The online loan facilitator Prosper Marketplace Inc. has begun publishing details about how users plan to use the funds they borrow through its Web site.
The San Francisco company released data Wednesday showing that the most common use by far was debt consolidation, mainly for people who want to pay off credit card debt. Last month 50% of loans requested through Prosper, and 43% of the loans funded, were for that purpose.
The second-biggest category was business use, accounting for 23% of loan requests and 25% of loans funded. Home improvement was third in terms of loans funded, followed by education and automobile purchases.
Prosper said it does not verify how the money is spent.
It also said a record 47% of its borrowers were prime last month, compared with 32% a year earlier. Prosper defines "prime" borrowers as those with credit scores of at least 720.
From its inception in November 2005 through the end of last month, 26,000 loans worth nearly $777 million were funded through Prosper.
The number of loans funded last month rose 46% from a year earlier, to 1,366. Their dollar value rose 25%, to $8 million.
