A VBE does not remove red flags, it is merely one person attempting to hoist a small green flag onto the same pole with all the others.
For some of us, that "small green flag" is a rather important factor. On
my blog you can read how choosing a portfolio of borrowers with 0 DQ's and 2+ friends bidding $300+ would produce a portfolio with no lates. (Since I wrote the blog, one of the loans has gone late). That compares favorably with other lending strategies based on the extended data.
As much as you can attempt to predict the behavior of one person you do not know by that of another you also do not know, yes.
I look at past actions and extrapolate. I see Grimlock's endorsement stipulates the amount bid and the rate. Only about 2% of the BE's (this is not a VBE--no third-party verification) that I run across provide this.
So I look at Grimlock's lending history, and he's on two listings since 2/08. One is a from a fellow Prosper employee.
The other is the eandr123 loan. So I surmise that Grimlock is hoping that the same VBE mojo will work for his sister.
Inconclusive, given a lack of information. For all we know, the deleted listing was not only a test listing, but may also have had "test" credit details.
Ah, well if that's true, that would open up a different set of questions and problems.
Grimlock's "test listing" showed someone with an AA credit:
http://www.lendingstats.com/listings/212879So if in reality he is an HR with 5 current DQ's, his ability to help his sister stay afloat will be very limited. If her car breaks down (she has nothing budgeted for car maintenance or repair), even if he wants to help her out and feels social pressure from his Prosper colleagues to keep the loan current, he can't do it.