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[HollowOak]

I thought it might shed some light to see whether there are differences in the filings Prosper and LendingClub made with the SEC. This might explain why Prosper chose this time to announce that they were entering a quiet period. I'm operating on the basis that Prosper is following all the required rules and regulations, rather than belatedly finding out that that they were supposed to have announced in October/November of last year that they were entering a Quiet Period subject to their SEC filing.

Interestingly enough, LendingClub also appears more than once in the EDGAR database, though both entries have the same address and one entry have no documents filed under it.

Here is a list of "Who filed what and when:

EDGAR Form	Purpose	LendingClub	Prosper
Regdex	Notice of Sale of Securities [Regulation D and Section 4(6) of the Securities Act of 1933], item 06 This implies that capital has been raised in a round of (VC) funding.	2007-08-15 2007-08-15 2007-09-20 2008-02-13 2008-09-02	2006-02-17 2007-06-29
Regdex/A	Amended Notice of Sale of Securities [Regulation D and Section 4(6) of the Securities Act of 1933], item 06 Some modifications to a previous filing, correcting mistakes in the filing, adding missing information, etc.	-	2006-07-26
S-1	General form for registration of securities under the Securities Act of 1933	2008-06-20	2007-10-30
S-1/A	Amended General form for registration of securities under the Securities Act of 1933 Some modifications to a previous filing, correcting mistakes in the filing, adding missing information, etc.	2008-08-04 2008-09-09 2008-10-09	-
EFFECT	Some filing (S-1?) became effective as of this date.	2008-10-10	-
424B3	Prospectus [Rule 424(b)(3)]	2008-10-14	-

So what can we tell  from this?

Here are my suppositions:

• LendingClub went through 5 rounds of financing, never making a mistake in filing. One of the financing rounds were during their "Quiet Period," probably raising stay-alive financing or financing to fund loans on the site.
• Prosper went through two rounds of financing (each round may have raised substantially more than the LendingClub rounds). However, in the initial filing there was something that needed correction 3 days before the second round was filed for.
• LendingClub had a very active "dialog" with the SEC wrt their S-1 filing. LendingClub announced on April 7th 2008 that they would enter their quiet period. Their filing was done on June 20th. (Also an announcement was made on their website on that date). Between June and October, 2008, LendingClub filed three amendments to their S-1.
• Prosper OTOH, filed their S-1 on October 2007, have made no revisions to the filing and has not announced their quiet period until now. I do not recall whether Propser actually announced the S-1 filing anywhere or whether .org members actually discovered the filing independent of Prosper.
• In the light of a general scarcity of announcements of "quiet periods" by companies, one may wonder what prompted Prosper to announce theirs at this point in time? Oversight? External influences? Legal maneuvers? The business climate?
  

[Urbi_et_Orbi]

I'm operating on the basis that Prosper is following all the required rules and regulations, rather than belatedly finding out that that they were supposed to have announced in October/November of last year that they were entering a Quiet Period subject to their SEC filing.

I have always enjoyed your sense of humor.

[msava]

I'm operating on the basis that Prosper is following all the required rules and regulations, rather than belatedly finding out that that they were supposed to have announced in October/November of last year that they were entering a Quiet Period subject to their SEC filing.

I have always enjoyed your sense of humor.

And I have always enjoyed yours.

[Mtnchick]

• In the light of a general scarcity of announcements of "quiet periods" by companies, one may wonder what prompted Prosper to announce theirs at this point in time? Oversight? External influences? Legal maneuvers? The business climate?
  

Just wanted to quote this since it's what I'm wondering too.

[bamalucky]

LC lets you sell the late loans on the secondary..Some are already up.

[NewHorizon]

I'm operating on the basis that Prosper is following all the required rules and regulations, rather than belatedly finding out that that they were supposed to have announced in October/November of last year that they were entering a Quiet Period subject to their SEC filing.

Along those lines and FWIW, on 4/8/08 - soon after LendingClub entered their quiet period - Prosper apparently commented:

Person-to-person lending is an increasingly popular way for individuals to borrow and lend money at attractive interest rates. Understandably, it must be done in a secure and trusted way. While we’re not in a position to comment on another company’s regulatory stance, Prosper believes that the way we have structured the Prosper marketplace is in compliance with applicable state and federal laws. Currently Prosper has over 650,000 members, and more than $130 million in loans have funded through the Prosper marketplace.

(linky)

[yankeefan]

• In the light of a general scarcity of announcements of "quiet periods" by companies, one may wonder what prompted Prosper to announce theirs at this point in time? Oversight? External influences? Legal maneuvers? The business climate?
  

Just wanted to quote this since it's what I'm wondering too.

Many- even most, companies honor the "quiet period" rules every quarter by limiting communication while preparing the quarterly earnings releases.    Quiet periods leading up to release of info about public offerings are also common. 

I am not an expert on the precise rules.[/list]

[ira01]

LC lets you sell the late loans on the secondary..Some are already up.

Didn't their announcement say that only loans originated after the registration effective date October 10, 2008, IIRC) would be eligible for resale?

[cowdog]

Ding Dong, the wicked Prosper's gone!

Cowdog takes the opportunity to exit, stage left.

 

[Gogmagog]

I'm wondering if the SEC didn't know what to do with them.  Now that it has decided how it should work, all the filings are moving through the process at roughly the same time. 

[Senator]

Can I no longer ask them why the heck they refuse to refund my Amsher Overcharges?

You can ask, just don't expect an answer.  How is that different from before?

[Senator]

People like Researchpro & Mjerry will no longer be able to bastardize their ROI.This will force their loan age to get longer.

Mjerry won't be able to make community payments any more?

[God-Father]

People like Researchpro & Mjerry will no longer be able to bastardize their ROI.This will force their loan age to get longer.

Mjerry won't be able to make community payments any more?

Make a community payment still shows up as an option.

[czach]

What's bugging me about this is that since the traditional credit markets have completely tanked for anyone with a FI <740, Prosper stood as a great place for people to go get loans. And we might have actually seen a decent ROI for bidding on A's and B's that banks aren't touching since banks need to hold ALL THEIR MONEY and the newbies are stopping lending to idiots and driving the rates down.

So now Prosper does this. Great timing, oddly enough Prosper is one of the few bright spots in my portfolio with my little 7.62% ROI...

What next?

Chris

[bamalucky]

$25 transfer out minimum is gone