Prosper.com, which runs a peer to peer lending website called Prosper Marketplace, reversed an earlier decision in which it had no longer required borrowers to state why they wanted to take out a loan as part of the application process.
The peer to peer lending company previously decided that it would no longer ask borrowers why they would be taking out a loan in an attempt to streamline the borrowing process in hopes of encouraging more loan originations.
The company said on its blog, ” As some lenders noticed and commented on in our May 3rd blog post, borrowers with a high probability of funding were no longer being prompted to write listing descriptions (even though they still had the option to do so). As we discussed in our reply comment to lenders, we thought this would be appealing to both borrowers and lenders – borrowers because their listing process was easier, and lenders because they would have more listings to bid on.”
Members of Prosper that invest in loans on the site did not approve of the change. Prosper.com changed course on the decision, writing on its blog, that “While we still believe in those benefits, we did hear some concerns from manual bidders who liked reading the listings. We’ve heard that feedback, and as a result we have gone back to prompting all borrowers to provide a listing description. We’re continuing to strive for the most efficient process for all of our borrowers and lenders – and we still think there’s a role for “express listings” in that effort. But our top priority is keeping our lenders and borrowers happy, and right now that means sticking with the listing descriptions. We hope you’re happy we changed back!”
