Appeared in today's issue. Requires subscription.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB122065357289805353.htmlMentions prosper, but only with the usual few sentences. Nothing of interest there.
There are few interesting notes in the article:
Put off by that experience, the 39-year-old insurance executive turned to the Internet and, within 24 hours, had $18,000 deposited for the car to her account by FirstAgain (www.firstagain.com), which qualified Kroop and her self-employed husband, based solely on their good payment history and income.
FirstAgain, a three-year-old San Diego company, completes loans of up to $100,000 over the 'Net -- it accepts a client's digital signature on loan docs -- and never asks for a trust deed or even a car pink slip for collateral.
FirstAgain is one of a growing number of alternative finance companies using new technology and unconventional lending practices to fill the void left by conventional banks that -- burned by a credit debacle -- are now shy about new loan requests.
Whoa! We have competition, and it isn't P2P!
Near the end of the article they say
Although affinity lenders have had trouble securing capital of late, five more will launch by year-end.
Five more? I knew several claim to be in the works.
