The disclaimer shows that E borrowers with 2 or fewer delinquent accounts have a default rate of 9.2% and E borrowers with 3 or more delinquent accounts have a default rate of 35.3%. High risk borrowers with 2 or fewer delinquent accounts have a default rate of 17.5% and high risk borrowers with 3 or more delinquent accounts have a default rate of 52.1%. This data is for loans with origination dates of Jun-Nov 2006 and as of Jan 2007.
There have been complaints in the forums that many lenders, especially new lenders, do not fully understand just how risky HR and E credit grades are. A lender who goes by the username thisguy has been the most vocal proponent of warning new lenders about the risk associated with E and HR borrowers. He has posted several messages such as this one, "If nothing else I still think there should be a 30 day ban from day 1 thru 30 of your lending life here where you are banned from bidding on HRs - then at least you will have had some time to build up your knowledge base, and see the 'reality' of the site." Other veteran leaders agree. In an open letter to Prosper in April Fred93, one of Prosper's largest lenders, accused Prosper of misleading lenders about potential returns and default rates.
This move by Prosper appears to be an attempt to respond to the criticism. It helps increase visibility of the likelihood of default on E and HR loans and will help new lenders fully understand the risk associated with lower credit grades.
While I think this is a great move for Prosper, it is also likely to make it harder for E and HR borrowers to get loans. As I mentioned in an earlier article, nearly 7 of 10 listings are from E and HR borrowers but very few of them get funded. Six months ago lenders aggressively funded low credit grade loans, but they have backed off due to the high default rate.
Analyzing the data using Prosper's Marketplace Performance, it appears that Prosper presented the most brutally honest, worse possible data. It also appears they included the rate adjustments in the default amount to come up with their percentages. If you move the range of dates forward or back the default rate gets slightly better or stays about the same.
