Every Saturday I bring you the latest news from the world of peer to peer lending. These are the best of the news articles and blog posts from around the web that I shared on Twitter this past week.
We have an interesting collection of articles this week. It was sad to see that CommunityLend, the Canadian p2p lender, is closing down their operation and focusing on their direct financing arm. I think p2p lending in small economies like Canada is challenging because it will be even harder (than in the U.S.) to achieve a critical mass of investors and borrowers in order to turn a profit.
I also want to highlight the article on The Truth About Cars. This one is a bit disturbing because the author is suggesting that unscrupulous borrowers can get a free car by taking out a loan with a p2p lender like Lending Club. My take on this is that while technically true, if someone is planning on defaulting on a car loan, most likely something would have happened in their credit history that would preclude them from being approved for a loan. I thought it was a bit irresponsible for a blog to suggest such a thing but I thought we should all know about it. Have a great weekend.
Pinch That Penny – Does Lending Club Advocate the Martingale System?
Compass Principles – Crowdfunding – A Promising Innovation for Improving Access to Financial Services
Wiseclerk – Ratesetter Adds More P2P Lending Choices
CommunityLend blog – Onwards and Upwards …
Brave New Life – Lending Club Update: February 2012
Interest.com – Peer-to-peer lending offers double-digit returns with some work, risk
The Truth About Cars – Can Lending Club = Free Car?
Finance Product Reviews – Prosper Peer To Peer Lending Program Review
Plugged in Finance – My Net Annual Return on Lending Club Account Up from 9.5% in 2010 to 11.0% in 2011
