Financial Fellow

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     I’m earning over a 9% return on my money through Lending Club.  (Currently the average annual return for all of Lending Club’s 25,000+ investors is 9.6%.)  By offering a $25 bonus, Lending Club is inviting new customers to give their service a try for free. 

What is Lending Club?

     Lending Club acts as a middleman between individual lenders and borrowers seeking loans between $1,000 and $25,000.  To qualify for a loan, borrowers must have a credit score of at least 660 and meet other Lending Club guidelines.  Once approved, borrowers are categorized into one of 35 loan grades and assigned an interest rate (with the lowest interest rates going to the most qualified borrowers). 

     Lenders (investors) browse Lending Club’s website or use its “Lending Match” tool to select loans they’d like to fund.  Typically, investors will buy small, $25 stakes, in a large number of loans – enabling them to diversify their risk.  Investors profit as borrowers steadily repay their loan.

Invest in a loan using your bonus

     After signing up, Lending Club will credit your account with a $25 bonus.  You can use that money to invest in any of the loan requests featured on Lending Club’s site.  Here’s an example of what it looks like when you’re searching for loans. 

     Using their filters, you can choose to invest in very conservative loans (folks with credit scores over 780) or, seek a slightly higher return through borrowers with a lower (but still high) credit score.  The great thing about Lending Club is that even the most conservative loans still pay almost 8%. 

     If you’re interested in taking advantage of Lending Club’s trial offer click here or on the logo above.