Prosper Experiences Influx of Creditworthy Borrowers

Monthly Market Survey Reveals Average Borrower Credit Score Has Risen Drastically;
Average P2P Personal Loans Credit Score Jumps to 714

SAN FRANCISCO--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Prosper.com, America’s largest peer-to-peer lending marketplace with over $180 million in loans originated, today released p2p lending statistics for September 2009. Prosper also announced that the average credit score for funded borrowers on Prosper was 714 in September, and that the average credit score of borrowers requesting personal loans jumped to 700, up from 620 last year.

“There has never been a better time to be a banker”

“There has never been a better time to be a banker,” said Chris Larsen, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Prosper. “With credit card companies hiking rates while at the same time reducing credit limits, people with great credit are looking for an alternative way to get rid of their credit debt and finance their small businesses. The result of the ‘too big to fail’ institutions turning their backs on consumer and small business borrowers is that individual investors are finding peer-to-peer lending to be an attractive new asset class that enables them to do well while doing good.”

September 2009 Prosper Peer-to-Peer Lending Statistics
Prosper Rating	Borrower Rate	Lender Yield	Estimated Loss Rate	Estimated Return	Average Loan Amount	Loan Volume	% of Funded Loans
AA	10.19%	9.19%	1.31%	7.88%	$4,999	$239,970	20%
A	11.43%	10.43%	2.10%	8.33%	$4,381	$363,604	30%
B	15.57%	14.57%	5.00%	9.57%	$6,841	$116,297	10%
C	20.50%	19.50%	6.94%	12.56%	$3,365	$185,065	15%
D	25.37%	24.37%	10.00%	14.37%	$3,719	$193,395	16%
E	29.57%	28.57%	14.45%	14.13%	$1,600	$49,599	4%
HR	28.26%	27.26%	20.86%	6.41%	$2,402	$74,448	6%
All Funded Loans	16.92%	15.92%	5.85%	10.07%	$3,856	$1,222,378	100%

Purpose of Peer-to-Peer Lending Personal Loans
	Funded Loans
Personal Loan for Debt Consolidation	49%
Personal Loan for Business Use	16%
Personal Loan for Home Improvement	10%
Personal Loan for Education	5%
Personal Loan for Auto / Vehicle	4%
Personal Loan for Other Use	16%

Follow Prosper and Prosper’s CEO, Chris Larsen, on Twitter: @prosperloans and @chrisprosper

Notes offered by Prospectus.

Definitions

Borrower Rate:
The interest rate borrowers pay on their Prosper personal loan.

Lender Yield:
Yield percentage is the lender's effective yield net of servicing fees, based on the borrower's interest rate.

Estimated Loss Rate:
Estimated average annualized loss rate is based on the historical performance of a portfolio of similar Prosper loans.

Estimated Returns:
Lender yield minus estimated loss rate. This does not factor in late fees or uncollected accrued interest on defaulted loans. Actual performance may differ from estimated performance.

Funded Loans:
Borrowers who post listings in the Prosper marketplace are asked how they intend to use their personal loan. The following reflects borrowers’ statements of intended use of loan proceeds and is the percentage of total dollars funded for the month. Prosper does not verify or confirm after funding how loan proceeds are used.