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It’s not surprising that lenders have recently been calling and emailing us to find out if their Prosper cash balances are FDIC insured. We want to take this opportunity to let our lenders know that their cash balances are, in fact, FDIC insured.  Prosper is not a bank, does not take deposits, and is not FDIC insured. But the funds that Prosper lenders place with Prosper to make bids on borrower listings are maintained at Wells Fargo Bank, which is FDIC insured, and those funds get pass-through FDIC coverage up to $100,000 (note that this amount may increase to $250,000 after the passage of recent legislation).

So during these challenging economic times, you can be comfortable knowing that the funds you place with Prosper have this protection.

Call or email us questions. We’re here to help you.

In my first blog post last week I talked about how I often share the learnings of successful lenders, as well as the teachings of the marketplace results. My job at Prosper is to show lenders how to use Prosper and its various bidding tools.  Here are a couple of other learnings to consider.

I (and the successful lenders I speak with) don’t make marginal bidding decisions. If everything looks great in a listing except that the bankcard utilization is just a tad bit higher than you’re comfortable with, or the loan amount seems too high – pass on the listing. There will undoubtedly be another listing around the corner that does meet your criteria.

How to “price” bids is another topic I frequently discuss with new (and many existing) lenders. The most common challenge lenders face initially is being outbid. This is usually due to bidding the “current rate” which in many cases isn’t competitive.

Lenders can avoid the time and frustration of being outbid by bidding an amount they are comfortable with from the beginning. That way, if they’re outbid they know that they gave it their best shot. The smart ones don’t get hooked into bidding again because it looks like a “hot” listing that everyone else is bidding on.

We have a wealth of information available in the Help section under the Lending topic.

Last, but not least, spend some time on the 3rd party applications:
             

These sites have an amazing amount of information and will certainly assist in your success on Prosper.

You can always call or email us questions. We’re here to help you.

My job at Prosper is to show lenders how to use Prosper and its various bidding tools. I speak with dozens of new lenders at Prosper every day. I often share the learnings of successful lenders, as well as the teachings of the marketplace results.

One of the most critical messages I try to share with lenders is to slow down and bid methodically rather than try and pump out 25 manual bids in a single day. Diversification is usually the next topic that I discuss with lenders. Not simply bidding in small increments, which is important, but also diversifying across credit grades and especially loan amounts.

Some users naturally don’t have the time to spend bidding slowly across many listings, in which case I show them how they can create a Portfolio Plan or employ a combination of manual bidding and portfolio plans simultaneously.

While I understand that the idea of Prosper is really exciting, and combined with the prospect of great returns it can be tempting for lenders to deploy their cash as quickly as they can bid it out. However, bidding and being a successful lender on Prosper is more often a marathon and not a sprint. Furthermore, as a new asset class it deserves some time to be researched and understood. Undoubtedly, we’ve all bid on some listings early on that we look back on and say “if I knew then what I know now, I would have never bid on that listing”.

Get comfortable reading the Credit Profile of every borrower you’re considering bidding on. If you’re wondering why a borrower has 8 inquiries in the last six months use the Q&A feature to ask the borrower. In fact, I personally ask ALL borrowers at least one question before I’ll place a bid on their listing. This is an excellent way to get clarification, additional information not in the listing and to gauge the responsiveness of the borrower.

We have a wealth of information available in the Help section under the Lending topic.

And you can always call or email us questions. We’re here to help you.