I am staying on the borrower theme this week. One of the things I love the most about p2p lending is the fact that our investment directly helps other people. Unfortunately it also happens to be the thing that is easiest to overlook since the borrower’s personally identifiable information is not revealed and it is so natural to gravitate to the numbers when picking loans.
In order to keep it real, every once in a while I pull up the daily SEC filings to read the comments left by borrowers. The following is a profile of some of the borrowers from a recent filing.
The P2P Fan
Chief Operations Officer from Plano, TX – borrowing $35,000 at 14.98% with a 705-709 credit score
9768136 Borrower added on 01/22/14 > I am intrigued by the peer to peer lending platform and decided to consolidate several small loans/lines of credit into one for a couple of reasons. A: The simplicity of one payment being automatically deducted and B: The option to pay interest to other “people” as opposed to the “big banks”.
The Regular
Creative Director from San Diego, CA – borrowing $11,000 at 9.67% with a 695-699 credit score
10082186 Borrower added on 01/29/14 > Credit Score Up. Interest down. Thanks to my first two loans through Lending Club I wiped out nearly all debt, bought my first home. Now I am refi’ing the second loan into a lower APR. THANK YOU!
The Family Man
Technology Manager from Cleveland, OH – borrowing $18,000 at 14.98% with a 695-699 credit score
10100682 Borrower added on 02/04/14 > Bought a house at the end of 2009, had a kid in March of 2010. Ended up putting a lot on credit cards over the subsequent 3 years and now that I’ve completed payment on a 3 year family loan to avoid PMI I have an additional $700/month to dig out from under those cards.
The Consolidator
On-Air Promotions Finishing Editor from Brooklyn, NY borrowing $13,200 at 12.85% with a 700-704 credit score
10545923 Borrower added on 01/30/14 > I’m seeking a loan for debt consolidation. This loan will save me approx 200 – 300 dollars per month in payments. I have previously received and paid off a lending club loan that I used to help with additional debt.
The Home Builder
Doctor of Physical Therapy from Weatherford, TX borrowing $30,000 at 14.98% with a 720-724 credit score
10548069 Borrower added on 01/30/14 > We are adding a bathroom, study, outdoor covered porch and outdoor fireplace and grill area to our home to improve the functionality of our home. Our daughter will finally have a bathroom to use without having to use our master bath or her brothers’ bathroom.
The Credit Card Eliminator
Manager from Dallas, TX borrowing $12,000 at 7.9% with a 700-704 credit score
10575910 Borrower added on 01/28/14 > This loan is to pay of American Express credit cards that are high interest. These will be my final credit cards to pay off and be credit card free!
The Natural Disaster Victim
Registered Nurse from Broad View, IL borrowing $15,000 at 10.99% with a 705-709 credit score
10585325 Borrower added on 01/11/14 > Chicago developed severe freezing weather last week my pipes froze and I had to call a plumber I had no idea that the repair cost was so expensive …I had no choice but to fix the pipes.
The Family Trip
Security Supervisor from San Jose, CA borrowing $1,800 at 21.48% with a 685-689 credit score
10606204 Borrower added on 01/15/14 > Taking my grandkids to Disneyland
The Online Borrower
From Cold Brook, NY borrowing $7,125 at 15.61% with a 660-664
10706684 Borrower added on 01/21/14 > The interest rate much lower, the process was so easy online than driving to the bank to fill out paperwork.
The Wedding Planner
Manager from Roselle, IL borrowing $6,500 at 20.50% with a 665-669 credit score
11377956 Borrower added on 02/04/14 > My backyard wedding
It is really amazing to see the sheer number of borrowers that are listed every day and I love reading their (brief) stories when they leave them. It is too bad that they can’t leave more information since it is fun to learn more about the borrowers. For those really adventurous borrowers out there, we have a special section in our Forum specifically for borrowers to personally identify themselves and share more details. Every once in a while we luck out to get posts like this one, which generated 27 replies and well over 1,000 views.
For a more in depth profile of a borrower, check out this week’s podcast, where we interviewed Ivy about her borrowing experience on Lending Club.
If you are a borrower, feel free to introduce yourself to our community. We would love to hear from you! And for investors, if you have a favorite borrower profile or story, please share it in the comments below.
