Posted by Lending Club :: May 20, 2010 @ 1:18 pm
Top Microfinance and P2P Lending companies presenting at Microfinance USA 2010
This afternoon, executives from three fast-growing companies and proponents of micro and peer-to-peer lending will sit together on the panel entitled "The Rise of Peer-to-Peer Lending in the US", as part of the Microfinance USA 2010 conference, organized by California-based Opportunity Fund.
According to Ed Kountz, a consumer payments analyst from market research firm Forrester Research Inc., the Peer-to-peer lending industry can grow to $100 billion in annual loans in 2012 from about $500 million last year (2009) as borrowers seek ways to reduce their costs and get access to money while banks continue to show tight lending behavior during the deepest U.S. recession since World War II.
Giovanna Masci (Kiva), Paul Blyth (Microplace) and Rob Garcia (Lending Club) will discuss the fast growth and adoption of their respective solutions in the last year, as well as how their firms are harnessing the power of P2P and online marketplaces to challenge the centuries old banking and lending industry.
Peer investing and micro lending have become clear alternatives that complement and replace traditional bank loans, transforming the ways Americans lend to and borrow from each other. While their purposes and models differ, these firms demonstrate a burgeoning alternative to traditional notions of financing and philanthropy. Liz Hamburg, Founder and President of Upstart Ventures, will moderate a conversation that promises to alter the way you think of this space.
You can follow some of the sessions through a live webcast, or via twitter @MFUSA2010 hashtag #MFUSA210.
See you there.
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4 Comments
These are very good sites. I learnt a lot from this event.
Lending Club and Prosper are great ideas. The one catch is that you
need a decent credit score, I believe at least 660. I understand
this requirement, but it leaves a lot of people out of the loop
when it comes to peer to peer lending. Too bad there isn't a way
for Lending Club to do some micro-lending to worse credit risks and
see how they perform. Just a thought, there is another whole group
of potential consumers for peer lending.
Since peer investing came into view, I think that will be really
helpful. This is good news to most people.
Very good indeed. US economy is not picking up as fast as it should
and any alternative form of lending is better than the traditional
bank loans.
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