P2P-Banking.com

Lending Hub - an australian p2p lending site, which says it will launch in August or September 2008, has set an ambiguous aim: processing borrowing and lending applications in real time.

The Lending Hub system will check and process a borrowing application within less than a minute (assuming you have a traceable credit history and have provided all required information). Now instead of waiting at a bank or searching for your nearest branch we’ll be able to process your details in less time than it takes to grab a coffee!

If we require any physical documents (e.g. payslips or bank account statements) you can upload a scan directly to your Lending Hub account. No need to mail us anything (unless you really want to of course).

As do most p2p lending services, Lending Hub will not charge a fee for early repayment of loans, which it says is an advantage over most other lending services in Australia.

Lendinghub will be regulated under the Uniform Consumer Credit Code legislation.

You can also read a guest article by Ivan Martelli, Director of Lending Hub

Announced today Prosper.com has achieved nationwide lending (exceptions South Dakota and Texas) with an interest rate maximum of 36 percent. Previously maximum interest rates varied on a state by state basis depending by the licenses Prosper had acquired.

Prosper chose the same construct to go national as did Lendingclub in December - both partnered with WebBank, Utah.

All loans originated through the Prosper marketplace are made by WebBank, a Utah-chartered Industrial Bank. Prosper provides services to WebBank in connection with the origination of such loans and Prosper services loans made to Prosper borrowers on behalf of registered Prosper lenders who purchase such loans.

This step has good potential to multiply the monthly loan volume originated by Prosper, as chances for obtaining a loan were in the past harmed in some states by low state interest rate caps (especially for lower credit grades).

Surprisingly Lendingclub.com stopped signup for new lenders and existing lenders can not make bids on new loans (old loans are continued to be serviced). Borrowers can still obtain new loans - they are funded directly by Lendingclub. The announcement email sent out to members is quoted in this blog post.

The Lendingclub website states this message:

Lending Club has started a process to register, with the appropriate securities authorities, promissory notes that may be offered and sold to lenders through our site in the future. Until we complete the registration process, we will not accept new lender registrations or allow new commitments from existing lenders. We will continue to service all previously funded loans during this period, and lenders will be able to access their accounts, monitor their portfolios, and withdraw available funds without changes.

The borrowing side of our site will remain generally unaffected by this registration process; borrowers can continue to apply for loans and new loans posted after April 7, 2008, will be funded and held only by Lending Club.

Until the registration process is completed, the company will undergo a quiet period and will not be able to respond to press and other inquiries about Lending Club or the registration process during that time.

On Techcrunch there is speculation that "Lending Club is looking to obtain a broker dealer license from the SEC that would legitimize its operations".

If this is the case I could not find a recent SEC filing connected to this. The last one I found dates February 13th.

Netbanker has a short statement from Prosper, essentially saying that Prosper believes itself to be in compliance with all state and federal laws.

Today the Quebec security regulator in a press release commented on the action taken against IOU Central:

At the request of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the Bureau de décision et de révision en valeurs mobilières (BDRVM) issued an order on February 27, 2008 against IOU Central Inc. ("IOU") to cease any activity, directly, indirectly or by Internet, in respect of a transaction in a form of investment governed by the Securities Act (the "Act"), including any activity as a securities dealer. The BDRVM also ordered Philippe Marleau and all directors, officers, employees, representatives and mandataries of IOU to cease any activity in respect of a transaction in securities in a form of investment governed by the Act for and on behalf of IOU, including any activity as a securities dealer.

…

For the protection of investors, the AMF stressed that it was imperative that the BDRVM issue this decision without a prior hearing since IOU continued to operate its website.
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec’s financial sector.

More background on Microlending.ca. The link to the Toronto Star article there did not work. I believe this is the correct link.

After being offline for several hours, Canadian IOUCentral.ca is now online again, but with limited functionality. That means that currently no loan listing and bidding is possible.

From the website:

Why Is IOU Central Operating With Limited Functionalities?
IOU Central is now operating with limited functionality while we resolve a regulatory matter. IOU Central is acting in a very new area. We are the first in Canada, although similar models are operating under similar regulatory environments in the US and the UK. We are modeled on those innovative enterprises. We are committed to working with all the relevant regulatory bodies in order for us to continue to offer this service to borrowers and lenders. We will take all measures necessary to ensure we are working in full compliance with all regulations.

When Will IOU Central Be Fully Operational?
We will notify all our users by email when the site is fully operational. If you are not already a user, you may register with us and we will notify you by email when the site is fully operational.

Lendingclub.com announced today that now users of all 50 states can borrow money through Lendingclub.

Prosper.com is covering 47 states, but in some states borrowing is restricted to business purpose loans. 

The Netherlands will possibly be the first country where a law will be changed in reaction to peer to peer lending. Peer to peer lending in all countries is regulated by national laws but so far these did apply to all financial institutions and did not have specific provisions for peer to peer lending.

Dutch treasury secretary Bos says he sees the need to amend existing laws. In the Netherlands there have been parliament debates and regulation hassles triggered by the launch of p2p lending service Boober.nl in February 2007.

(Sources: 1, 2)

Dutch Boober this week resumed full operations overcoming an imposed stop on lending. Lenders however now are facing even more restrictions. After a maximum amount of 39000 Euro was introduced for lenders earlier, a new rule now allows lenders to close no more than 100 loans. Since the minimum bid is only 5 Euro in the worst case that could mean, that a lender has to stop after lending out 500 Euro (100×5). Apparently this development means that the top lenders, responsible for 30% of Boober's total loan volume, are banned from lending more money. While lenders critizise this new development as overregulated forced by dutch regulator AFM, there is not much they can do about it. Theoretically each individual lender could apply for a license, but in practise license fees over 1000 Euro prohibit this move.

After a failed launch in May p2p lending service Frooble.nl now wants to lauch with a new concept. Borrowers can seek short term loans of 1 to 3 month duration for amounts between 50 and 500 Euro. Apparently these parameters have been selected to avoid falling under the regulation of the AFM. It remains to be seen if Frooble can thrive with this business model.

Dutch p2p lending site Boober.nl is in big trouble. A court in Rotterdam ruled that Boober needs a license, with the judge supporting the position of the regulating authority AFM. After Boober published its interpretation what this ruling means, the AFM clarified its position in a press release.

Under pressure Boober finally posted a statement on its homepage saying that while the site remains open and existing loans will continue to be serviced, Boober stops any lender bidding. Statement:

Beste Boober Gebruiker

In tegenstelling tot wat dinsdag en woensdag is gecommuniceerd heeft Boober gisteravond na overleg met de Autoriteit Financiële Markten besloten om de krediet-bemiddelingsactiviteiten voorlopig te staken. Dit wordt geëffectueerd door uitleners voorlopig niet de mogelijkheid te geven op leningen te bieden . De site blijft gewoon beschikbaar en het besluit heeft geen enkele consequentie voor lopende leningen.

Boober betreurt de ongelukkige wijze waarop zij met de markt heeft gecommuniceerd en verwacht begin volgende week meer duidelijkheid te kunnen verschaffen.

Boober's service was controversial in the Netherlands from the start. It was even subject of discussion of the Dutch national parliament.

An update on what will happen next is expected early next week.

Richard van den Toorn, publisher of the great site Booberwatch.nl has supplied P2P-Banking.com with this chronology of events: (more…)

Dutch p2p lending service Boober.nl is quarreling with the regulating authority AFM. The AFM argues Boober needs a licence because it allows lenders in peer to peer lending to engage in commercial activities.

Boober CEO Guus Drijver denies that. He says that lenders can lend out only a maximum amount of 39000 Euro and even with an assumed interest rate of 10%, 3900 Euro profit per year could hardly be seen as commercial activity.

(Source: sprout.nl)