I recently joined Lending Club and added $500 to my account. I received an incentive deposit of $50 - I think because I joined through someone else's link. (You too can get an incentive when you join - click on the link to the right.)
Today I created a portfolio on Lending Club. I have six portfolios on Prosper. Here is a quick comparison of the two:
Lending Club:
There are actually two types of portfolios on Lending Club. The notes below apply to the automatic portfolio, known as LendingMatch. The other type is formed when you choose individual loans.
- $500 minimum for each portfolio
- Choice of "risk levels" from low to high but no other options
- $25 bids on each loan are automatically set - that is, the portfolio automatically bids $25 on each loan that fits the criteria. You can change the amount of each bid when you "review" the portfolio.
Prosper:
- No minimum for each portfolio
- Wide range of options in addition to risk levels. Can choose to exclude "auto funding", can set no. of delinquencies that are acceptable, can choose to include only those loans that friends of the borrower have bid on, for example.
- You choose the minimum bid ($50 or more).
What then?
On Prosper, it takes several minutes before a portfolio chooses loans that meet the criteria. On Lendingclub a list of loans is chosen immediately and you can select some from the list to delete if you like. (On Prosper you can't withdraw from a bid that is placed automatically by your portfolio.)
It takes less time, then, to set up a Lending Club portfolio and you get immediate results. On Prosper, though, you can add more criteria to tailor the loans you make. What works best for you obviously depends on your goals and preferences.
2 comments:
For the referral link just format the link with your Lending Club username. Here's an example:
http://www.lendingclub.com/landing.action?referrer=Spider5
Thank you, Tom! I hunted all over Lending Club for that info.
Post a Comment