Lending Club Tops $12 Million in Loan Originations in August 2010

Lending Club, a venture capital-backed company which operates a peer to peer lending marketplace, has issued more than $12 million in loans during the month of August, marking the largest single monthly dollar amount that a U.S. peer to peer lending company has issued in loans in a given month.

During the month of August, Lending Club issued $12,021,775 in loans with an average loan amount of $10,231. There were a total of 1,175 loans issued on the site during the month of August with an average interest rate of 12.58%. Interestingly enough, 47.5% of all borrowers on the site came from the states of California, New York, Florida, Texas and New Jersey.

Out of the loans that were taken out, 50% of the loans were reported by borrowers to be used for purposes of debt consolidation. Borrowers often take out fixed-rate Lending Club loans and use the proceeds to pay off higher interest unsecured debt. The company also noted a slight decreased in borrowers that were taking out loans to make a major purchase, finance a small business, or pay off a medical bill.

The company took more than three years to issue its first $100 million worth of loans, but has issued more than $50 million in loans during the last six months. The company has had one quarter of loans which has finished its complete payment cycle, which is important because it shows what type of returns that investors may make over a full three year period after default rates.

If you’re not familiar with Lending Club, it’s a peer to peer lending company, which allows members of its website to borrow money from one another. Users that want to borrow money using the website create loan listings on the website and have their credit checked by Lending Club. Other members on the site can choose to help fund a borrower’s loan and earn the interest that the borrower pays on their loan. Lending Club makes its money by charging borrowers an origination fee and charging a 1% fee to investors to manage the loan.