P2P lending is on pace for a huge August as loan volumes increase and interest rates drop.

Here is the press release:

(PRWEB) August 10, 2012 — The Loan Sheet’s Peer Lending Pulse reports that APRs for peer-to-peer lending platforms dropped this week, while loan volume is on pace for another record month.

Lending Club, the largest provider, saw borrowing rates drop to 9.97% – the first drop below 10% since the Pulse began measuring earlier this year.

The rate drop occurred while Lending Club issued 2,535 loans for $32,032 – a record week that puts the platform on pace to more than double its July volume, when it broke a previous record.

Lending Club continues to provide peer-to-peer loans at lower costs than its primary competitor, Prosper Marketplace, which finished the week up at an average APR of 15.76%.

Prosper also had its biggest lending month in July, but saw a light first week of lending in August, lending just 257 loans for $2 million.

While investors experience comparable returns on both Lending Club and Prosper, the continued difference in borrowing costs between the two platforms could be impacting Prosper’s ability to keep pace with Lending Club, whose loan volume in July was approximately 330% greater than that of Prosper.

TheLoanSheet.com is the leading independent source of peer-to-peer lending information for borrowers.

TheLoanSheet’s Peer Lending Pulse rates are taken from borrowers with 36-month term lengths, debt-to-income ratios of 10-20%, and credit scores in the top 20% of the range.

About Lending Club

Lending Club utilizes technology and innovation to reduce the cost of traditional banking and offer borrowers better rates and investors better returns. Lending Club started operations in 2007 and has been recognized for its results and innovation by the Harvard Business Review and Dow Jones, was named one of Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies in 2011 and recognized as a 2012 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. Lending Club is based in San Francisco, California. More information is available at: http://www.lendingclub.com. Currently only residents of the following states may invest in Lending Club notes: CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, KY (accredited investors), LA, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, NH, NV, NY, RI, SC, SD, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, or WY.
 
Additional information about Lending Club is available in the prospectus for Lending Club’s notes, which can be obtained on Lending Club’s website at https://www.lendingclub.com/info/prospectus.action.

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