Not only has March been a fantastic month for Lending Club, it has also marked Zopa’s fifth anniversary and record loan monthly volume.

Our friends across the pond have been busy growing the reach of the peer-to-peer lending concept in the UK and are now growing extremely fast.  Giles Andrews, General Manager of Zopa, observed in a recent conversation with Lending Club that “Zopa issued more loans in its 5th year than during the first 4 years combined”.  Indeed, Zopa issued nearly £36mm in loans in their 5th year, compared to a total of £34mm in their first 4 years of operation.

Zopa was the first online peer-to-peer lending and borrowing marketplace.   Their biggest achievement has been the way they have managed risk, said Andrews, shown by a low cumulative default rate of 0.5% since inception.  Zopa plans to expand to Japan and reenter the US market in the future.

From the Lending Club team, we send the warmest “Congratulations” to the Zopa team for their latest accomplishments.

Lending Club is changing the face of bank lending, now we're also changing our web site background images.

To celebrate our new web site, we’re hosting the first ever Lending Club Photo Contest.  We invite all professional and amateur photographers (as well as anybody who knows a good picture when they see one) to submit one or multiple entries (maximum of 4) for a chance to win $1,000.

Have a picture to win it all?
Send us a picture to be used on Lending Club’s web site any time before midnight (Pacific Time) on May 31, 2010.   On June 5th, the Lending Club team will announce the 10 finalist photographs and will post them on our Facebook fan page for a public vote.  The photographs with the most votes by June 30, 2010 wins the contest.

Prizes
Winner: $1,000
2nd place: $500
3rd place: $300
Honorary mentions (up to 3): $100

How to enter?
Simply leave a comment on this blog post with your email, name, and link to the image.  You may also leave a short explanation of why you think the submitted picture is right for Lending Club’s site.

Qualifying pictures/licenses
We're looking for breathtaking photographs that somehow (this is where your artistic awesomeness comes in) showcases Lending Club values: trustworthy, transparent, professional yet friendly and accessible.

Check out some of the photographs we have used in the past on our background images page.

For complete details on qualifying , please see contest rules.

Tweet & win too
From Monday, March 22nd to April 30th, we will randomly pick a tweet that mentions the photo contest (containing a link to our post and the hashtag #LCphoto) to win a Lending Club t-shirt or messenger bag.
Send us your best shots.  Good luck!

READ THE COMPLETE OFFICIAL RULES

The last few weeks have been full of exciting milestones for Lending Club and our financial community. Not only did we roll out our new brand identity and web site, but we also surpassed $1,000,000,000 in loan demand, while hitting a monthly record in loan applications in February.

In addition, we issued our 10,000th loan, surpassing more than $95,000,000 in loans this morning.

Borrowers are increasingly turning to Lending Club as an alternative to traditional lending institutions. Better rates, a simple on-line loan application process, and a secure and confidential platform are some of the reasons that make Lending Club a smart choice for creditworthy borrowers looking for a personal loan that rewards their great credit.

Our borrowers are showing a responsible approach to credit:

• Average interest rate is 11.95%, which is lower than most personal loans and credit card offers
• 60% of the borrowers have taken the loan to pay off credit card balances or consolidate other debts
• The average credit score is 716, and only prime borrowers are able to enjoy better rates with Lending Club

We are building on the successes of 2009 and setting the stage for yet another important milestone coming up soon: sometime in the next 3-4 weeks we’ll reach $100,000,000 in loans issued.  Stay tuned.

For the latest Lending Club numbers visit our statistics page.

@RobGarciaSJ

After launching a brand new identity and web site design, we hosted a WebCast where we gave a tour of the new site as well as shared the thinking behind the new Lending Club.

Our new look better expresses our values (trustworthy, transparent, professional yet friendly and accessible) as well as Lending Club’s commitment to innovative financial services. Our concept is smart and simple, and our new site now reflects that.

If you missed it, here is the slides we went through:

If you have any questions or comments about the new site, please email us at feedback@lendingclub.com

SXSW Interactive has quickly become the conference where attendees and presenters explore the latest trends, technologies and products that are changing how we interact, communicate and transact. 

This year, Lending Club will sit with SmartyPig, Mint and CreditKarma to talk money and innovation in the banking industry.  Jennifer Openshaw, CEO of Family Financial Network will moderate a conversation that promises to be interesting and thought provoking. 

In the midst of a financial crisis, people are compelled to save, budget and lower their dependency on traditional financial services. Stock picking communities, person-to-person lending, personal finance management and even credit score management tools, have emerged to serve the changing needs of customers exclusively served by traditional banks and credit unions.

In this panel, we will discuss key trends, emerging technologies, and financial products that are changing the way people interact with the banking and financial services industries. 

Banking 2.0: Financial Services Driven by People & Emerging Technologies
Saturday March 13 at 12:30pm at the Hilton Hotel, downtown Austin, Room G
Moderated by Jennifer Openshaw, CEO of Family Financial Network
Attend >>

Panelists: 
Rob Garcia, Sr Director Product Strategy, LendingClub.com
Aaron Forth, VP of Product, Mint.com
Kenneth Lin, CEO, CreditKarma.com
Bob Weinschenk, CEO, SmartyPig.com

Can’t attend in person?  Don't miss out on this stellar line-up! 
Follow @SXSWfinance for live updates and questions to the panelists during the panel.