A true measure of a company’s success is not only how big it becomes, but how efficiently and rapidly it grows while continuing to deliver value to its customers.

Lending Club passed the $200 million in personal loans mark in December of 2010 (December 30th to be exact), thus doubling the $100 million mark reached in March of the same year.  In other words, it only took 9 months to double the volume of loan originations reached after 34 months of operations.

In addition, with our investors working together, a new record was set in monthly originations with $14.8 million in issued loans in January 2011 alone, doubling the $7.39 million from January 2010.

The next few weeks will prove to bring forth another milestone, when more than half a billion in personal loans should have been issued through Lending Club and Prosper together.  As of this morning, real time statistics from both Lending Club and Prosper sites showed $223,807,850 and $219,490,725 in funded loans respectively. Check out other Lending Club real time statistics here.

Who has benefited from this success? Our customers. They are regular Americans seeking alternatives for their borrowing and investing needs, and our simple, transparent platform has proven to be a winning proposition for all.

Creditworthy borrowers seeking personal loans can obtain low-rate, fixed-term loans often at rates lower than those offered by traditional banking and credit card institutions for similarly situated borrowers, while investors have consistently gotten access to an investment opportunity that has delivered a platform net annualized return of over 9.5% *.

Need more proof? Since 2007, investors on Lending Club’s platform have received nearly $17.5 million in interest**  and borrowers have saved as much as $5 million in annual interest***  on the more than 22,500 loans issued.

No doubt 2010 was a great year for Lending Club and its customers, and 2011 has already started with a bang.  We look forward with unrestrained optimism for an even better 2011.

@RobGarciaSJ

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* NAR calculated as of January 18, 2011, and is based on the return of the entire platform since inception, your returns may vary.  Currently only residents of the following states may invest in notes: CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, KY (accredited investors only), LA, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, NH, NV, NY, RI, SC, SD, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, or WY.

** Total interest paid to investors calculated as of February 16, 2011.

*** Based on Lending Club two week average interest rate of 11.36% for 36 month loans as of February 10, 2011 vs. 13.67% for “all accounts assessed interest” as reported in the FRB G19 release of February 7, 2011 on all loans issued since inception to February 10 2001.

All loans issued by WebBank, a Utah industrial bank.

In this time of financial uncertainty, more and more people are reaching out to their family, their friends, and even to people they don’t even know when they need a loan.  Some of these people think it’s easier to get money, while others have become suspicious of banks and other lending institutions. Whatever the reason individual borrowers give, there’s no doubt that personal loans are making a comeback. If you feel skeptical about jumping into one, here are some things to think about.

5. Fixed Repayment Time Frame

If you’re thinking about using a credit card instead of getting a personal loan, think about this: most personal loans have fixed repayment terms, while minimum credit card payments are designed to keep you in debt longer. Most personal loans have a term of 1, 2, 3, or 5 years, and when you’ve made all the payments, you’re done. You can go into the process knowing exactly how long your debt will take to pay off, instead of watching it stretch into the future.

In addition, some personal loans can be paid off early without a penalty for prepayment. Many loans via financial institutions have this penalty, and thus are designed in the best interests of the lenders, not the borrowers.

4. No Collateral Necessary

Considering a home equity loan or another traditional type of loan through an institution? You’ll definitely need collateral. Whether this is your house, as with a home equity line of credit, your car, or something else of value, traditional lenders ask you to put something on the line in case you can’t repay the loan. Personal loans, though, don’t require this, so the valuable possessions that you’ve worked so hard to obtain are not on the line.  However, be aware that your credit history will most likely be damage significantly if you default on a personal loan.

3. Get Rewarded for Good Credit

Many loans that you can get via traditional means, as well as credit cards, have standard interest rates. No matter how good your credit is, you’ll pay the same amount of interest on your loan as someone with a poorer credit history. This is not so with personal loans. These loans offer a variety of interest rates, and you’ll be rewarded with a lower one of your credit score is high. That means you’ll pay back less money overall and there will be more in your pocket along the way.

2. Fixed Rate = Fixed Payment

In addition to offering lower interest rates for good credit, the interest rates on personal loans are fixed. Once you’ve qualified for a low rate, it’s locked in for the life of the loan. This separates personal loans from both credit cards and lines of credit, where the interest rate can go up or down at any time.

Having a fixed rate means that your monthly payment is fixed, too. This allows you to accurately plan ahead and include your loan payments in your budget, knowing that the amount won’t suddenly skyrocket and leave you scrambling for cash.

1. A Personal Loan Makes Things . . . Well . . . Personal.

When you take out a personal loan from a direct lending network like Lending Club, there’s no big financial institution behind the money that you get. There are just people like you who happen to have money available and who are willing to consider your need as their own investment. This adds motivation for making your payments in full and on time, because your money is going toward individuals with names and faces, not to a bank or a large corporation.

Even if you’re not a financial guru, you can see that this is a game-changer. With many people feeling suspicious of large institutions, personal loans allow you to take them out of the equation entirely and still get the money you need.

These are only a few of the reasons why you might want to consider a personal loan instead of a credit card, a line of credit, or a traditional loan the next time you need money. Not only will you get a better financial deal that way, but you’ll get rewarded for your good credit while connecting with investors instead of feeling anonymous and at the mercy of a large institution.

Have you participated in a direct personal loan, either as a borrower or an investor? We’d love to hear about your favorite part of the experience in the comments.

Image courtesy of RJ.

Well, not really. In fact, they were mostly absent in a sea of food, car, and movie commercials. Financial innovation was not to be seen anywhere during super bowl commercial breaks, while websites and other "techie" products barely made a stand.

Let's face it, banking and financial products are not the sexy, fun, hot stuff that is typically shown during those mega expensive ad slots. Will they ever be? I can dream, right? In the mean time the latest and fastest cars, the latest stories for the silver screen and crappy cheap food and drinks that generate millions dominate the super bowl advertising landscape.

But even when Doritos, Budweiser, BMW, Pepsi, Chevrolet, Audi and even Mini USA dominated the airwaves this time around, some websites, "techie" stuff, and even an investing product were conspicuously present.

Check them out:

E*Trade Investing Toddler
To tell you the truth, the e*Trade baby ads are old by now.  The joke is over but that did not stop them from trying a follow up.  You have to give them credit for being the only financial related product on during the commercial breaks.

CareerBuilder.com Chimp Ad
Probably one the more memorable ones, CareerBuilder attempts to get herds to their website was funny and to the point.  I'm just worried that now PETA will launch an anti-careerbuilder campaign for unjust stereotyping of chimps.

GroupOn's Tibet Ad Post Google Offer Ad
As excited as I was to see a local start up on the main advertising stage, I was also appalled by the cheap shot taken at Tibet and its citizens.  I guess they had to desperately swing big and get some attention after passing a clear multibillion dollar opportunity with Google.

Homeaway.com's Conspiracy Theory
I did not care much for the story, but was happy to see an alternative travel website take the spotlight away from the big travel websites like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity.

Carmax.com
One of the most clean fun and simple of all the ads.  Carmax also promoted its twitter and facebook pages on its commercial.

GoDaddy.co's Girls
I did not find them (I mean the ad) appealing at all. I guess I'm not in their target market.  We will see in the numbers whether paying top dollars for celebrity endorsement will get them the traffic they bet for.

Bridgestone
Ok, I know this one has no technology or website to promote, but come on! Something like this has happened to you, when you realize that you just replied to all.

Cars.com's Don't Go First Advice
This commercial from the car-buying website strikes a chord with the Lending Club team when they point out the various reasons why it's best not to be the first to try something.  Isn't it always better to do it right?

Motorola's Tablet
The new Xoom looks slick.  But the fun part of this ad is how Motorola takes aim at Apple and their drones carrying iPads.

So there you have them: the "techie" and financial super bowl commercials.  Which one was your favorite?

@RobGarciaSJ

Once more, it's that time of the year when we prostrate ourselves in front of tax forms, software or tax preparation firms, to figure out whether we owe or get a refund on our taxes.   Many people find that, due to an inappropriate withholding, moving up a tax bracket, or some other esoteric reason, that they owe more in taxes than they can afford to pay.  In such a position, it might be tempting to avoid filing a tax return. This is not your best option. If you fail to file a tax form, you will be penalized with a fine, and that could only add to your problems. If you can’t pay your taxes, the best thing to do is to go to the IRS for help.

Believe it or not, the IRS has a system in place to help you make installment loans.  If you owe $25,000 or less, you can apply for a payment agreement with the IRS. You will have to pay interest, but the rate is usually quite reasonable. When applying, you will need some information. The IRS points out that you will need:

• SSN or Individual Tax ID.
• Birth date.
• Number shown at the top of your recent notice of tax due.
• PIN: If you don’t have a PIN, you can use your AGI
• Highest amount you can pay, and when it can be paid
• It helps to have your tax return in hand so that you can verify information

The IRS system will evaluate your payment application and let you know – usually instantly – if you are approved. If you owe more than $25,000, the process with the IRS is different but you still have to contact the them  directly to make arrangements.

Of course, if your payment agreement application is rejected, or if you prefer not to deal with the IRS directly and just pay it off, you can go with other options: credit card, line of credit from your bank, a personal loan, or even proceeds from selling stuff you don't need anymore.  However, before you whip out the credit card (with its high interest), it might be worth applying for the IRS installment agreement or check your rate on a peer-to-peer personal loan.

Image courtesy of Marc Levin.