Here’s an update for my person-to-person (P2P) lending activity, which for me are unsecured loans between U.S. residents. It could be for credit card debt consolidation, car financing, business financing, or even buying a house. You can think of it as taking out the bank middleman, which pays tiny interest on checking account balances and then charges high interest to borrowers.
LendingClub Portfolio
I do my P2P Lending at LendingClub, where you can loan as little as $25. You can read more background in my previous update. Although they do have a service to pick for you, I tend to pick my own loans to try and find both a combination of good risk profile and also a person who I want to help out. It’s kind of a hobby of mine.
I now have a total of 49 active loans with $1,548.42 in outstanding principal. Most are A grade, with a decent spattering of Bs. Keep in mind that a borrower has to have a 660 credit score as well as other additional requirements just to make their lowest G grade. (Only about 10% of loan applications are accepted.) Here is a screenshot from my account page:
Performance & Commentary
According to LC, my “Net Annualized Return on Investment” based on my interest payments received so far is 9.06%. The bad news is that I now have two late loans in my portfolio. One has negotiated a temporary reduced payment plan, while the other seems to be dodging phone calls. Also, one loan was paid off early. But this is what happens with loans, you get late payments and defaults. If your interest rate is high enough and you have enough diversification in loans, you’ll still end up ahead. So far, I haven’t lost any money and even with a default my rate of return is still higher than what I get with an online savings account.
What really baffles me is that both of my late loans are A-rated. According to the LC stats page, out of all the A loans issued so far, there are only 12 late loans out of 943 still active. That’s a tiny 1.3% late rate with zero defaults, and I managed to invest in 2 out of the 12 late ones. So either I’m very unlucky, or I stink at picking loans, or… both. 
$25 New Lender Bonus
If you are interested trying P2P lending with no risk, you can still use this special $25 lender sign-up link to get a free $25 to try it out with no future obligation. There is no credit check and you don’t even have to deposit anything. After you are approved, the $25 will show up in your account balance, and you can lend it out immediately.
If you’re looking to borrow at LendingClub, it’s relatively straightforward. Send in your information, and see what interest rate they offer you. Compare it with your credit card or other financing options. If you like it, fill out your application carefully (verify income if possible) and go for it. If you don’t like the rate or the full amount is not funded, you can either accept partial funding or walk away with no obligation.
Read more about P2P Lending Update: LendingClub Loan Performance (+$25 Bonus)…
