From Techcrunch:
Yesterday, the SEC issued its formal cease-and-desist letter (embedded below or download PDF), outlining its reasoning for characterizing Prosper as a seller of investment, something prosper had vigorously resisted in the past by arguing that it was merely a marketplace matching lenders and borrowers. But the SEC is having none of that.
And it is not just Prosper, but all P2P lenders, that are on notice. Loanio, a new entrant into the P2P lending arena that just launched last month, has suspended new loans until it registers with the SEC as well (see notice below). And last April, competitor Lending Club was the first P2P lender to temporarily cease operations (the SEC approved its registration, and its members are now lending again in about half the states, including California which gave it the go-ahead last week).
The SEC letter makes clear why it considers Prosper a seller of securities and why it should be regulated by the SEC:
Thus, the Prosper notes are securities under Reves because: (i) Prosper lenders are motivated by an expected return on their funds; (ii) the Prosper loans are offered to the general public; (iii) a reasonable investor would likely expect that the Prosper loans are investments; and (iv) there is no alternate regulatory scheme that reduces the risks to investors presented by the platform.
3 comments:
If you want to see the most pathetic desperate people in the US start a Prosper account and search for all the folks looking for loans who have interest rates > 20%.
Very sad state of affairs
Yup, it's pathetic... Try Lending Club. it's anonymous, and set up as an investment tool (kinda like a mutual fund)... you can invest in many loans at a time without having to look at stupid pictures or sappy stories.
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