If you’re an active lender/borrower in the P2P community such as myself, the recent news (seen below) on LendClub’s site may strike as a shocking new development.

“Lending Club has started a process to register, with the appropriate securities authorities, promissory notes that may be offered and sold to lenders through our site in the future. Until we complete the registration process, we will not accept new lender registrations or allow new commitments from existing lenders. We will continue to service all previously funded loans during this period, and lenders will be able to access their accounts, monitor their portfolios, and withdraw available funds without changes.

Until the registration process is completed, the company will undergo a quiet period and will not be able to respond to press and other inquiries about Lending Club or the registration process during that time.”

I called customer support and got a call back from Lending Club. They assured me this is a normal process and no, they are not in trouble. I certainly hope that once all regulatory hurdles have been completed, things will be back to normal.

In the meantime, growth has been the focal point of LC and they are beginning to deliver. Let’s take a look at the statistical breakdown from May 24, 2007 to April 4, 2008:

“Surpassing the $15 million mark in issued loans last week was an important milestone for our company. As netbanker reported, LendingClub has the largest volume in the quality loans segment in the P2P lending space (FICO>640, DTI<30%, no dqs)" – Rob G., LendingClub

ABC News Covers P2P Lending Success Story:
Tim Murphy needed $25,000 in capital to open a store in Marietta, Ga. with the mission to sell popcorn. He ended up going to about 15 banks, filling out one application after another. People like Mr. Murphy with good credit are being turned down by these smug bankers — the climax of lending inefficency. P2P lending sites such as LendingClub and Prosper are quickly closing the gap. Click Here to read more on the story…

I’ll keep my ear to wall and report on any further developments over at LendingClub HQ as the news trickles in…