Different Types Of Peer To Peer Loans
There are several different types of peer to peer loan models that have appeared in the lending industry in the last few years. Each of these variations follow the basic principals of peer to peer lending, including reliance on social networks and the absence of traditional banks. Each one has characteristics that separate them from the others and choosing the right one can save an individual hundreds of dollars.
With a secured peer to peer loan, the borrower offers collateral to investors in exchange for funding and investors pick which borrowers to lend funding to and the amount to lend based on the strength of the collateral offered. If the borrower defaults on the loan, then the collateral becomes the property of the investor under the terms spelled out in the loan agreement.
With an unsecured peer to peer loan, the amount of funding that the investor is willing to extend to the borrower is based on the borrower’s credit profile and credit history. Borrowers with high scores are offered the highest loan amounts at low interest rates. Borrowers with low scores are required to pay high interest rates and may be denied by investors that consider them to be too risky.
With a direct peer to peer loan, an investor picks a borrower to provide funding to based on personal information, loan qualifications, and risk level. The amount of risk the investor assumes is managed by choosing the funding level to provide to each borrower. Accounts with funds spread over a large group of borrowers are less risky than accounts that give large amounts of funding to a small group of borrowers.
With an indirect peer to peer loan, the investor does not pick individual borrowers for funding. The investor picks a group of borrowers with similar credit profiles to fund and the amount invested is spread among the members of the group. Each borrower in the group makes their payments individually which are combined by the company and split among the investors that funded the group based on the amount invested.







