Saturday, October 21, 2006

Group Leader Rewards

What are group rewards?

Group leader rewards are cash incentives earned by groups and group leaders when a new loan gets fully funded or an on-time monthly payment is made.

There are two types of group leader rewards:

Match reward: This is a one-time reward that is accrued by a group leader when a group member's loan listing gets funded. See the chart below for specifics.

Payment reward: This is a monthly reward that is accrued when a borrower's monthly payment is successfully paid on time. Payment rewards also vary by the borrower's credit grade. So a high grade means a smaller payment reward (because they are lower-risk). Group leaders can choose to receive all, some, or none of the payment rewards generated by their group members.

Group rewards by credit grade

Grade Match reward Payment reward
AA, A $20 1%
B, C, D $10 2%
E, HR, NC $10 4%


How are rewards paid?

The group leader will receive match rewards one month after a group loan is funded as long as the loan is still outstanding (not repaid) and payment is current.

Payment rewards are paid after a 3-month withholding period to ensure the loan isn't bad right out of the gate. After 3 months, all current month payment rewards earned for that month are paid. At the end of the loan term, any remaining rewards withheld are paid in full.

Because, at this time, group leader rewards are paid directly to the group leader's primary bank account on file at Prosper, the group leader must have earned at least $25 in group rewards before a transfer is made. $25 is the marketplace-wide minimum transfer amount.

Can I choose how much to receive in payment rewards?

Yes. In fact, some group leaders do choose to receive payment rewards at all. For those who want to receive payment rewards, they can choose to take 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of the base group leader rewards in the table above. For example, a group that receives 75% of base group leader rewards will add 0.75% to an A or AA borrower's listing, 1.5% to a B, C, or D listing, and 3% to an E, HR, or NC listing.

Why would a borrower join a group that takes group leader rewards?

Here's the thing: groups are designed to help secure lower interest rates for borrowers, even after the group leader rewards are factored in. A borrower can get a good rate in either case:
  • If they are in a group that does not take group leader rewards, the rate will be lower because the group leader reward will not be added.

  • On the other hand, if they are in a group that takes group leader rewards, the borrower may be perceived as less risky by lenders because of the presenc the group leader and the value of the group's reputation, which would drive the interest rate down.
Since there are benefits to being in a group, even if the group leader rewards are high, borrowers should consider joining a group. In the end, some lenders will prefer to loan money to borrowers who represent the least risk, while other lenders will be willing to take on a little more risk for a higher rate.

There is one last benefit to lenders of a group that takes group leader rewards: if one of those borrowers defaults, the lenders will share the first 3 months of earned group leader rewards. Every little bit counts!

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