Social Lending Web Loans

Strange New World: Tech Picks of the Week
Social Lending Takes Off, Satellite Radio Giants Likely to Merge and Firefox 3 Launches
By JONATHAN BLUM and DAN EVANS
June 20, 2008

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Our trip this week through this strange new world of ours has brought us a brand new Web browser, news of the future of satellite radio and a new way to get a loan without a bank. And, no, we're not talking about the Mob. Here are our picks of the week.



Social Lending

There has been real progress in social lending sites and, considering the credit crisis, we think it's a particularly good time to cover this innovative end of the Web. Social lending is a classic Web concept, circa 1999: The idea was that lenders and borrowers would find one another online and that borrowing money could be accomplished at favorable rates and without all the stupid bank fees and fancy suits. But complexities in getting the system to work and a lack of money kept the system from running properly.



But, apparently, not anymore. It seems like there are plenty of these social lending sites out there. And we will keep the news here simple: Considering that Alan Greenspan might have trouble getting a loan these days, it's interesting to see that one part of the credit business actually works. Web sites like LendingClub, Zopa, Wesabe and Fynanz all specialize in peer-to-peer lending and may be the place to turn if the banks won't help you.