Prosper, the first, and so far only, person-to-person loan marketplace in the United States, ended the year with 140,000 members and $27 million in loans booked (see screenshot below).
It's a good start for a company yet to see its first birthday and is slightly above our projections made last March (see Online Banking Report #127). However, the company will have to do something to boost revenues (see note below) if it hopes to see its third birthday. We expect to see a broadening of its products and services in 2007 (see previous coverage here).
Note:
Prosper's revenues in 2006 are estimated to be approximately $300,000, primarily from the 1% loan-origination fee assessed to borrowers.