The purpose of pa4pl is to address the recent prohibition on Pennsylvanians from lending on the peer-to-peer lending site, Prosper.com.

p2p lending is an incredible concept! I give Prosper so much credit and appreciation for creating a venue where Americans can invest directly in their fellow American.

This new and intimate method of investing is wonderful, especially now as our sense of trust and security in our traditional methods of investment are being put to the test.

Email me at pa4prosperlending@gmail.com if you have anything you would like to see addressed on pa4pl.

Please sign the pa4prosperlending petition!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Thanks for the info Prosper!

When I spoke with Prosper earlier today I was told that a thread had been started in the Prosper community and that a member of their legal team would be fielding questions.

The Prosper Blog offered this information:

"The regulatory body we’re primarily in discussions with is the Pennsylvania Securities Commission.

Contact information for the Commission and other key Pennsylvania government and regulatory officials is included in the following links:

Pennsylvania Securities Commission
http://www.psc.state.pa.us/investor/contact.html

Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell’s Office
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=2998&mode=2

Pennsylvania Open for Business
http://www.paopen4business.state.pa.us/paofb/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=440975

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/email_list.cfm?body=H

Pennsylvania State Senate
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/email_list.cfm?body=S "

That helps! Thank you Prosper.

Please sign the petition!

Ask a friend to sign!

Can't Lend on Prosper? Try this Instead.

Do you enjoy Lending on Prosper?

Do you live in Pennsylvania?

Well guess what?

You're Grounded! -from Lending on Prosper that is.

Here's something to do in the meantime:

Email these guys!

Pennsylvania State Senate
Officers of the Pennsylvania State Senate
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell’s Office
Pennsylvania Open for Business

more to come . . .


Please sign the petition!

Ask a friend to sign!

Response from Prosper Customer Support

I figured, first things first, so I emailed Prosper support to validate the notice I received.

Here's their response followed by original email:

I decided to remove the email because Prosper support basically regurgitated the notice I received, swiftly deflating my hopes that this was a spoof. Not a big deal though, it is what it is.

The problem does not lie with Prosper, it lies with whatever regulations, and special interest has caused the PA governement to force Prosper's hand as it has.

In addition to emailing prosper support, I also called. Part of me was still holding out hope that it was spoof! I spoke with Brian, who was really cool about the whole thing.

He explained that their legal department is working to lift this restriction. Although he couldn't offer any time frame, or point to any specific regulation.


Please sign the petition!

Ask a friend to sign!

Important News for Pennsylvania (Prosper) Lenders

I am a Pennsylvania resident and I have been lending on Prosper for about three months. I love everything about being a Lender on Prosper.

Prosper creates a unique investment opportunity for individuals. It offers normal people a potential for excellent returns and the ability to help others.


I enjoy taking the time and hand picking the loans I bid on. Of my twenty-one Prosper loans, none of my borrowers have let me down yet. I also enjoy creating projections for my returns. Prosper is something that has become a new and favorite hobby of mine.

According to
Eric's Credit Community, my Average Interest Rate is 33.27%. My Experian Estimated Return on Investment is 25.14%, and my EricsCC Estimated ROI is 33.03%.

(Revised: Tom from Prosper Lending had a terrific comment to the fact that I have only been on Prosper for 3 months, and that my current returns are not a good reflection of the returns that most investors see over time. I absolutely agree with him. Three months is not a long time at all. I was just beginning to get my feet wet, and I realize I have been lucky so far.

I had been focusing my investments in riskier, higher return loans. My strategy was to build my portfolio like this to the point where any single loan was less than 2% of my overall portfolio, at which time I was going to begin scaling back on riskier loans for lower risk, lower return loans.

This is all the more reason I'm frustrated with the restriction. As of now I am not able to push my portfolio to the point I wanted. My loans are greater than 2% of my total portfolio. On average, they're more like 4.75%.

Plus, I lose the ability to compound my returns. It was more about where this was going than where I am.

Of all the risks I considered when deciding to lend on Prosper, the risk of PA regulation barring me from investing was honestly not one of them.)

So, looking into the future, I am, or rather WAS, excited about the role Prosper Lending was going to play in my overall investment portfolio.

But, HERE'S THE PROBLEM:


This morning I woke up to find an email in my inbox from Prosper that knocked me off my chair, made me spill my coffee, spiked my blood pressure through the roof, and had me beating my steering wheel with open palm strikes the whole way to work.

The email basically told me that PA residents are no longer allowed to Lend on Prosper.


I feel robbed! -and needless to say, I'm furious. I'm not exactly sure how or where to direct my anger at this point.

So, for starters I created this blog on which to vent. I'm hoping other PA Lenders might stumble upon it. Please feel free to vent as well. Please! -share your thoughts, anger, or knowledge on this.

I will be doing everything I can to understand the Pennsylvania state regulations that are robbing me and other Pennsylvanians of this unique investment opportunity and I will be posting anything I learn here.

In the back of my mind I keep thinking that maybe this is some sort of spoof, and maybe it is. If so, it is the first Prosper Spoof I've ever received. I've emailed Prosper customer support to see if this is the case.


I really hope it is. If so, I owe my steering wheel an apology.

Please sign the petition!

Ask a friend to sign!