low. <br /><br />In sum, don’t forget to take a look at your latest statements to make sure that your credit card company didn’t sneak in adjustments to your agreement before the CARD Act took effect this month.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-23010124775245286602009-08-26T09:50:00.000-07:002009-08-26T09:53:20.364-07:00Say it Ain’t So! Could Pertuity Direct Be Gone?I received a tip in my email box that a special meeting of shareholders occurred on August 21st for the board of Trustees at the National Retail Fund III. The purpose of the meeting was “to approve the liquidation and distribution of all shares of the fund.” Oh snap!<br /><br />Say it ain’t so? Could <a href="http://www.pertuitydirect.com">Pertuity Direct</a> really be leaving us? They’ve been pretty quiet in recent months, not issuing a press release since March, and no blog posts since May. A couple of months ago their Commission Junction account deactivated without warning to advertisers (I was very surprised by this as I’d been running their ads for some time on my Pennywise Family blog). Keep in mind, the company only went "live" in January of 2009. <br /><br />A few prominent PD figures have recently vanished from the Twitterscape.<br /><br />Today I tried to call, but the telephone numbers have all vanished from the Web site. I found a number for Gemini Fund Management, the “transfer agent” for National Retail Fund III. I don’t remember them being part of the picture when I interviewed the PD team back in March, but that is the sort of detail I may have forgotten. <br /><br />I asked for a telephone for PD and found the number disconnected and forwarded, to CEO Kim Muhota’s cell phone. When I spoke to them in the Winter, I seem to remember there being a staff of eight, so this seemed like an unlikely transfer. <br /><br />I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on, but for now this is where it stands—it looks like Pertuity Direct may be gone. I’ll post an update to verify when/if I’m able to learn more.<br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance blogger and writer based in Seattle. She blogs on frugal living, and family life at <a href="http://www.thepennywisefamily.com">www.thepennywisefamily.com.</a> </em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-53293629323255608862009-08-18T09:46:00.000-07:002009-08-18T09:46:00.170-07:00Another Peer To Peer Lender in Spain: Lubbus<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiDeH6EvAfqKIw7Yo-iRQ46SJF1oueYwHXT_LM5TTJMk2omO8LrJFvgdedQtTPsCXmd8m3brPwi8vik9zJokiCY4jtjMBjRmEirJ_vrYh_Tsmswi3RJBAQ0oOafcWALaLGG0GanSxOmPt/s1600-h/lubbus_beta.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiDeH6EvAfqKIw7Yo-iRQ46SJF1oueYwHXT_LM5TTJMk2omO8LrJFvgdedQtTPsCXmd8m3brPwi8vik9zJokiCY4jtjMBjRmEirJ_vrYh_Tsmswi3RJBAQ0oOafcWALaLGG0GanSxOmPt/s320/lubbus_beta.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369305421688837346" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.lubbus.com">Lubbus</a> is another Peer to Peer lender in Spain that I just learned a little about today. They’ve been in business since 2008, but the site launched on April 19th, being the first P2P lender in Spain. Another interesting thing is that Lubbus offers a secondary market like Prosper does. <br /><br />I ran across an interview with the CEO online and at the time (sadly the article was undated) the hold up in licensing was data-authority security regulation (i.e. Web site security). Unsure if that has been resolved or not, but the site does appear to be functional. <br /><br />Unfortunately, Lubbus.com is very graphics-intense, so computer translators don’t translate it well. If you read Spanish—would you take a look and see if you can tell what’s going on? I’d sure appreciate any help on that.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-66775751277419581872009-08-17T09:15:00.000-07:002009-08-17T09:15:00.091-07:00Comnitae offers P2P Loans in Spain<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0QmOr4CqyptqhaVPpxw3XVoUAe8PrZnRGFOzzOq46gGbD4TEdxoFsobcPOdhKkkmYs7_7ldp0OaTimrLhl9z0pysPZtDSJieh0-c-byawHE7U-0BK4omxjc7rbuBPELKS9dH0rLGiLEWN/s1600-h/ComunitaeLogo.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 233px; height: 93px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0QmOr4CqyptqhaVPpxw3XVoUAe8PrZnRGFOzzOq46gGbD4TEdxoFsobcPOdhKkkmYs7_7ldp0OaTimrLhl9z0pysPZtDSJieh0-c-byawHE7U-0BK4omxjc7rbuBPELKS9dH0rLGiLEWN/s320/ComunitaeLogo.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369297519521987554" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.comunitae.com">Comunitae.com</a> has begun offering peer to peer (P2P loans in Spain). <br /><br />According to Comunitae funded ten loans during June—their first full month of Activity. Comunitae is a bid-based peer to peer platform, similar to prosper. There are 5,000 registered users on the Web site, but only 645 are active investors and 780 are borrowers. <br /><br />In the Comunitae system, borrowers are ranked by risk as “A,” “B” or “C” and interest rates range after bidding from 7-12%. <br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer based in the Seattle area. She writes on personal finance, family and adoption. Her Web site is www.jessicaward.me. </em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-65377553288621493652009-08-15T12:55:00.000-07:002009-08-15T12:55:00.419-07:00Zopa to Re-Launch In Italy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmwSh8SCMiw1VAcZFgJ_r5z6Do9YnoScW3ffeRzSUdlPcZLiDdZK7TofEu8kQEZY6n10dRfBHBiWNIslo21ZT_3EzDXR39YgW3cBs5YhWp1ZAR_ySbYI4LfQi3fsN52YyMobZ4NjaGKZr/s1600-h/logo_7px.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 121px; height: 87px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmwSh8SCMiw1VAcZFgJ_r5z6Do9YnoScW3ffeRzSUdlPcZLiDdZK7TofEu8kQEZY6n10dRfBHBiWNIslo21ZT_3EzDXR39YgW3cBs5YhWp1ZAR_ySbYI4LfQi3fsN52YyMobZ4NjaGKZr/s320/logo_7px.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368797350694645106" /></a>After being closed down for peer to peer loans since July, <a href="http://www.zopa.com">Zopa </a>has reached an agreement to re-open in Italy in September. Loans already issued were being serviced but no new ones were made. <br /><br />What makes this interesting is what caused the shut down. It wasn’t the peer-to-peer platform, or unregulated securities as in many other places—but the holding accounts where funds were held between being deposited and being applied to the fully-funded loan. <br /><br />Because these “transit lender accounts” were aggregated they resulted in a sum warranting regulation by the Italian government. <br /><br />Now Zopa will establish separate accounts for each lender, and re-developing their system to accommodate. They expect to be back online at the beginning of September. <br /><br />Jessica Ward is a freelance writer from Seattle. You can also read her posts on <a href="http://www.debtkid.com">www.debtkid.com</a> and <a href="http://www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com">www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-38921205458698280292009-08-13T11:53:00.000-07:002009-08-13T11:53:00.687-07:00Lending Club Raises Rates, Prosper Responds by Hearlding AuctionBeginning July 30th, <a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-2535342-10598673">Lending Club</a> has raised average rates charged to borrowers by 0.5% in response to increased interest rates charged by mainstream lenders. <br /><br />Investors will be seeing increased rates, and already the current net annualized return of all Lending Club investors was over 9.5%. <br /><br />Lending Club has continued to see increasing number of loan requests from prime borrowers and believes that the higher rate remains competitive. The very best, grade A loans, according to a company press release have actually been lowered by 0.46% to further attract the best borrowers. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.prosper.com">Prosper.com</a> has responded by further emphasizing its’ auction model, driving interest rates as low as its investors are willing to fund based on risk. <br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer from Seattle. You can also read her work at <a href="http://www.debtkid.com">www.debtkid.com</a> and <a href="http://www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com">www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com</a>. </em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-26740130591596968922009-08-11T11:08:00.000-07:002009-08-11T11:15:03.737-07:00Back to School with Peer To Peer Loans<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ64jVw3HupCr86a5yJDZpGwhXy6WLTFSLgHx-XWHVaJovppZkhZF5lQCfDto9fUKZx1BwUQFfZCqr1fNNg6lgbvHsXDhtqS7cKIELEH_xjoAt9zvEHhR2v-KqJ5_nHe0NZO3uQI8mR2Xf/s1600-h/tu_logo.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 199px; height: 83px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ64jVw3HupCr86a5yJDZpGwhXy6WLTFSLgHx-XWHVaJovppZkhZF5lQCfDto9fUKZx1BwUQFfZCqr1fNNg6lgbvHsXDhtqS7cKIELEH_xjoAt9zvEHhR2v-KqJ5_nHe0NZO3uQI8mR2Xf/s320/tu_logo.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368771116425944786" /></a> <a href="http://www.tuitionu.com">TuitionU</a> is now offering two funding methods for college students seeking supplemental tuition funding. <br /><br />They’ve partnered with GreenNote to offer peer to peer student loans at 6.8% plus a 2% origination fee. Lenders will get a 5.8% return on their investment with a $100 minimum investment. These student loans are disbursed to the institutions instead of the student, so you can feel good about not funding a keg party on Friday night with your investment. Not only can students solicit student loans online but they can also invite friends, families and social networks to contribute towards their loan. Prospective investors can search which loans to fund based on school affiliation, major, sports or even Greek societies. <br /><br />Additionally, TuitionU is partnering with National Lending Associates to allow tuition loans to be stretched from the usual ten months to over ten years. <br /><br />TuitionU is a division of Cology and makes its money by charging loan origination fees on the loans it issues. In 2008, 15 lenders offered $125 Million in private loans to students. This year, more than 100 Lenders are prepared to offer $400 million in loans. <br /><br />The TuitionU alliances come at an excellent time, as Fynanz left the US market back in January as a provider of peer to peer student loans. <br /><br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer based in Seattle, WA. She writes on personal finance, family and frugal living. You can follow her on twitter as <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jessc098">@jessc098</a> or visit her online at <a href="http://www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com">www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com</a></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-64031359951280413732009-07-23T09:51:00.000-07:002009-07-23T16:07:01.585-07:00DebtGoal Adds Aggregating FeaturesWe’ve written a lot about <a href="http://www.debtgoal.com/">DebtGoal </a>(<a href="http://prosperlending.blogspot.com/2009/04/finovate-2009-debtgoalcom.html">here</a> and <a href="http://prosperlending.blogspot.com/2009/04/makeover-at-debtgoalcom.html">here</a>)in the past here at PLR, so it seems like a good idea to point out some new features they’ve recently launched.<br /><br />DebtGoal now has aggregating capabilities now! This will make the data-entry a lot simpler. Previously it required you to enter your statement, interest rate, new purchases and all payments made. I sometimes make several payments in a month, depending on how business is going, so I was spending a lot of time on the DebtGoal site punching in numbers.<br /><br />DebtGol continues to improve the usefulness of their charts and graphs as relevant to the user interactive experience, however the “on track” features are still a little wonky. The sum of my minimum monthly payments is just $26. DebtGoal is “pushing” me to go to $91. Following this plan, I’ll be debt free sometime in 2045. <em>Yay for me!</em> Actually, we’re planning to be free and clear by the end of this year following a far more aggressive plan) DebtGoal’s slider will only go as far as $91, so I’ll play with it more and fudge my minimum payments a bit higher to see if that makes it work right for me.<br /><br />What I’d really love to see DebtGoal do, is to add a calculator like <a href="http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/debtplanner/debtplanner.jsp">CNN’s</a>.The CNN calculator allows you to either choose what you can pledge towards your goal and get a date from that; or choose a date and get a dollar goal. So far, I haven’t found a way to change my DebtGoal “debt free date” to 12/31/09.<br /><br />I see the value in most of the tools on the site, but my favorite parts are the blog and message boards, which are a wealth of information—especially for math nerds like myself who enjoy seeing compound interest reversed and reduced.<br /><br />And yes, while DebtGoal is aggregating now, I’m passing on that feature and continue to manually-enter my data. I begged for an aggregating feature, but I’m still concerned about their ability to scale, and after my <a href="http://prosperlending.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-big-can-glitch-be-and-still-be.html">previous adventure</a>—receiving someone else’s statement—I want to give them a little more time to work out any kinks that might arise before I air any more of my financial laundry than necessary.<br /><br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer and blogger from Seattle. She writes on family, money and business. For frugal family tips you can also see her blog at <a href="http://www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com/">www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com</a>.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-37343409986030970102009-07-22T17:34:00.000-07:002009-07-22T17:52:09.464-07:00Where You Can Borrow and Lend With Prosper.comProsper.com is back in business with the blessing of the SEC. Not all of the states are on board, however, and Prosper is working to gain approval in the rest of the states. Here's a quick and easy list of where Prosper has gained licensees so far (updated late July, 2009).<br /><table border="1"><br /> <tr> <th>Borrowers</th> <th>Lenders</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Alabama<br />Alaska<br />Arizona<br />Arkansas<br />California<br />Colorado<br />Connecticut<br />Delaware<br />District of Columbia<br />Florida<br />Georgia<br />Hawaii<br />Idaho<br />Illinois<br />Indiana<br />Kentucky<br />Louisiana<br />maryland<br />Massaschusetts<br />Michigan<br />Minnesota<br />Mississippi<br />Missouri<br />Montana<br />Nebraska<br />Nevada<br />New Hampshire<br />New Jersey<br />New Mexico<br />New York<br />North Carolina<br />Ohio<br />Oklahoma<br />Oregon<br />Pennsylvania<br />Rhode Island<br />South Carolina<br />South Dakota<br />Tennessee<br />Texas<br />Utah<br />Vermont<br />Virginia<br />Washington<br />West Virginia<br />Wisconsin<br />Wyoming</td><br /> <td>California<br />Colorado<br />Delaware<br />Georgia<br />Hawaii<br />Illinois<br />Minnesota<br />Montana<br />Nevada<br />New York<br />South Carolina<br />South Dakota<br />Utah<br />Washington<br />Wisconsin<br />Wyoming</td><br /> </tr><br /></table><br /><br />Source: Prosper.com/help<br /><br /><em><a href="http://www.jessicaward.me">Jessica Ward</a> is a freelance writer based in the Seattle area. She writes on finances, business and family. </em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-85464602785501159182009-07-22T16:13:00.000-07:002009-07-22T16:29:11.053-07:00Review of SimpliFi: Virtual Financial Advisor<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UjxNOF2I0cfh2xGC3e8Gl3D1g0rhI-jfhXWNxjGmdOYVaTogAMlWDAP9vXuex6w4ioG_3eNt6S9nCFEmE6dirOAv1oL30JTEU-SVXanrjiU7RS1z8VYru40RgJJaKWWsuVm4GMtKf-Z7/s1600-h/Simplifi.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 304px; height: 69px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UjxNOF2I0cfh2xGC3e8Gl3D1g0rhI-jfhXWNxjGmdOYVaTogAMlWDAP9vXuex6w4ioG_3eNt6S9nCFEmE6dirOAv1oL30JTEU-SVXanrjiU7RS1z8VYru40RgJJaKWWsuVm4GMtKf-Z7/s400/Simplifi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361429279598576450" /></a><br /><br /><br />We wrote in <a href="http://prosperlending.blogspot.com/2009/04/prosper-among-best-of-show-at.html">the Winter</a> about <a href="http://www.simplifi.net/">SimpliFi</a>—a winner of the “best of show” award at Finovate Startup. SimpliFi is in private Beta right now and available to test drive so I took it for a spin this afternoon.<br /><br />SimpliFi is a financial health assessment tool and bills itself as a “virtual investment advisor.” SimpliFi is even registered with the SEC as a Registered Investment Advisor.<br /><br />The Web site is well organized, easy to use and clear. It doesn’t confuse the reader with mumbo-jumbo and I think would be accessible for individuals with any level of financial knowledge.<br /><br />“Sophie,” the “virtual advisor” gives you the impression of a consultation, rather than working with a calculator, but ultimately to me, the results felt far more like a calculator.<br /><br />After entering annual incomes for each member of our family and annual retirement account amounts, I was surprised to see that “Sophie” calculated the take-home-pay and taxes, and then returned a monthly take-home amount which was way off base. The system assumes that our retirement accounts are 401Ks with a monthly amount contributed. That is true for one job which has two retirement accounts drawn from it (there was only an option to show one), but for my retirement account, I write a check for $5,000 at the end of the year to fully-fund my IRA. I’ll have to fudge the numbers on this by saying I don’t have a retirement account, but instead have a short-term savings account depositing $416/mo, but I’m not sure how to record interest or growth except for to log in and empty the virtual “savings account” and manually adjust-up the 401K account.<br /><br />Sophie doesn’t know we claim two children as deductions (you can enter this, but it’s not in the location you would expect to find it, nor is there a prompt to ask the question). <br /><br />It took me a little monkeying around to discover I’d made a data-entry error in my account set up that made my monthly mortgage payment greater than the outstanding balance of my mortgage. I could tell that something was wrong (who has an annual budget shortfall of over $400,000…besides Congress?). I’d love to see a balance sheet that would allow me to check my data-entry work. Instead I flipped through every screen to try to tell where I’d made the mistake. Additionally, the automatic conversion from my annual data entry to the monthly result was confusing to me, because it didn’t tell me that it was going to do that.<br /><br />The confusion continues when I see that SimpliFi promises to never sell me anything, but then provides free service by advertising products I might need. Maybe it’s the copywriter in me, but those two messages shouldn’t appear in the same collateral for any product.<br /><br />Finally, I’m no professional, and I’m not registered with the SEC, but I respectfully disagree with Sophie’s investment advice. I’ve worked with several investment planners and they all scream bloody murder when they see how much life insurance I carry (about 4x the recommended amount). What they don’t know is that I have a special needs child, and want to ensure she has care if anything happens to my husband and I. Sophie didn’t bat an eye—or send a digital protest that I was over-insured (seeing as how eye-batting is a digital impossibility in her domain).<br /><br />Also, Sophie recommended a massive reallocation of investments, including moving 32% of our investments to bonds. Are you kidding me? A two-income household with both adults under the age of 30, not planning to retire until 72, and we should have a third of our investments in bonds? I’ve certainly never heard *that* one from either of my planners.<br /><br />Sophie also suggested I increase my monthly payment on my credit card to roughly 2/3 of my monthly income. Since Sophie doesn’t have to eat or feed children, perhaps that would be a reality for her, but my budget can only tolerate a payment of 1/6 of that. Sophie’s recommend “emergency fund” would keep our household operational for just six weeks. Perhaps she doesn’t live in the Pacific Northwest, where the economy comes and goes with volcanoes, earthquakes and tides?<br /><br />All of this aside, Sophie gives me a B+ in my “Goal Point Average” for my 20 minutes of effort. I’m afraid I’ve got to give Sophie a D-, mostly for cool graphics and ease of use. The investment advice just isn’t my style. That said, I guess her plan is better than none at all, and I can see many potential improvements that could make this system very useful (for instance, I’d love to see it integrated with my actual balance sheet in Mint (then Sophie might know what it costs to feed my kids…).<br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a full-time freelance writer in the Seattle area. She writes on family and personal finance. You can follow her on Twitter as @jessc098 or read more about her family’s penny-pinching adventures at <a href="http://www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com/">www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com</a>.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-35256014373830743732009-07-17T02:08:00.000-07:002009-07-22T15:10:09.964-07:00Kiva Adds Currency Risk ProtectionI recently read <em>Banker to the Poor </em>by Muhammad Yunus, and was surprised that one of the primary barriers to stability in the microfinance business is currency fluctuations between countries.<br /><br />It makes sense that the countries most vulnerable and in need of microfinance are often the countries at the greatest risk for fluctuations.<br /><br />That of course got me thinking about my own Kiva Account. Would my paltry $25 be there to re-loan when the loan was repaid?<br /><br />It doesn’t surprise me to see that Kiva has already thought about that. In June, Kiva.org launched a currency risk protection tool to better protect Kiva Borrowers against fluctuations in their borrower’s native currency.<br /><br />The tool works by limiting the foreign currency risk for field partners to a devaluation of 20%. Any amounts beyond that is shared by Kiva lenders, if the field partner organization has selected to use the currency protection tool.<br /><br />Next time you fund a Kiva loan you can check on this by viewing “About the Loan.” In the section there is a label titled “Currency Risk” and there are three risk statuses.<br />1. Covered: If the field partner has not opted in to the risk sharing program.<br />2. Possible: if the field partner has opted in to risk sharing.<br />3. N/A: if the partner doesn’t need to take risk precautions as they disburse loans in US Dollars.<br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer and blogger in the Seattle, WA area. She writes on family, money and business. You can learn more about her projects at www.jessicaward.me</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-33041281285692948872009-07-16T08:44:00.000-07:002009-07-23T16:09:27.087-07:00People2Capital.com: Poised to Issue P2P Student Loans This Fall<a href="http://www.people2capital.com/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 83px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYRlZ1uv1-5U7jTuBeOvKkKT9by3jIsTt0RvsFUZ-DSMd4JX_38-muPSqjgFLLYSF-0DAb8pSHSln9G9T2XYbBXL4kIt-BioYH73bfwxt63DXD0nQ83SdpvLuUwwIa-mnfI3cXZc95lYO/s320/PeopleCapital.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358760350351218482" border="0" /></a><br />I had the opportunity to hold an email interview with Alan Samuels, Chief Product Officer at <a href="http://www.people2capital.com/">People Capita</a><a href="http://www.people2capital.com/">l</a> this past week regarding their new P2P student loan platform.<br /><br />People Capital will be launching this fall—first to institutional accredited investors under a private placement memorandum, and later they’ll be filling a S-1 to open their platform to all prospective peer to peer lenders.<br /><br />People Capital will be providing legally-compliant “private student loans” which are not bankrupt-able, unlike other P2P loans. Mr. Samuels cites a potential $113 Billion gap in federal college funding limits and the actual costs of college attendance in the USA as a growing market for these private student loans. Also, many lenders are shying away from investing in student loans due to college students' lack of established credit history and the difficulty of measuring risk without a credit score.<br /><br />Samuels explained to me how People Capital can navigate this marketplace better than any of the competition due to their patent-pending “Human Capital Score” which is a proprietary underwriting tool. The Human Capital Score will include the students’ field of study, test scores, and GPA to determine the student’s creditworthiness.<br /><br />Loans will be available on a long term or short term basis, and a requirement of being a legally-compliant private student loan, enrollment verification is mandated. Like other P2P loans funding isn’t guaranteed, and depends on how attractive the borrower’s request is to prospective lenders, and how large the pool of lenders is.<br /><br />People Capital is in Series B funding, and has just received an additional $500,000 from The Serious Change Fund, helmed by investor Josh Mailman. (Source: WealthReview News)<br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer in the Seattle area and writes on family and finances. You can follow her on Twitter as <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jessc098">@Jessc098</a></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-39487092666443578762009-07-15T09:17:00.000-07:002009-07-23T16:10:22.918-07:00P2P Lending Co. NanoFin opens in India<a href="http://nanofin.net/Nano/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 122px; height: 105px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KUrrYuImlFs21my9URPfBPrR4jYhHX4nBIfr-YJR9EahEA0yvlrgkX2gq1F4F-FGsZv8YkXZlqmuL25hVN2l0gKLzTj-hmcM71NAj-lmuDqmiqFhIZy7FwsB_LHajDFGvN7bYkiBuj6W/s320/nanofin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358722473014741602" border="0" /></a>NanoFin Enterprises, opened this month in Chennai, India to provide peer-to-peer lending using the Internet, similar to Prosper Marketplace and Lending Club.<br /><br />According to a company press release, the venture is an attempt to consolidate the unorganized credit market and bring the borrower and lender under one roof for transacting business. <br /><br />The initiative will facilitate direct interaction between lenders and borrowers in the same local area (matching lenders and borrowers via geography vs. risk like American firms). Loans will be available for education, personal, auto, business, home and equipment ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 2 lakh. (The smallest loans will be about $100 USD).<br /><br />Nonofin will offer lenders and borrowers the opportunity to agree together on the amount of the loan, interest rates and the terms and conditions of the loan. In the NanoFin model, lenders must pay a fee of Rs 1,000 (about $20 USD) to become a member of NanoFin’s community.<br /><br />I can’t help but wonder how they’ll manage the geographical matching of borrowers—what if a loan goes bad? Will there be a concern about neighbors taking enforcement of the loan into their own hands?<br /><br />The Web site is available in English at <a href="http://www.nanofin.net/">www.nanofin.net.</a><br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer based in the Seattle area. She writes on family, money and more. You can read more at <a href="http://www.jessicaward.me/">www.jessicaward.me</a> or <a href="http://www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com/">www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com</a></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-29947851588281113382009-07-13T07:06:00.001-07:002009-07-13T12:06:14.182-07:00Looks Like Prosper.com is On Its Way Back!I recieved an email this morning from Investar of the SEC Prosper and Investing Forums <a href="http://forums.go4reward.com/the-prosper-marketplace/the-prosper-'quiet'-diary-millstones-and-milestones/msg2187/#msg2187">(The "quiet diary") </a>about a possible re-launch of Prosper.com today. <br /><br />I checked out Prosper, and sure enough, another one of those ominous "down for maintenance" pages like we saw the day before the Finovate Conference. <br /><br />Paraphrasing Investar's email he says that the US SEC approved Prosper's new securitized note trading platform at 3:30 PM on Friday, and that they pulled the site down over the weekend through Monday. <br /><br />Looks like we might get (another) launch tomorrow from Prosper.com. Really looking forward to seeing them back into the P2P world. <br /><br />Thanks Investar for sharing the info, we really do appreciate it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178547344217818498.post-40804085560020688452009-06-30T07:35:00.001-07:002009-06-30T07:47:35.118-07:00SacBee article about Peer to Peer LendingI was interviewed last week on the subject of peer to peer lending. My comments aren't quite in context, but this is a nice intro/overview to peer to peer lending in the <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1987864.html">Sacramento Bee</a>. <br /><br />The points that I shared with the reporter are:<br />1. Lenders will have to see good management of receivables by their selected P2P companies to make P2P lending a long term "sticky" trend. <br />2. Borrowers will have to get a better interest rate than they can with traditional banking. If credit markets loosen up again when the economy calms down, I'd like to see P2P lending hold on, but if interest rates go down for borrowers, they're not getting better for lenders--how will P2P companies respond to hold on to lenders? My hope is that they'll lower their administrative fees and they'll be able to based on economies of scale. That said, I don't know how much administrative cost there is to running a P2P company, and I don't have a sense for how much the industry can benefit from scale. <br /><br />I think Lending Club's IRA product is a very good way of hanging on to lenders longer-term. <br /><br />This all presumes of course (my presumption) that credit will become less expensive in the consumer market. Consumer debt interest rates and credit availability cycle up and down, and my assumption here is that the current market will eventually relax. <br /><br /><em>Jessica Ward is a freelance writer and blogger from Seattle. She also blogs at <a href="http://www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com">www.pennywisefamily.blogspot.com</a> and is guest bloging at <a href="http://www.debtkid.com">www.debtkid.com</a>. </em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0