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EX-31.2 - EXHIBIT 31.2 - PROSPER MARKETPLACE, INCexhibit31d23d31d2012.htm
EX-32.1 - EXHIBIT 32.1 - PROSPER MARKETPLACE, INCexhibit32d13d31d2012.htm
 
 
 


UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
 (Mark One)
     
þ
 
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2012

or
     
o
 
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from                       to                     

Commission File Number: 333-147019

PROSPER MARKETPLACE, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
 
6199
 
73-1733867
(State or other jurisdiction of
 
(Primary Standard Industrial
 
(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)
 
Classification Code Number
 
Identification Number)

111 Sutter Street, 22nd Floor
San Francisco, CA  94104
(415) 593-5400
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No o
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes þ  No o
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer o
Accelerated filer o
Non-accelerated filer o(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
Smaller reporting company þ
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ

As of April 30, 2012 there were 2,897,859 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.





 
 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
 
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
 

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, and can generally be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “believe,” “will,” “expect,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “continue” or similar expressions.   In particular, information appearing under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements inherently involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these statements.

 
Where, in any forward-looking statement, we express an expectation or belief as to future results or events, such expectation or belief is based on the current plans and expectations of our management and expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. More information on factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated is included from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, particularly under the caption “Risk Factors.”

 
All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, particularly under the caption “Risk Factors.” We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, other than as required by law.

 
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
 
We file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC. You can inspect, read and copy these reports and other information at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can obtain information regarding the operation of the SEC’s Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that makes available reports, proxy statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically.


 
 
i

 

PART I. Financial Information
Prosper Marketplace, Inc.
 
Consolidated Balance Sheets
 
 
 
             
   
March 31, 2012
   
December 31, 2011
 
    (Unaudited)    
 (Note 2)
(As Restated)
 
ASSETS
           
   Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 4,084,767     $ 9,216,133  
   Restricted cash
    4,661,705       4,364,102  
   Short term investments
    10,994,410       9,997,420  
   Receivables
    25,884       12,941  
   Loans held for investment at fair value
    233,745       137,314  
   Borrower Loans Receivable at fair value
    97,153,247       75,762,894  
   Property and equipment, net
    1,342,581       1,337,572  
   Prepaid and other assets
    161,028       234,539  
Total assets
  $ 118,657,367     $ 101,062,915  
                 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
               
   Accounts payable
  $ 1,441,603     $ 1,123,732  
   Accrued liabilities
    2,243,132       2,027,313  
   Borrower Payment Dependent Notes at fair value
    97,492,062       76,159,501  
   Repurchase obligation
    29,000       22,168  
Total liabilities
    101,205,797       79,332,714  
                 
   Commitments and contingencies (see Note 12)
               
                 
   Stockholders' Equity
               
   Convertible preferred stock – Series A ($0.001 par value; 4,023,999 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011)
    4,024       4,024  
   Convertible preferred stock – Series B ($0.001 par value; 3,310,382 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011)
    3,310       3,310  
   Convertible preferred stock – Series C ($0.001 par value; 2,063,558 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011)
    2,064       2,064  
   Convertible preferred stock – Series D ($0.001 par value; 20,340,705 shares authorized; 20,340,705 issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011)
    20,341       20,341  
   Convertible preferred stock – Series E ($0.001 par value; 23,222,747 shares authorized; 23,222,747 issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011)
    23,223       23,223  
   Convertible preferred stock – Series E-1 ($0.001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 10,000,000 issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011)
    10,000       10,000  
   Convertible preferred stock – Series F ($0.001 par value; 8,996,739 shares authorized; 8,996,739 issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011)
    8,997       8,997  
   Common stock ($0.001 par value; 81,414,566 shares authorized;  shares 2,897,859 and 2,872,859 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively)
    4,721       4,696  
   Additional paid-in capital
    82,819,174       82,733,624  
   Less Treasury Stock
    (291,046 )     (291,046 )
   Accumulated deficit
    (65,153,238 )     (60,789,032 )
   Total stockholders' equity
    17,451,570       21,730,201  
                 
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
  $ 118,657,367     $ 101,062,915  
                 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
 

 
 
1

 


Prosper Marketplace, Inc.
 
Consolidated Statements of Operations
 
(Unaudited)
   
Three Months Ended March 31,
 
   
2012
   
2011
 
Revenues
           
   Origination fees
  $ 1,382,455     $ 393,302  
   Loan servicing fees
    153       12,019  
   Interest income on Borrower   Loans and Payment Dependent Notes, net
    227,030       80,274  
   Rebates and promotions
    (284,366 )     (166,404 )
Revenues     1,325,272       319,191  
                 
Cost of revenues
               
   Cost of services
    (335,635 )     (302,823 )
   Reversal of (Provision for) loan and Note repurchases
    (3,433 )     60,669  
Net revenues
    986,204       77,037  
                 
Operating expenses
               
   Compensation and benefits
    2,456,804       1,558,209  
   Marketing and advertising
    1,274,526       517,995  
   Depreciation and amortization
    158,296       123,264  
General and administrative
               
   Professional services
    993,944       596,960  
   Facilities and maintenance
    323,878       150,198  
   Other
    469,244       227,694  
Total expenses
    5,676,692       3,174,320  
Loss before other income and expenses
    (4,690,488 )     (3,097,283 )
                 
Other income and expenses
               
   Interest income
    (360 )     1,034  
   Change in fair value on Borrower Loans, Loans Held for Investment and  Payment Dependent Notes, net
    279,124       284,692  
   Insurance recoveries
    -       1,728,273  
   Other Income
    47,518       22,929  
Total other income and expenses, net
    326,282       2,036,928  
                 
Loss before income taxes
    (4,364,206 )     (1,060,355 )
Provision for income taxes
    -       -  
Net loss
  $ (4,364,206 )   $ (1,060,355 )
                 
                 
Net loss per share – basic and diluted
  $ (1.51 )   $ (0.24 )
 Weighted average shares - basic and diluted net loss per share
    2,887,581       4,497,556  
                 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
 

 
2

 

 
Prosper Marketplace, Inc.
 
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
 
 
 
   
Preferred Stock
   
Common Stock
   
Treasury Stock
   
Additional Paid-In
    Accumulated        
 
 
   
Shares
 
Amount
   
Shares
 
Amount
   
Shares
 
Amount
   
Capital
   
Deficit
   
Total
 
Balance as of January 1, 2011 (Audited)
    32,848,832   $ 32,849       4,478,667   $ 4,480               $ 56,659,849     $ (50,767,983 )   $ 5,929,195  
                                                               
Exercise of stock options
                  20,000     20                 4,980               5,000  
                                                               
Issuance of common stock warrants
                                          8,958               8,958  
                                                               
Compensation expense
                                          71,898               71,898  
                                                               
Net loss
                                                  (1,060,355 )     (1,060,355 )
                                                               
Balance as of March 31, 2011 (Unaudited)
    32,848,832   $ 32,849       4,498,667   $ 4,500               $ 56,745,685     $ (51,828,338 )   $ 4,954,696  
                                                               
Balance as of January 1, 2012 (Audited)
    71,958,130   $ 71,959       4,695,499   $ 4,696       (1,822,640 ) $ (291,046 )   $ 82,733,624     $ (60,789,032 )   $ 21,730,201  
                                                                   
                                                                   
Exercise of stock options
                  25,000     25                     2,975               3,000  
                                                                   
Issuance of common stock warrants
                                              1,923               1,923  
                                                                   
Purchase of Treasury Stock
                                                              -  
                                                                   
Compensation expense
                                              80,652               80,652  
                                                                   
Net loss
                                                      (4,364,206 )     (4,364,206 )
                                                                   
Balance as of March 31, 2012 (Unaudited)
    71,958,130   $ 71,959       4,720,499   $ 4,721       (1,822,640 ) $ (291,046 )   $ 82,819,174     $ (65,153,238 )   $ 17,451,570  
                                                                   
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 
3

 
 
 
Prosper Marketplace, Inc.
 
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
 
(Unaudited)
 
   
Three Months Ended March 31,
 
   
2012
   
2011
 
Cash flows from operating activities:
           
Net loss
  $ (4,364,206 )   $ (1,060,355 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
               
   Depreciation and amortization
    158,296       123,264  
   Change in fair value of Loans held for investment
    3,076        
   Change in fair value of Borrower Loans
    (1,217,466 )     295,451  
   Change in fair value of Borrower Payment Dependent Notes
    935,267       (580,143 )
   Stock-based compensation expense
    82,574       71,898  
   Warrant grants to nonemployees
          8,958  
   Provision for (Reversal of) loan and Note repurchases
    6,832       (60,669 )
   Change in fair value of servicing rights
          2,019  
   Amortization of discount on long-term debt
          5,703  
   Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
               
        Restricted cash
    (297,603 )     (411,112 )
        Receivables
    (12,943 )     (15,899 )
        Prepaid and other assets
    73,512       44,841  
        Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
    533,690       413,999  
        Loan and Note repurchases
          2,669  
Net cash used in operating activities
    (4,098,971 )     (1,159,376 )
                 
Cash flows from investing activities:
               
Purchases of short term investments
    (2,996,990 )      
Maturities of short term investments
    2,000,000        
Origination of Loans held for investment at fair value
    (132,802 )      
Repayment of Loans held for investment at fair value
    33,295        
Origination of Borrower Loans held at fair value
    (33,064,181 )     (11,471,874 )
Repayment of Borrower Loans held at fair value
    12,891,294       4,506,839  
Purchases of property and equipment
    (163,305 )     (67,163 )
Net cash used in investing activities
    (21,432,689 )     (7,032,198 )
                 
Cash flows from financing activities:
               
Proceeds from issuance of Notes held at fair value
    33,064,181       11,471,874  
Payment of Notes held at fair value
    (12,666,887 )     (4,343,090 )
Proceeds from issuance of common stock
    3,000       5,000  
Net cash provided by financing activities
    20,400,294       7,133,784  
                 
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents
    (5,131,366 )     (1,057,790 )
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period
    9,216,133       4,284,228  
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period
  $ 4,084,767     $ 3,226,438  
                 
                 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
 
 

 
4

 
 
PROSPER MARKETPLACE, INC.
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited)
 
1. Operations and Business
 
Prosper Marketplace, Inc. (“Prosper,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our”) was incorporated in the state of Delaware on March 22, 2005. Prosper is an online marketplace for peer-to-peer lending. Prosper’s website provides an online marketplace for loans where people list and bid on loans with interest rates of return determined by Prosper.   Lender members access our platform and bid the amount they are willing to commit to the purchase of a note payable by Prosper that is dependent for payment on the corresponding borrower loan, at interest rates set by Prosper (the “Note”).  Loan terms are subject to minimum and maximum loan amounts determined by the borrower’s credit bureau score and Prosper score, at interest rates set by Prosper.  Prosper facilitates the lending and borrowing activities and acts as an agent to the lender by maintaining its online marketplace. Prosper also handles all ongoing loan administration tasks, including loan servicing and collections on behalf of the lenders. Prosper generates revenue by collecting one-time fees from borrowers on funded loans and from loan servicing fees paid by lender members.
 
All loans requested and obtained by Prosper borrower members through our platform are unsecured obligations of individual borrower members with a fixed interest rate and a loan term set at one, three or five years.  All loans are funded by WebBank, an FDIC-insured, Utah-chartered industrial loan company.  After funding a loan, WebBank assigns the loan to Prosper, without recourse to WebBank, in exchange for the principal amount of the borrower loan.  WebBank does not have any obligation to purchasers of the Notes.

On July 13, 2009, we implemented a new operating structure and began issuing Borrower Payment Dependent Notes (“Notes”).  The post registration operating structure resulted in Prosper purchasing loans from WebBank, and holding the loans until maturity.  Prosper issues new securities, the Notes, to the winning lenders.  Prosper’s obligation to repay the Notes is conditioned upon the repayment of the associated borrower loan owned by Prosper.  As a result of these changes, borrower loans and the Notes originated on or after July 13, 2009 are carried on Prosper’s balance sheet as assets and liabilities, respectively.  Prosper has elected to carry the borrower loans and the Notes on its balance sheet at fair value.
 
As reflected in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, Prosper has incurred net losses and negative cash flows from operations since inception, and has an accumulated deficit of approximately $65.2 million as of March 31, 2012. For the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company incurred a net loss of $4.4 million and $1.1 million, respectively and the Company had negative cash flows from operations of $4.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012.  Since its inception, Prosper has financed its operations primarily through equity financing from various sources.  In June 2011 the Company raised $17.2 million through the issuance of our Series E Preferred Stock to certain new investors and certain of Prosper’s existing investors.  In November 2011, the Company raised $9.0 million through the issuance of our Series F Preferred Stock to certain new investors.  Please see Note 9, “Shareholders’ Equity” for further discussion of our Preferred Stock.

 
5

 

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
 
Basis of Presentation
 
The Company’s unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) and disclosure requirements for interim financial information and the requirements of Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by US GAAP for complete financial statements.  The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2011.  The balance sheet at December 31, 2011 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date. Management believes these unaudited interim consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, including those of a normal recurring nature, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year or any other interim period.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Prosper and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Prosper Funding LLC. Prosper Funding LLC was formed in the state of Delaware on February 17, 2012, but has not commenced operations as of March 31, 2012. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.

Use of Estimates
 
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the related disclosures at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. These estimates, judgments and assumptions include but are not limited to the following: valuation of borrower loans receivable and associated member payment dependent notes, valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, valuation and amortization periods of intangible assets, repurchase obligation, stock-based compensation expense, and contingent liabilities. Prosper bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that Prosper believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Certain Risks and Concentrations

In the normal course of its business, Prosper encounters two significant types of risk: credit and regulatory. Financial instruments that potentially subject Prosper to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short term investments. The Company places cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short term investments with high-quality financial institutions. Prosper is exposed to credit risk in the event of default by these institutions to the extent the amount recorded on the balance sheet exceeds federally insured amounts. Prosper performs periodic evaluations of the relative credit standing of these financial institutions and has not sustained any credit losses from instruments held at these financial institutions.

Loans originated by Prosper are carried on our balance sheet.  The loans are funded by the Notes and repayment of the Notes is wholly dependent on the repayment of the loan associated with a Note.  As a result, Prosper does not bear the risk associated with the repayment of principal on loans carried on its balance sheet.  A decrease in the value of the loans carried on Prosper’s balance sheet associated with increased credit risk is directly offset by a reduction in the value of the Notes Prosper issued in association with the loan. However, Prosper charges a servicing fee that is deducted from loan payments.  To the extent that loan payments are not made, Prosper’s servicing income will be reduced.  

Prosper is subject to various regulatory requirements. The failure to appropriately identify and address these regulatory requirements could result in certain discretionary actions by regulators that could have a
material effect on Prosper’s financial position and results of operations (See Note 12 — Commitments and Contingencies — Securities Law Compliance).

 
6

 


Cash and Cash Equivalents
 
Prosper invests its excess cash primarily in highly liquid debt instruments of the U.S. government and its agencies. All highly liquid investments with stated maturities of three months or less from date of purchase are classified as cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are recorded at cost, which approximates fair value. Such deposits periodically exceed amounts insured by the FDIC.

Restricted Cash
 
Restricted cash consists primarily of cash deposits required to support the Company’s Automated Clearing House and loan origination activities, and secured corporate credit cards.

Short Term Investments

Our short term investments consist of highly liquid debt instruments of the U.S. government and its agencies with maturity periods greater than three months and less than 12 months.
  
Fair Value of Borrower Loans, Borrower Payment Dependent Notes and Loans Held for Investment

The Company accounts for its borrower loans and loans held for investment as assets and accounts for its borrower payment dependent notes as liabilities and carries these instruments at fair value.

Borrower Loans and Borrower Payment Dependent Notes

On July 13, 2009, the Company implemented its new operating structure and began issuing Notes and purchasing loans from WebBank, and holding the loans until maturity.  Prosper’s obligation to repay the Notes is conditioned upon the repayment of the associated borrower loan owned by Prosper.   As a result of these changes, borrower loans and the Notes are carried on our balance sheet as assets and liabilities, respectively, and are carried at fair value.
 
Loans Held for Investment

From time to time, Prosper will fund all or a portion of a borrower loan or repurchase a loan to indemnify a lender member. These performing Notes are classified as loans held for investment based on management’s intent to hold these loans for the foreseeable future or to maturity.
 
For our borrower loans, borrower payment dependent notes and loans held for investment, we adopted the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 825, Financial Instruments.  ASC Topic 825 permits companies to choose to measure certain financial instruments and certain other items at fair value on an instrument-by-instrument basis with unrealized gains and losses on items for which the fair value option has been elected reported in earnings.  The fair value election, with respect to an item, may not be revoked once an election is made.  In applying the provisions of ASC Topic 825, we recorded assets and liabilities measured using the fair value option in a way that separates these reported fair values from the carrying values of similar assets and liabilities measured with a different measurement attribute.  We do not record a specific allowance account related to the borrower loans, loans held for investment and Notes in which we have elected the fair value option, but rather estimate the fair value of the borrower loans, loans held for investment and Notes using discounted cash flow methodologies adjusted for Prosper’s historical loss and recovery rates.  We have reported the aggregate fair value of the borrower loans, loans held for investment and Notes as separate line items in the assets and liabilities sections of the balance sheet using the methods described in ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures– See Fair Value Measurement.
 

 
7

 


Property and Equipment
 
Property and equipment consists of computer equipment, office furniture and equipment, and software purchased or developed for internal use. Property and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are computed using the straight-line method based on the estimated useful lives of the assets, which range from three to seven years. Prosper capitalizes expenditures for replacements and betterments and expenses amounts for maintenance and repairs as they are incurred.  Depreciation and amortization commences once the asset is placed in service.
 
Internal Use Software and Website Development

Prosper accounts for internal use software costs, including website development costs, in accordance with ASC Topic 350-40, Internal Use Software and ASC Topic 350-50, Website Development Costs. In accordance with ASC Topics 350-40 and 350-50, the costs to develop software for Prosper’s website and other internal uses are capitalized when management has authorized and committed project funding, preliminary development efforts are successfully completed, and it is probable that the project will be completed and the software will be used as intended. Capitalized software development costs primarily include software licenses acquired, fees paid to outside consultants, and salaries for employees directly involved in the development efforts. Costs incurred prior to meeting these criteria, together with costs incurred for training and maintenance, are expensed. Costs incurred for upgrades and enhancements that are considered to be probable to result in additional functionality are capitalized. Capitalized costs are included in property and equipment and amortized to expense using the straight-line method over their expected lives.

Intangible Assets
 
Prosper records the purchase of intangible assets not purchased in a business combination in accordance with ASC Topic 350. Prosper has an intangible asset resulting from the purchase of the “Prosper.com” domain name.  The intangible asset is amortized on a straight-line basis over five years, which was fully amortized during 2011.
 
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Including Acquired Intangible Assets
 
In accordance with ASC Topic 360, Property Plant and Equipment, Prosper reviews property and equipment including its software assets and intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying values of those assets may not be recoverable.  Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by comparing the carrying value of the asset to future net undiscounted cash flows that the assets are expected to generate. If an asset is considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized equals the amount by which the asset’s carrying value exceeds its fair value. Fair value is estimated using discounted net cash flows.

Repurchase Obligation
 
Prosper is obligated to indemnify lenders and repurchase certain Notes sold to lenders in the event of Prosper’s violation of applicable federal, state, or local lending laws, a breach of the Company’s representations and warranties under the lender registration agreement or verifiable identify theft. The amount of the Note repurchase obligation is estimated based on historical experience and instances where the Company intends to indemnify lenders under the terms of the Company’s representations and warranties  under the lender registration agreement  Prosper accrues a provision for the repurchase obligation as loans are funded. Repurchased Notes are recorded as Loans Held for Investment and held at fair value. Loans associated with verifiable identity thefts are written off at the time of repurchase.


 
8

 


Revenue Recognition
 
Prosper recognizes revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 605, Revenue Recognition.  Under ASC Topic 605, Prosper recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, the price of the services is fixed and determinable and collectability is reasonably assured.
 
Origination Fees

Origination fees are a percentage of the amount borrowed varying by Prosper Rating and are recognized when the loan is funded to the borrower.

From our relaunch in July 2009 to March 31, 2012, our origination fees were as follows:

   
Origination Fee Percentage
 
Origination Fee Percentage
 
Origination Fee Percentage
Prosper Rating
 
(July 2009-July 2010)
 
(July 2010-Nov 2011)
 
(Nov 2011-Mar 2012)
AA
 
0.50%
 
0.50%
 
0.50%
A-B
 
3.00%*
 
3.00%%**
 
3.95%
C-HR
 
3.00%*
 
4.50%%**
 
4.95%
*Subject to $50 minimum fee through July 2010
**Subject to $75 minimum fee July 2010 through December 20, 2010, minimum fee eliminated December 20, 2010 for all loan listings
 
Loan servicing fees

Loan servicing revenue includes monthly loan servicing fees and non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees on loans originated prior to October 16, 2008. Loan servicing fees are accrued daily based on the current outstanding loan principal balance of the borrower loan but are not recognized until payment is received due to the uncertainty of collection of borrower loan payments. Our servicing fee is equal to 1.0% of the outstanding principal balance of the corresponding borrower loan.  Prosper charges a NSF fee to borrowers for the first failed payment of each billing period.  NSF fees are charged to the borrower and collected and recognized immediately.

Interest income (expense) on Borrower Loans receivable and Payment Dependent Notes

We recognize interest income on our borrower loan receivable using the accrual method based on the stated interest rate to the extent that we believe it to be collectable.  We record interest expense on the corresponding Payment Dependent Note based on the contractual interest rate. Gross interest income earned and gross interest expense incurred was approximately $4,630,000 and $4,403,000, and $1,458,000 and $1,378,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Advertising and Promotional Expenses
 
Under the provisions of ASC Topic 720, Other Expenses, the costs of advertising are expensed as incurred. Advertising costs were approximately $1,275,000 and $518,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.
 
Rebate and Promotional Expenses
 
The Company accounts for rebates and promotions in accordance with ASC Topic 605, Revenue Recognition.  From time to time we offer rebates and promotions to our borrower and lender members.  We record these rebates and promotions as an offset to revenue if a particular rebate or promotion is earned upon the origination of the loan. Our rebate and promotions have in the past been in the form of cash back and other incentives paid to lender and borrowers.

 
9

 


Stock-Based Compensation
 
The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation for employees using fair-value-based accounting in accordance with ASC Topic 718, Stock Compensation.  ASC Topic 718 requires companies to estimate the fair value of stock-based awards on the date of grant using an option-pricing model. The stock-based compensation related to an award that is expected to vest is amortized using the straight line method over the vesting term of the award, which is generally four years. Expected forfeitures of unvested options are estimated at the time of grant and reduce the recognized stock-based compensation expense. The forfeitures were estimated based on historical experience. The Company estimated its annual forfeiture rate to be 23.8% and 23.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.
 
Prosper has granted options to purchase shares of common stock to nonemployees in exchange for services performed. Prosper accounts for stock options and restricted stock issued to nonemployees in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 505-50, Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees, which requires that equity awards be recorded at their fair value.  Under ASC Topics 718 and 505-50, Prosper uses the Black-Scholes model to estimate the value of options granted to nonemployees at each vesting date to determine the appropriate charge to stock-based compensation. The volatility of common stock was based on comparative company volatility.
 
The fair value of stock option awards for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 was estimated as of  the respective grant dates using the Black-Scholes model with the following average assumptions:

   
Three Months Ended March 31,
 
   
2012
   
2011
 
Volatility of common stock
    77.10 %     65.84 %
Risk-free interest rate
    0.97 %     1.70 %
Expected life*
 
5.0 years
   
4.5 years
 
Dividend yield
    0 %     0 %
Weighted-average fair value of grants
  $ 0.11     $ 0.20  

 
*For nonemployee stock option awards, the expected life is the contractual term of the award, which is generally ten years.

The Black-Scholes model requires the input of highly subjective assumptions, including the expected stock price volatility. Because Prosper’s equity awards have characteristics significantly different from those of traded options, the changes in the subjective input assumptions can materially affect the fair value estimate.
 
Total stock-based compensation expense for employee and non-employee stock-option awards reflected in the statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 was approximately $82,600 and $71,900, respectively. As of March 31, 2012, the unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested stock-based awards was approximately $850,000 which will be recognized over the remaining vesting period of approximately 2.8 years.
 

 
10

 


Net Loss Per Share
 
Prosper computes net loss per share in accordance with ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per Share. Under ASC Topic 260, basic net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss per share available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period and excludes the effects of any potentially dilutive securities. Diluted earnings per share, if presented, would include the dilution that would occur upon the exercise or conversion of all potentially dilutive securities into common stock using the “treasury stock” and/or “if converted” methods as applicable. At March 31, 2012, there were outstanding convertible preferred stock, warrants and options convertible into 61,958,136, 2,220,191 and 12,926,198 common shares, respectively, which may dilute future earnings per share. Due to the
Company reporting a net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, there is no calculation of fully-diluted earnings per share as all common stock equivalents are anti-dilutive.

Income Taxes
 
Prosper uses the liability method to account for income taxes. Under this method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are based on the differences between the financial statements and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in taxable or deductible amounts in the future based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.  

Under ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes, our policy to include interest and penalties related to gross unrecognized tax benefits within our provision for income taxes did not change.

Fair Value Measurement

Prosper follows ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures. ASC Topic 820 provides a framework for measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities.  ASC Topic 820 also provides guidance regarding a fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes information used to measure fair value and the effect of fair value measurements on earnings and provides for enhanced disclosures determined by the level within the hierarchy of information used in the valuation.  ASC Topic 820 applies whenever other standards require (or permit) assets or liabilities to be measured at fair value but does not expand the use of fair value in any new circumstances.

ASC Topic 820 defines fair value in terms of the price that would be received upon the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.

The price used to measure the fair value is not adjusted for transaction costs while the cost basis of certain financial instruments may include initial transaction costs. Under ASC Topic 820, the fair value measurement also assumes that the transaction to sell an asset occurs in the principal market for the asset or, in the absence of a principal market, the most advantageous market for the asset. The principal market is the market in which the reporting entity would sell or transfer the asset with the greatest volume and level of activity for the asset. In determining the principal market for an asset or liability under ASC Topic 820, it is assumed that the reporting entity has access to the market as of the measurement date. If no market for the asset exists or if the reporting entity does not have access to the principal market, the reporting entity should use a hypothetical market.
 


 
11

 


Under ASC Topic 820, assets and liabilities carried at fair value in the balance sheets are classified among three levels based on the observability of the inputs used to determine fair value:

 
Level 1 — The valuation is based on quoted prices in active markets for identical instruments.
 
Level 2 — The valuation is based on observable inputs such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active, and model-based valuation techniques for which all significant assumptions are observable in the market.
 
Level 3 — The valuation is based on unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the instrument. Level 3 valuations are typically performed using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, or similar techniques, which incorporate management’s own estimates of assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the instrument or valuations that require significant management judgment or estimation.

Prosper determines the fair values of its financial instruments based on the fair value hierarchy established in that standard, which requires an entity to maximize the use of quoted prices and observable inputs and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Various valuation techniques are utilized, depending on the nature of the financial instrument, including the use of market prices for identical or similar instruments, or discounted cash flow models.  When possible, active and observable market data for identical or similar financial instruments are utilized. Alternatively, fair value is determined using assumptions that management believes a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability.

The Company’s financial instruments consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short term investments,  receivables, loans held for investment, borrower loans, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, and borrower payment dependent notes.  The estimated fair values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate their carrying values because of their short term nature.

The following tables present the assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:
March 31, 2012
 
Level 1 Inputs
 
Level 2 Inputs
 
Level 3 Inputs
 
Fair Value
Assets
                       
Short Term Investments
 
$
10,994,410
       
$
   
$
10,994,410
Borrower Loans receivable
   
   
 
 
97,153,247
 
 
97,153,547
Loans held for investment
   
   
   
233,745
   
233,745
                         
Liabilities
                       
Borrower Payment Dependent Notes
   
   
 
$
97,492,062
 
$
97,492,062
                 
December 31, 2011
 
Level 1 Inputs
 
Level 2 Inputs
 
Level 3 Inputs
 
Fair Value
Assets
                       
Short Term Investments
 
$
9,997,420
   
 
$
   
$
9,997,420
Borrower Loans receivable
   
   
 
 
75,762,894
 
 
75,762,894
 Loans held for investment
   
     —
   
   
137,314
   
137,314
                         
Liabilities
                       
Borrower Payment Dependent Notes
   
   
 
$
76,159,501 
 
$
76,159,501 


 
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Our short term investments consist of United States Treasuries with maturity periods greater than three months and less than 12 months.  In general, fair values determined by Level 1 inputs utilize quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. The Company classifies United States Treasuries as Level 1 assets.  The Company intends to hold these investments until maturity.

As observable market prices are not available for the borrower loans, Notes and loans held for investment, or for similar assets and liabilities, we believe that these assets and liabilities should be considered Level 3 financial instruments under ASC Topic 820.  In a hypothetical transaction as of the measurement date, the Company believes that differences in the principal marketplace in which the loans are originated and the principal marketplace in which the Company might offer those loans may result in differences between the originated amount of the loans and their fair value as of the transaction date.  For borrower loans and loans held for investment, the fair value is estimated using discounted cash flow methodologies based upon valuation assumptions including prepayment speeds, roll rates, recovery rates and discount rates based on the perceived credit risk within each credit grade.

 Our obligation to pay principal and interest on any Note is equal to the loan payments, if any, we receive on the corresponding borrower loan, net of our 1.0% servicing fee.  As such, the fair value of the Note is approximately equal to the fair value of the borrower loans, adjusted for the 1.0% servicing fee.  Any unrealized gains or losses on the borrower loans, loans held for investment and Notes for which the fair value option has been elected is recorded as a separate line item in the statement of operations.  The effective interest rate associated with the Notes will be less than the interest rate earned on the borrower loans due to the 1.0% servicing fee.  See Notes 3 and 4 for a further discussion of the significant assumptions used to value borrower loans, Notes and loans held for investment.

The changes in Level 3 assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis are as follows:
 
 
Fair Value Measurements Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
                             
 
Servicing Rights
 
Borrower Loans
 
Borrower Payment Dependent Notes
 
Loans Held for Investment
 
Total
Balance at January 1, 2012
$
 
$
75,762,894
 
$
(76,159,501)
 
$
137,314
 
$
(259,293)
Originations
 
   
33,064,181
   
(33,064,181)
   
132,802
   
132,802
Principal repayments and credit losses
 
   
(12,891,294)
   
12,666,887
   
(33,295)
   
(257,702)
Change in fair value on borrower loans and Payment Dependent Notes
 
   
1,217,466
   
(935,267)
         
282,199
Change in fair value of servicing rights
 
   
   
   
   
        Change in fair value of loans held for investment  
   
   
   
(3,076)
   
(3,076)
Balance at March 31, 2012
$
 
$
97,153,247
 
$
(97,492,062)
 
$
233,745
 
$
(105,070)
                             
Balance at January 1, 2011
$
2,986
 
$
23,689,950
 
$
(23,478,046)
 
$
   
214,890
Originations
 
 
11,471,874
 
(11,471,874)
   
   
Principal repayments
 
 
(4,506,839)
 
4,343,090
   
   
(163,749)
Change in fair value on borrower loans and Payment Dependent Notes
 
 
(295,451)
 
580,143
   
   
284,692
Change in fair value of servicing rights
 
(2,019)
 
 
   
   
(2,019)
Balance at March 31, 2011
$
967
 
$
30,359,534
 
$
(30,026,687)
 
$
 
333,814
 
 
 
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3. Loans Held for Investment
 
As of March 31, 2012, we have recorded repurchased notes or funded loans in an aggregate amount of approximately $234,000 originated through our platform. When a borrower member loan has been repurchased or funded in whole, or in part, by us, we retain the portion of the borrower’s monthly loan payment that corresponds to the percentage of the loan that we have funded. In these cases, we record interest income on these borrower loans.

Origination fees earned from borrower loans funded by Prosper are initially deferred and subsequently amortized ratably over the term of the borrower loan and are reported in the statement of operations as Origination fees.

Prosper estimates the fair value of the loans held for investment using discounted cash flow methodologies based upon a set of valuation assumptions similar to those of Borrower Loans, which are set forth in Note 4, as they have similar characteristics and we expect these loans to behave in a comparable manner.  The valuation assumptions the Company used to value these loans include prepayment rates, default rates and recovery rates derived from historical loan performance data and discount rates based on credit grade applied to each loan.

The fair value adjustment on these loans held for investment was $3,076, which is included in earnings for the three months ended March 31, 2012.  As of March 31, 2012, there were no loans held for investment that were greater than 90 days delinquent.  Due to the recent origination of these loans, the fair value approximates the carrying value of these loans and the change in fair value attributable to instrument-specific credit risk is immaterial.

4. Borrower Loans and Borrower Payment Notes Held at Fair Value

Prosper estimates the fair value of the borrower loans and Notes using discounted cash flow methodologies based upon a set of valuation assumptions. The main assumptions Prosper uses to value the borrower loans and Notes include prepayment rates derived from historical prepayment rates for each credit score, default rates derived from historical performance, recovery rates and discount rates applied to each credit tranche based on the perceived credit risk of each credit grade. Our obligation to pay principal and interest on any Note is equal to the loan payments, if any, we receive on the corresponding borrower loan, net of our 1.0% servicing fee.  As such, the fair value of the Note is approximately equal to the fair value of the borrower loans, adjusted for the 1.0% servicing fee.  The effective interest rate associated with the Notes will be less than the interest rate earned on the borrower loans due to the 1.0% servicing fee.
 
For borrower loans originated and Notes issued after July 13, 2009, we used the following average assumptions to determine the fair value as of March 31, 2012:
 
Monthly prepayment rate speed
1.60%
Recovery rate
5.28%
Discount rate *
9.47%
Weighted average default rate
8.03%
* This is the average discount rate among all of Prosper’s credit grades


 
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The following table presents additional information about borrower loans and Notes measured at fair value on a recurring basis for the three months ended March 31, 2012:
 
   
Borrower Loans
   
Notes
 
Fair value at January 1, 2012
 
$
75,762,894
   
$
76,159,501
 
     Originations
   
33,064,181
     
33,064,181
 
     Principal repayments
   
(11,400,928)
     
(11,176,521)
 
 Borrower Loans and Notes charged-off during the period
   
(1,490,366)
     
(1,490,366)
 
     Realized and unrealized losses included in earnings
           
935,267
 
     Realized and unrealized gains included in earnings
   
1,217,466
     
 
Fair value at March 31, 2012
 
$
97,153,247
   
$
97,492,062
 

Due to the recent origination of the borrower loans and Notes, the change in fair value attributable to instrument-specific credit risk is immaterial.  The Company had no originations of borrower loans or issuances of Notes prior to July 13, 2009. Of the loans originated from July 13, 2009 to March 31, 2012, the Company had 154 loans which were 90 days or more delinquent for an aggregate principal amount of $667,906 and a fair value of $53,273 as of March 31, 2012.

5. Notes Payable

In 2006, we entered into a non-interest bearing promissory note in the amount of $380,000 for the purchase of the “Prosper.com” domain name. The note was discounted by $109,583 for a net payable of $270,417. The promissory note includes both principal and interest and is payable in annual installments of $20,000 due on the first, second, third, and fourth anniversary of the note and $300,000 due on the fifth anniversary of the note. In June 2011, the promissory note was paid in full. Interest on the note was imputed at an 8% annual rate and is amortized to interest expense over the five year life of the loan.  We recorded amortized interest expense of approximately $5,703 for the three months ended March 31, 2011.

6. Accrued Liabilities
 
As of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, accrued liabilities consist of the following:

   
March 31,
   
December 31,
 
   
2012
   
2011
 
Legal accruals and fees
  $ 695,722     $ 530,252  
Audit, tax and accounting
    275,744       284,174  
Payroll and benefits
    285,600       262,507  
Loan servicing costs
    569,689       448,631  
Other
    416,377       501,749  
    $ 2,243,132     $ 2,027,313  

 7. Repurchase Obligation
 
Changes in the repurchase obligation are summarized below:

Balance at January 1, 2012
 
$
22,168
 
  Increase in provision for Loan and Note repurchases
   
6,832
 
  Repurchased Loan and Note recoveries during the period
   
-
 
Balance at March 31, 2012
 
$
29,000
 

 
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 8. Net Loss Per Share
As mentioned in Note 2, the Company computes net loss per share in accordance with ASC Topic 260. Under ASC Topic 260, basic net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss per share available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period and excludes the effects of any potentially dilutive securities. Diluted earnings per share, if presented, would include the dilution that would occur upon the exercise or conversion of all potentially dilutive securities into common stock using the “treasury stock” and/or “if converted” methods as applicable.

Basic and diluted loss per share was calculated as follows:

   
Three Months Ended March 31,
 
   
2012
   
2011
 
Numerator:
           
Net loss
  $ (4,364,206 )   $ (1,060,355 )
Denominator:
               
Weighted average shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share
    2,887,581       4,497,556  
Basic and diluted net loss per share
  $ (1.51 )   $ (0.24 )

Due to losses attributable to common stockholders for each of the periods below, the following potentially dilutive shares are excluded from the diluted net loss per share calculation because they were anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method, in accordance with ASC Topic 260:
 
 
   
March 31,
 
   
2012
 
2011
 
Excluded Securities:
         
  Convertible preferred stock issued and outstanding
    61,958,136       32,848,832  
  Stock options issued and outstanding
    12,926,198       6,716,503  
 Warrants issued and outstanding
    2,220,191       572,703  
Total common stock equivalents excluded from diluted net loss per common share computation
    77,104,525       40,138,038  

9. Stockholders’ Equity
 
Preferred Stock
 
Under Prosper’s certificate of incorporation, preferred stock is issuable in series, and the Board of Directors is authorized to determine the rights, preferences, and terms of each series.
 
In April 2005, Prosper sold 4,023,999 shares of Series A convertible preferred stock (Series A Preferred Stock) in a private placement for $7,464,450, net of issuance costs of $80,550. In February 2006, Prosper sold 3,310,382 shares of Series B convertible preferred stock (Series B Preferred Stock) in a private placement for $12,412,302, net of issuance costs of $87,700. In June 2007, Prosper sold 2,063,558 shares of Series C convertible preferred stock (Series C Preferred Stock) in a private placement for $19,919,009, net of issuance costs of $80,996. In April 2010, Prosper issued and sold 20,340,705 shares of Series D convertible preferred stock (Series D Preferred Stock) and 3,110,188 shares of Series D-1 convertible preferred stock (Series D-1 Preferred Stock) in a private placement for $14,595,709, net of issuance costs of $125,903.  In June 2011, Prosper sold 23,222,747 shares of Series E convertible preferred stock (Series E Preferred Stock) in a private placement for $16,708,524, net of issuance costs of $441,476.  In connection with that sale, we issued 10,000,000 shares of Series E-1 convertible preferred stock (Series E-1 Preferred Stock) to certain holders of Series A, Series B and Series C Preferred Stock who participated in

 
16

 


 the sale.  We allocated shares of Series E-1 Preferred Stock among these stockholders in proportion to their relative participation in the Series E financing.  Upon issuance of our Series E and Series E-1 Preferred Stock, all shares of our Series D-1 Preferred Stock were converted to shares of our common stock (Common Stock). In November, 2011, Prosper sold 8,996,739 shares of Series F convertible preferred stock (Series F Preferred Stock) in a private placement for $8,941,602, net of issuance costs of approximately $58,735.

Dividends
 
The holders of Series D, Series E and Series F Preferred Stock are entitled to receive an annual dividend per share in an amount equal to 8% times the liquidation preference for such share, payable in preference and priority to any declaration or payment of any distribution on Common Stock  in such calendar year.  The right to receive dividends on shares of Series D, Series E and Series F Preferred Stock  is cumulative from and after the date of issuance of such shares. Such dividends shall be payable only when, as, and if declared by the Board of Directors.  Holders of Series E-1 Preferred Stock are not entitled to receive dividends in preference and priority to, or on a pari passu basis with, the other Preferred Stock or the Common Stock. Dividends on shares of Series E-1 Preferred Stock shall be payable only when, as, and if declared by the Board of Directors. To date, no dividends have been declared on any of the Company’s Preferred Stock or Common Stock, and there are no dividends in arrears at March 31, 2012.

Conversion

Each share of Preferred Stock shall automatically be converted into fully-paid, non-assessable shares of Common Stock at the conversion rate for such share (i) immediately prior to the closing of an underwritten initial public offering at a price per share (prior to underwriting commissions and expenses) that values the Company at at least $200,000,000 in an offering with aggregate proceeds to the Company of at least $40,000,000 (before  deducting underwriters commissions and expenses), pursuant to an effective registration statement filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), covering the offer and sale of Common Stock, or (ii) upon the receipt of a written request for such conversion from the holders of more than sixty percent (60%) of the outstanding shares of Preferred Stock, or, if later, the effective date for conversion specified in such request, provided that shares of Series D Preferred Stock shall not be automatically converted pursuant to this clause (ii) unless the holders of eighty-two percent (82%) of the outstanding shares of Series D Preferred Stock approve such conversion, shares of Series E Preferred Stock shall not be automatically converted pursuant to this clause (ii) unless the holders of eighty-two percent (82%) of the outstanding shares of Series E Preferred Stock approve such conversion, and shares of Series F Preferred Stock shall not be automatically converted pursuant to clause (ii) unless the holders of eighty-two percent (82%) of the outstanding shares of Series F Preferred Stock approve such conversion.  In addition, when a liquidation event occurs, if any of a holder’s shares of Series A, Series B or Series C Preferred Stock have been converted into Common Stock, then all shares of Series E-1 Preferred Stock held by such holder shall automatically be converted into fully-paid, non-assessable shares of Common Stock at the then effective conversion rate for such shares immediately prior to such liquidation event. 

Liquidation Rights
 
In the event of any sale, liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of Prosper, whether voluntary or involuntary, the holders of Series F Preferred Stock and Series E Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive, pari passu with each other and prior and in preference to any distribution of the proceeds to the holders of Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D or Series E-1 Preferred Stock or Common Stock by reason of their ownership of such stock, an amount for each share of Series E or Series F Preferred Stock held by them equal to the liquidation preference of such share (as adjusted for any stock dividends, combinations, or splits), plus all declared but unpaid dividends (if any) on such share.  If upon such liquidation event, the assets of the Company legally available for distribution to the holders of the Series E Preferred Stock and Series F Preferred Stock are insufficient to pay the preferential amount specified above, then the entire assets of the Company legally available for distribution shall be distributed with equal priority and pro rata among the holders of the Series E Preferred Stock and Series F Preferred Stock.

 
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After the payment or setting aside for payment to the holders of Series E Preferred Stock and Series F Preferred Stock of the preferential amount specified above, the holders of Series D Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive, prior and in preference to any distribution of proceeds to the holders of Series A, Series B, Series C or Series E-1 Preferred Stock or Common Stock by reason of their ownership of such stock, an amount for each share of Series D Preferred Stock held by them equal to the liquidation preference of such share (as adjusted for any stock dividends, combinations, or splits), plus all declared but unpaid dividends (if any) on such share.   After the payment of or setting aside for payment to the holders of Series F, Series E and Series D Preferred Stock of the full amounts specified above, the holders of Series E-1 Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive, prior and in preference to any distribution of proceeds to the holders of Series A, Series B or Series C Preferred Stock or Common Stock, by reason of their ownership of such stock, an amount per share for each share of Series E-1 Preferred Stock held by them equal to $1.00.

After the payment or setting aside for payment to the holders of Series F, Series E, Series D and Series E-1 Preferred Stock of the preferential amounts specified above, the entire remaining proceeds legally available for distribution shall be distributed pro rata to the holders of Series F Preferred Stock, Series E Preferred Stock, Series D Preferred Stock and Common Stock in proportion to the number of shares of common stock held by them, assuming for purposes of the calculation that all outstanding shares of Series F, Series E and Series D Preferred Stock were converted into Common Stock at the conversion rate then in effect, provided, however, that the maximum aggregate amount per share that may be paid to a holder of Series F, Series E or Series D Preferred Stock in connection with a liquidation event will be three times the original issue price for such share.

Voting
 
Each holder of shares of Preferred Stock shall be entitled to the number of votes equal to the number of shares of Common Stock into which such shares of Preferred Stock could be converted and shall have voting rights and powers equal to the voting rights and powers of the Common Stock (except as otherwise expressly provided herein or as required by law), voting together with the Common Stock as a single class, and shall be entitled to notice of any stockholders’ meeting in accordance with the Bylaws of Prosper. The holders of Preferred Stock shall vote as one class with the holder of the Common Stock except with respect to certain matters that require separate votes.

Common Stock
 
Prosper is authorized to issue up to 81,414,566 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value, of which 2,897,859 and 2,872,859 shares were issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012, and December 31, 2011, respectively.  Each holder of common stock shall be entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held.
 
Common Stock Issued upon Exercise of Stock Options

For the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company issued 25,000 and 20,000 shares of common stock, respectively, upon the exercise of options for cash proceeds of $3,000 and $5,000, respectively.

10. Stock Option Plan and Other Stock Compensation
 
In 2005, Prosper’s stockholders approved the adoption of the 2005 Stock Option Plan (the “Plan”). Under the Plan, options to purchase up to 1,879,468 shares of common stock were reserved and may be granted to employees, directors, and consultants by the Board of Directors to promote the success of Prosper’s business. During 2008, the Board of Directors increased the total number of options under the Plan by 500,000 for a total of 2,379,468 options available for grant. During 2009, the Board of Directors increased the total number of options under the Plan by an additional 500,000 for a total of 2,879,468 options available for grant. During 2010, the Board of Directors increased the total number of options under the Plan by an additional 6,109,321 for a total of 8,988,789 options available to grant. During 2011, the Board of Directors increased the total number of options under the Plan by an additional 4,550,875 for a total of 13,539,664 available for grant.
 

 
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Incentive stock options are granted to employees at an exercise price not less than 100% of the fair value of Prosper’s common stock on the date of grant. Nonstatutory stock options are granted to consultants and directors at an exercise price not less than 85% of the fair value of Prosper’s common stock on the date of grant. If options are granted to stockholders who hold 10% or more of Prosper’s common stock on the option grant date, then the exercise price shall not be less than 110% of the fair value of Prosper’s common stock on the date of grant. The fair value is based on a good faith estimate by the Board of Directors at the time of each grant. As there is no active trading market for these options, such estimate may ultimately differ from valuations completed by an independent party. The options generally vest over four years, which is the same as the performance period. In no event are options exercisable more than ten years after the date of grant.
 
Option activity under the Option Plan is summarized as follows for the periods below:

 
Options Issued and Outstanding
 
Weighted-Average Exercise Price
Balance as of January 1, 2011
5,766,859
 
$0.30
     Options granted (weighted average fair value of $0.20)
1,112,978
 
$0.20
     Options exercised
(20,000)
 
$0.25
     Options canceled
(143,334)
 
$0.39
Balance as of March 31, 2011
6,716,503
 
$0.28
       
Balance as of January 1, 2012
12,087,620
 
$0.21
     Options granted (weighted average fair value of $0.11)
1,573,200
 
$0.17
     Options exercised
(25,000)
 
$0.12
     Options canceled
(709,622)
 
$0.23
Balance as of March 31, 2012
12,926,198
 
$0.20
       
Options outstanding and exercisable at March 31, 2012
3,647,148
 
$0.32

Other Information Regarding Stock Options

Additional information regarding common stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2012 is as follows:
 
     
Options Outstanding
   
Options Exercisable
 
Range of Exercise Prices
   
Number Outstanding
   
Weighted Avg. Remaining Life
   
Weighted Avg. Exercise Price
   
Intrinsic Value
   
Number Exercisable
   
Weighted Avg. Exercise Price
   
Intrinsic Value
 
  $0.12 - $0.12       4,719,868       9.44     $ 0.12     $ 235,993       105,957     $ 0.12     $ 5,298  
  $0.17 - $0.17       2,414,305       9.85       0.17                   0.17        
  $0.20 - $0.20       4,963,676       8.31       0.20             2,826,803       0.20        
  $0.25 - $0.25       25,000       3.37       0.25             25,000       0.25        
  $0.50 - $0.50       304,117       4.61       0.50             304,117       0.50        
  $0.56 - $0.56       357,500       7.34       0.56             244,685       0.56        
  $1.94 - $1.94       96,732       6.76       1.94             95,586       1.94        
  $2.17 - $2.17       45,000       5.94       2.17             45,000       2.17        
          12,926,198       8.87     $ 0.20     $ 235,993       3,647,148     $ 0.32     $ 5,298  
 
The intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the value of Prosper's common stock at March 31, 2012, which was $0.17 per share, and the exercise price of the options.

 
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No compensation expense is recognized for unvested shares that are forfeited upon termination of service, and the stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 reflect the expenses that Prosper expects to recognize after the consideration of estimated forfeitures.

11. Income Taxes
 
As part of the process of preparing the Company’s financial statements, the Company is required to estimate its income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which it operates. This process involves determining the Company’s income tax expense (benefit) together with calculating the deferred income tax expense (benefit) related to temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items, such as deferred revenue or deductibility of certain intangible assets, for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included within the accompanying balance sheet. The Company must then assess the likelihood that the deferred tax assets will be recovered through the generation of future taxable income.
 
Due to the book and tax net losses incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, Prosper has not incurred any income tax expense during those periods.  In addition, Prosper has maintained a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets because the realization of those deferred tax assets is dependent upon future earnings, and the amount and timing of those earnings, if any is uncertain.
 
12. Commitments and Contingencies
 
Future minimum lease payments and other commitments
 
Prosper leases its corporate office and co-location facility under noncancelable operating leases that expire in July 2013 and August 2014, respectively. Prosper’s corporate office lease has the option to renew for an additional two years.  Future minimum rental payments under these leases as of March 31,2012 are as follows:

Remaining nine months ended December 31, 2012
 
$
401,240
 
Years ended December 31:
       
2013
   
368,913
 
2014
   
86,569
 
Total future operating lease obligations
 
$
856,722
 

Rental expense under premises-operating lease arrangements was approximately $134,000 and $102,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and March 31, 2011, respectively.

The Company amended and restated an agreement with WebBank, a Utah-chartered industrial bank, under which all loans originated through the Prosper marketplace are made by WebBank under its bank charter. The arrangement allows for loans to be offered to borrowers at uniform nationwide terms. The Company is required to pay the greater of a monthly minimum fee or a fee calculated based on a certain percentage of monthly loan origination volume.
 
The Company has an agreement with a third party broker-dealer in which the third party agreed to operate and maintain the Note Trader Platform for the secondary trading of Borrower Payment Dependent Notes.  The Company is required to pay the third party broker-dealer an agreed upon monthly fee which equals the difference between the minimum monthly fee and the transaction fees collected by the third party provider during that month.


 
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Securities Law Compliance

From inception through October 16, 2008, the Company sold approximately $178.1 million of loans to lender members through the old platform structure, whereby the Company assigned promissory notes directly to lender members. The Company did not register the offer and sale of the promissory notes corresponding to these loans under the Securities Act or under the registration or qualification provisions of any state securities laws. Prosper believes that the question of whether or not the operation of the platform during this period constituted an offer or sale of “securities” involved a complicated factual and legal analysis and was uncertain. If the sales of promissory notes offered through the platform during this period were viewed as a securities offering, the Company would have failed to comply with the registration and qualification requirements of federal and state laws and lender members who hold these promissory notes may be entitled to rescission of unpaid principal, plus statutory interest. Generally, the federal statute of limitations for noncompliance with the requirement to register securities under the Securities Act is one year from the violation, although the statute of limitations period under various state laws may be for a longer period of time.

The Company’s decision to restructure the platform and cease sales of promissory notes offered through the platform effective October 16, 2008 limited this contingent liability to the period covering its activities prior to October 16, 2008.

On April 21, 2009, the Company and the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) reached agreement on the terms of a model consent order between the Company and the states in which the Company offered loan notes for sale prior to November 2008. The consent order involves payment by the Company of up to an aggregate of $1.0 million in penalties, which have been allocated among the states based on the Company’s loan sale transaction volume in each state prior to November 2008. A state that enters into a consent order receives its portion of the $1.0 million in exchange for its agreement to terminate, or refrain from initiating, any investigation of the Company’s note sale activities prior to November 2008.  Penalties are paid promptly after a state enters into a consent order. NASAA has recommended that each state enter into a consent order.  However, no state is obliged to do so, and there is no deadline by which a state must make its decision. The Company is not required to pay any portion of the penalty to those states that do not elect to enter into a consent order. If a state does not enter into a consent order, it is free to pursue its own remedies against the Company, subject to any applicable statute of limitations. As of March 31, 2012, the Company has entered into consent orders with 33 states and has paid an aggregate of $436,717 in penalties to those states.

As of March 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company had accrued approximately $277,000 and $284,000, respectively, in connection with the contingent liability associated with the states that have not entered into consent orders, in accordance with ASC Topic 450, Contingencies. The methodology applied to estimate the accrual was to divide the $1,000,000 maximum fee pro-rata by state, using the Company’s note sales from inception through November 2008. A weighting was then applied by state to each state that has not entered into a consent order, assigning a likelihood that the penalty will be claimed. In estimating the probability of a claim being made by a state, the Company considered factors such as the standard terms of the consent orders; whether the state ever gave any indication of concern regarding the sale of promissory notes through the platform; the probability of a state electing not to enter into a consent order in order to pursue its own litigation against the Company; whether the penalty is sufficient to compensate a state for the cost of processing the settlement consent order; and finally the impact that current economic conditions have had on state governments. The Company will continue to evaluate this accrual and related assumptions as new information becomes known.


 
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On November 26, 2008, plaintiffs, Christian Hellum, William Barnwell and David Booth, individually and on behalf of all other plaintiffs similarly situated, filed a class action lawsuit against the Company and certain of its executive officers and directors in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, California.  The suit was brought on behalf of all loan note purchasers on the platform from January 1, 2006 through October 14, 2008.  The lawsuit alleges that the Company offered and sold unqualified and unregistered securities in violation of the California and federal securities laws.  The lawsuit seeks class certification, damages and the right of rescission against the Company and the other named defendants, as well as treble damages against the Company and the award of attorneys’ fees, experts’ fees and costs, and pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.
 
On February 25, 2011, the plaintiffs filed a Third Amended Complaint, which removed David Booth as a plaintiff and added Brian Russom and Michael Del Greco as plaintiffs.  The new plaintiffs are representing the same putative class and prosecuting the same claims as the previously named plaintiffs. On February 29, 2012, the court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. 

The Company’s insurance carrier with respect to the class action lawsuit, Greenwich Insurance Company (“Greenwich”), denied coverage.  On August 21, 2009, the Company filed suit against Greenwich in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, California.  The lawsuit sought a declaration that the Company was entitled to coverage under its policy with Greenwich for losses arising out of the class action lawsuit as well as damages and the award of attorneys’ fees and pre- and post-judgment interest.

On January 26, 2011, the court issued a final statement of decision finding that Greenwich has a duty to defend the class action lawsuit, and requiring that Greenwich pay the Company's past and future defense costs in the class action suit up to $2.0 million.  Greenwich subsequently made payments to the Company in the amount of $2.0 million to reimburse the Company for the defense costs it had incurred in the class action suit.  As a result, Greenwich has now satisfied its obligations with respect to the Company’s defense costs for the Hellum suit, with the exception of $142,584 in pre-judgment interest that Greenwich will be required to pay to the Company when a final judgment has been entered in the suit and all appeals have been exhausted.   

On July 1, 2011, the Company and Greenwich entered into a Stipulated Order of Judgment pursuant to which the Company agreed to dismiss its remaining claims against Greenwich.  On August 12, 2011, Greenwich filed a notice of appeal of the court's decision regarding Greenwich’s duty to defend up to $2.0 million.

The Company intends to vigorously defend the class action lawsuit.  The Company cannot, however, presently determine or estimate the final outcome of the lawsuit, and there can be no assurance that it will be finally resolved in the Company’s favor.  If the class action lawsuit is not resolved in the Company’s favor, the Company might be obliged to pay damages, and might be subject to such equitable relief as a court may determine.   Accordingly, the Company has not recorded an accrued loss contingency in connection with its sale of notes through the platform prior to November 2008. Accounting for loss contingencies involves the existence of a condition, situation or set of circumstances involving uncertainty as to possible loss that will ultimately be resolved when one or more future event(s) occur or fail to occur. An estimated loss in connection with a loss contingency shall be recorded by a charge to current operations if both of the following conditions are met: first, the amount can be reasonably estimated; and second, the information available prior to issuance of the financial statements indicates that it is probable that a liability has been incurred at the date of the financial statements.

As of March 31, 2012, the lawsuits are in their preliminary stages and their probable outcomes cannot presently be determined, nor can the amount of damages or other costs that might be borne by Prosper be estimated.

 
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13. Related Parties

Prosper’s executive officers, directors and certain affiliates participate on the Company’s lending platform by placing bids and purchasing Notes originated on the platform.  The aggregate amount of loans purchased and the income earned by these related parties as of March 31, 2012 and 2011 are summarized below:

     Aggregate Amount of Loans Purchased  
Interest Earned on Loans for the Three Months Ended,
 Related Party   March 31, 2012   March 31, 2011    March 31, 2012    March 31, 2011
Executive officers & management
 
$
161,114
 
$
827,791
 
$
4,110
 
$
8,925
Directors
   
3,791,136
   
395,388
   
98,420
   
4,272
Affiliates
   
6,125,208
   
706,335
   
180,047
   
14,651
   
$
10,077,458
 
$
1,929,514
 
$
282,577
 
$
27,848

The Notes purchased by officers, directors and certain affiliates were obtained on the same terms and conditions as those obtained by other Note purchasers.  Of the total aggregate amount of Notes purchased by officers, directors and certain affiliates since inception approximately $528,103 or 5% and $170,774 or 9% of principal has been charged off through March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Prosper earned approximately $13,676 and $1,033 of servicing fees revenue related to these Notes for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

14. Postretirement Benefit Plans
 
Prosper has a 401(k) plan that covers all employees meeting certain eligibility requirements. The 401(k) plan is designed to provide tax-deferred retirement benefits in accordance with the provisions of Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eligible employees may defer up to 90% of eligible compensation up to the annual maximum as determined by the Internal Revenue Service. Prosper’s contributions to the plan are discretionary. Prosper has not made any contributions to the plan to date.


 
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Item 2.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION

This management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations, or MD&A, contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please see “Forward-Looking Statements” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our historical consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto and the other disclosures contained elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. The results of operations for the periods reflected herein are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for future periods, and our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to those included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and those included in the “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
 
Overview

We provide a peer-to-peer online credit marketplace that permits our borrower members to apply for loans and lender members to purchase Notes issued by Prosper, the proceeds of which facilitate the funding of specific loans to borrowers.  Our platform enables our borrower members to request and obtain personal, unsecured loans by posting anonymous “listings” on the platform indicating the principal amount of the desired loan.  Loan terms are subject to minimum and maximum loan amounts determined by the borrower’s credit bureau score and Prosper score, at interest rates set by Prosper.  We assign a Prosper Rating consisting of letter credit grades, based in part on the borrower’s credit score, to each borrower who requests a borrower loan.  Prosper borrower members’ Prosper Rating, credit score range, debt-to-income ratios and other credit data are displayed with their listings and are available for viewing by lender members on an anonymous basis.  Lender members access our platform and “bid” the amount they are willing to commit to the purchase of a Note that is dependent for payment on the corresponding borrower loan, at interest rates set by Prosper.  By making a bid on a listing, a lender member is committing to purchase from Prosper a Note in the principal amount of the lender’s winning bid.  Lender members who purchase the Notes will designate that the sale proceeds be applied to facilitate the funding of the corresponding borrower loan.  Loans originated to borrower members are made by WebBank, an FDIC-insured, Utah-chartered industrial loan company, and sold and assigned to Prosper.
 
All loans requested and obtained by Prosper borrower members through our platform are unsecured obligations of individual borrower members with a fixed interest rate and a loan term currently set at one, three or five years.  With respect to loans resulting from listings posted by Prosper borrower members prior to April 15, 2008, Prosper is the originating lender for licensing and regulatory purposes.  All borrower loans resulting from listings posted on or after April 15, 2008 are funded by WebBank.  After funding a loan, WebBank assigns the loan to Prosper, without recourse to WebBank, in exchange for the principal amount of the borrower loan.  WebBank does not have any obligation to purchasers of the Notes.  We verify the identity of 100% of our borrowers using a variety of methods including credit bureau data, other electronic data sources and offline documentary procedures.  We verify income and/or employment on a subset of borrowers based on a proprietary algorithm.  The intention of the algorithm is to verify income or employment in cases where the self-reported income of the borrower is highly determinative of the borrower’s risk rating.

We derive our operating revenue by charging a transaction fee or origination fee equal to a specified percentage of the principal amount of the borrower loan paid by the borrower upon funding of the loan. The transaction fee is paid to WebBank, and WebBank, in turn, pays Prosper amounts equal to the transaction fees as compensation for its loan origination activities. We also charge lender members a servicing fee equal to an annualized rate set at a percentage of the outstanding principal balance of the corresponding borrower loan, which we deduct from each lender member’s share of the borrower loan payments.



 
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Our Operating History

We incorporated in Delaware in March 2005 and launched our public website, www.prosper.com on February 13, 2006.  As of March 31, 2012, our platform has facilitated 52,362 borrower loans since its launch totaling an aggregate principal amount of approximately $323,167,000.

We made significant changes to the operation of our lending platform on July 13, 2009.  Prior to October 16, 2008, we purchased loans from WebBank and then sold and assigned the loans to the lender members who bid on the listings for those loans.  From October 16, 2008 through July 12, 2009, we ceased originating loans on our platform while we waited for the Securities and Exchange Commission to declare our registration statement on Form S-1 covering our origination activity effective.  Since July 13, 2009, we retain the loans and issue new securities, the Notes, to the winning lenders.  Our obligation to repay the Notes is conditioned upon the repayment of the associated borrower loan.  We expect to generate increased revenue from borrower origination fees and non-sufficient funds fees and lender members’ servicing fees as our transaction volume increases.  Over time, we expect that the number of borrowers and lender members and the volume of borrower loans originated through our platform will increase.

We have a limited operating history and have incurred net losses since our inception.  Our net loss was $4,364,206 and $1,060,355 for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. We earn revenues primarily from borrower origination fees, non-sufficient funds fees and lender member service fees. At this stage of our development, we have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from equity financings, which are described below under “Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Our operating plan calls for a continuation of the current strategy of increasing transaction volume to increase revenue until we reach profitability and become cash-flow positive.  In addition, our 2012 operating plan calls for continued investment in the development of our website, loan servicing platform, loan scoring, and marketing efforts before we reach profitability.

Our historical financial results and this discussion reflect the structure of our lending platform and our operations both prior to and after July 13, 2009.  For a discussion of the effect of our new structure on our consolidated financial statements, see “Borrower Loans and Payment Dependent Notes” under “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” below.

Trends and Uncertainties

The peer-to-peer lending industry remains a very innovative and unique industry, and the application of federal and state laws in areas such as securities and consumer finance to our business is still evolving.  We will continue to monitor this evolution actively in order to identify and respond quickly to any legislative or regulatory developments that may impact our platform.

Through the first three months of 2012, we have increased our origination volume consistently month over month in terms of both units and total dollar amounts.  We hope to continue this trend of growth as our borrower and lender bases continue to strengthen, and become more familiar with our platform.  Over time we expect our lender base to grow as we gain more exposure to potential lenders, and establish our Notes as a viable investment alternative.

During 2011, we implemented a new feature on our website, which tells both prospective investors and borrowers how far along Prosper is in processing a loan application. This helps lender members concentrate their funds on listings that are more likely to fund and originate.  Also, we implemented Quick Invest, our loan search tool, to allow lender members to better identify Notes that meet their investment criteria. Furthermore, we launched our mobile web site for iPhone and Android devices so that investors can browse listings, transfer funds, and execute Quick Invest orders and we began allowing investors to invest with Prosper through self-directed IRAs. We continue to invest in software, hardware and website development in order to improve our operating platform and to maintain and enhance our website attractiveness and ease of use.  We have increased headcount across our critical business groups in response to our strategic growth plan while still retaining a flexible and scalable platform.

 
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which we have prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.  The preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses and the related disclosures.  Prosper bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that Prosper believes to be reasonable under the circumstances.  Actual results could differ from those estimates.  Our significant accounting policies which include repurchase obligation, revenue recognition, stock-based compensation, and income taxes are more fully described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this quarterly report.

Critical accounting policies are those policies that we believe present the most complex or subjective measurements and have the most potential to impact our financial position and operating results.  While all
decisions regarding accounting policies are important, we believe that the following policies could be considered critical.

Fair Value Measurement

Under Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, we determine the fair values of our financial instruments based on the fair value hierarchy established in that standard, which requires an entity to maximize the use of quoted prices and observable inputs and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. We use various valuation techniques depending on the nature of the financial instrument, including the use of market prices for identical or similar instruments, or discounted cash flow models.  When possible, active and observable market data for identical or similar financial instruments are utilized. Alternatively, we determine fair value using assumptions that we believe a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability.

The Company’s financial instruments consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short term investments, receivables, loans held for investment, borrower loans, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and borrower payment dependent notes.  The estimated fair values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate their carrying values because of their short term nature.

We account for our short term investments, loans held for investment, borrower loans, and borrower payment dependent notes on a fair value basis. We believe, however, that borrower loans and payment dependent notes represent a pertinent element of our current quarter financial statement.  For additional information and discussion regarding our significant accounting policies surrounding fair value measurement, see Note 2, Note 3 and Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.

Borrower Loans and Payment Dependent Notes

On July 13, 2009, we implemented our new operating structure and began issuing Notes.  This operating structure resulted in Prosper purchasing loans from WebBank and holding the loans until maturity.  Prosper issues new securities, the Notes, to the winning lenders.  Prosper’s obligation to repay the Notes is conditioned upon the repayment of the associated borrower loan owned by Prosper.  As a result of these changes, Prosper carries the borrower loans and the Notes on its balance sheet as assets and liabilities, respectively.

 

 
26

 

In conjunction with our new operating structure, we adopted the provisions of ASC Topic 825, Financial Instruments.  ASC Topic 825 permits companies to choose to measure certain financial instruments and certain other items at fair value.  The standard requires that unrealized gains and losses on items for which the fair value option has been elected be reported in earnings.  We applied the provisions of ASC Topic 825 to the borrower loans and Notes issued subsequent to July 13, 2009 on an instrument by instrument basis.  We did not apply the provisions of ASC Topic 825 to loans issued prior to July 13, 2009.  The aggregate fair value of the borrower loans and Notes are reported as separate line items in the assets and liabilities sections of the balance sheet using the methods described in ASC Topic 820.

We determine the fair value of the borrower loans and Notes in accordance with the fair value hierarchy established in ASC Topic 820, which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value.  As observable market prices are not available for the borrower loans and Notes we hold or for similar assets and liabilities, we believe the borrower loans and Notes should be considered Level 3 financial instruments under ASC Topic 820.  ASC Topic 820 defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date.  

In a hypothetical transaction as of the measurement date, we believe that differences in the principal marketplace in which the loans are originated and the principal marketplace in which we might offer those loans may result in differences between the originated amount of the loans and their fair value as of the transaction date. Changes in the fair value of borrower loans and Notes subject to the provisions of ASC Topic 820 are recognized in earnings; fees and costs associated with the origination or acquisition of borrower loans are recognized as incurred.  Prosper estimates the fair value of the borrower loans and Notes using a discounted cash flow methodology based upon a set of valuation assumptions Prosper believes market participants would use for similar assets and liabilities. The main assumptions used to value the borrower loans and Notes include default rates, discount rates applied to each credit tranche/grade, prepayment rates, and recovery rates.

For borrower loans and Notes issued after July 13, 2009, we used the following average assumptions to determine the fair value as of March 31, 2012:
 
Monthly prepayment rate speed
1.60%
Recovery rate
5.28%
Discount rate *
9.47%
Weighted Average Default Rate
8.03%
* This is the weighted average discount rate among all of Prosper’s credit grades


 
27

 

Key economic assumptions and the sensitivity of the current fair value to immediate adverse changes in those assumptions at March 31, 2012 for borrower loans and Notes are presented in the following table:
  
         
Payment
 
   
Borrower
   
Dependent
 
   
Loans
   
Notes
 
Discount rate assumption:
   
9.47
%
   
9.47
%
Decrease in fair value and income (loss) to earnings from:
               
100 basis point increase
 
$
            (995,412)
   
$
          986,232
 
200 basis point increase
   
         (1,968,121)
     
       1,949,923
 
Increase in fair value and income (loss) to earnings from:
               
100 basis point decrease
 
$
          1,019,050
   
$
     (1,009,695)
 
200 basis point decrease
   
          2,062,603
     
     (2,043,634)
 
                 
                 
Default rate assumption:
   
8.03
%
   
8.03
%
Decrease in fair value and income (loss) to earnings from:
               
10% higher default rates
 
$
            (878,086)
   
$
          869,832
 
20% higher default rates
   
         (1,749,681)
     
       1,733,324
 
Increase in fair value  and income (loss) to earnings from:
               
10% lower default rates
 
$
             884,633
   
$
        (876,436)
 
20% lower default rates
   
          1,775,930
     
     (1,759,396)
 
 
Overall, if the fair value of the borrower loans decrease or increase due to any changes in our assumptions, there will also be a corresponding decrease or increase in the fair value of the linked Notes. As a result, the effect on Prosper’s earnings of adverse changes in key assumptions is mitigated. However, the impact of these changes in fair value could have a material adverse impact on lender members’ investments in the Notes.  

As we receive scheduled payments of principal and interest on the borrower loans we will in turn make principal and interest payments on the Notes.  These principal payments will reduce the carrying value of the borrower loans and Notes.  If we do not receive payments on the borrower loans, we are not obligated to and will not make payments on the Notes.  The fair value of a Note is approximately equal to the fair value of the corresponding borrower loan, less the 1.0% service fee.  If the fair value of the borrower loan decreases due to our expectation regarding both the likelihood of default of the loan and the amount of loss in the event of default, there will also be a corresponding decrease in the fair value of the Note (an unrealized gain related to the Note and an unrealized loss related to the borrower loan).

For additional information and discussion, see Note 2 and Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this report.


 
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Results of Operations
  
Revenues

Origination Fees

Our borrowers pay an origination fee upon successful funding of the borrower loan.  The origination fee is paid by the borrower out of the proceeds of the borrower loan at the time of funding.  We charge an origination fee equal to a specified percentage of the aggregate principal balance of the loan based on the Prosper Rating of the loan.  Origination fees are charged by WebBank, which pays these fees to Prosper as compensation for our marketing and underwriting activities. 

From our relaunch in July 2009 to March 31, 2012, our origination fees were as follows:

   
Origination Fee Percentage
 
Origination Fee Percentage
 
Origination Fee Percentage
Prosper Rating
 
(July 2009-July 2010)
 
(July 2010-Nov 2011)
 
(Nov 2011-Mar 2012)
AA
 
0.50%
 
0.50%
 
0.50%
A-B
 
3.00%*
 
3.00%**
 
3.95%
C-HR
 
3.00%*
 
4.50%**
 
4.95%
*Subject to $50 minimum fee through July 2010
**Subject to $75 minimum fee July 2010 through December 20, 2010, minimum fee eliminated December 20, 2010 for all loan listings

Origination fees for the three months ended March 31, 2012 were $1.4 million, representing an increase of 251%, as compared to $393.3 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The significant increase in origination fees for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was primarily due to the Company’s higher origination volume during those periods in 2012 as compared to the corresponding periods in 2011.

Origination Volume

The Company originated 4,435 loans totaling $33.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 as compared to 1,744 loans totaling $11.5 million originated during the three months ended March 31, 2011. This represented a “unit,” or loan, increase of 155% and a dollar increase of 188% over the corresponding period in 2011.

The graph below shows our monthly originations dating back to January 2010 and the steady origination growth we have experienced through March 31, 2012.

 
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The steady increase in volume is primarily due to improvements in operating efficiency and an increase in marketing and borrower and lender promotions.  During 2011, we implemented a new feature on our website, which tells both prospective investors and borrowers how far along Prosper is in processing a loan application. This helps lender members concentrate their funds on listings that are more likely to fund and originate.  Also, we implemented Quick Invest, our loan search tool, to allow lender members to better identify Notes that meet their investment criteria. Furthermore, we launched our mobile web site for iPhone and Android devices so that investors can browse listings, transfer funds, and execute Quick Invest orders and we began allowing investors to invest with Prosper through self-directed IRAs.
 
Our increase in marketing efforts related to affiliate, online, and brand marketing have helped steadily increase our borrower listing and lender membership volume.  We continue to leverage our existing lender and borrower base and have seen an increase in the reinvestment of investor funds and additional capital being placed on the platform by existing investors as well as borrowers securing second loans.  We have also focused sales effort to attract additional capital through lender outreach programs.
 
 Interest Income on Borrower Loans and Payment Dependent Notes
 
We recognize interest income on our borrower loans using the accrual method based on the stated interest rate to the extent that we believe it to be collectable.  We record interest expense on the corresponding Note based on the contractual interest rate.
 
Gross interest income earned and gross interest expense incurred were approximately $4.6 million and $4.4 million, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2012, resulting in net interest income of $227.0 thousand.  Gross interest income earned and gross interest expense incurred were approximately $1.5 million and $1.4 million, respectively for the three months ended March 31, 2011, resulting in net interest income of approximately $80.3 thousand.  Overall net interest income for the above mentioned periods is driven by the rise in the amount of loans that we originate and service at any given point.  As discussed above, our origination volume has increased steadily since the corresponding prior period, which resulted in increases to our gross interest income and expense and ultimately our net interest income.  Over time, we expect that revenues and expenses related to borrower loans and Notes will increase as we grow our platform.

 
30

 


Rebates and Promotions

We account for rebates and promotions in accordance with ASC Topic 605, Revenue Recognition.  From time to time we offer rebates and promotions to our borrower and lender members.  We record these rebates and promotions as an offset to revenue if a particular rebate or promotion is associated with origination of a loan. Our rebate and promotions have in the past been in the form of cash back and other incentives paid to lender and borrowers.

For the three months ended March 31, 2012 and March 31, 2011, we incurred expenses related to rebates and promotions extended to borrowers and lenders of $284.4 thousand and $166.4 thousand, respectively, which represented an increase of $118.0 thousand.   This is due to the increased frequency and volume of our promotions and rebate programs as compared to the first three months of 2011 in order to incent borrowers and lenders.

Cost of Revenues
 
Cost of Services

       Cost of services consists primarily of credit bureau fees, payments to strategic partners, and other expenses directly related to loan funding and servicing. Cost of service expenses were $335.6 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2012, representing an increase of 11% as compared to $302.8 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The primary driver for the increase in our cost of service expense during these periods was an increase in credit bureau fees resulting from an increase in loans listing volume.

Loan and Note Repurchases

Under the terms of the Notes, we may, in certain circumstances, become obligated to repurchase a Note from a lender.  Generally these circumstances include the occurrence of verifiable identity theft, our failure to properly follow loan listing or bidding protocols or a violation of the applicable federal/state/local lending laws.  We accrue a provision for these potential repurchase obligations when the Notes are sold to the lender members in an amount considered appropriate to reserve for our potential repurchase obligation.  The repurchase obligation is evaluated at least once a quarter and represents an estimate based on the rate of historical repurchases as a percentage of originations (which generally occur within six to nine months of origination).  The repurchase obligation may include a judgmental management adjustment due to our limited operating history, changes in current economic conditions, the risk of new and as of yet undetected fraud schemes, origination unit and dollar volumes and the lack of industry comparables.  We increased our repurchase obligation to $29.0 thousand at March 31, 2012 compared to $13.0 thousand at March 31, 2011.  This increase reflects an increase in the estimate for repurchases consistent with our increased loan originations and the recent notification by law enforcement authorities of an identification related fraud for a loan originated in 2007. Through the first three months of 2012, we have not repurchased any Notes due to identity theft. We continue to devote a significant amount of attention to fraud prevention and will continue to enhance our fraud control procedures to maintain a low level of repurchases.


 
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Other Income
 
Change in Fair Value on Borrower Loans, Loans Held for Investment and Payment Dependent Notes, net
 
Under the methods described in ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, we elected to account for unrealized gains or losses on the borrower loans and borrower payment dependent notes on a fair value basis.  These amounts are included as a component of other income (expense) in our statement of operations. The total fair value adjustment was $1.2 million, $3.1 thousand and $935.3 thousand for the borrower loans, loans held for investment and Notes, respectively, resulting in a net unrealized gain of $279.1 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2012.  The total fair value adjustment was $295.4 thousand and $580.1 thousand for the borrower loans and Notes, respectively, resulting in a net unrealized gain of $284.7 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2011.   We did not hold any loans held for investment during the three months ended March 31, 2011.

Insurance recoveries

During the first quarter of 2011 the Superior Court of California issued a final statement of decision finding that Greenwich Insurance Company, our insurance carrier with respect to our class action lawsuit, had a duty to defend the suit and requiring that Greenwich pay Prosper's past and future defense costs in the suit up to $2.0 million.  During 2011, Greenwich had made aggregate payments to us in the amount of $2.0 million to reimburse us for the defense costs we had already incurred in the class action suit.  Please see our Note 12 “Commitment and Contingencies” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements contained elsewhere in this report for further information related to this payment.

Other Income

Other income consists primarily of credit referral fees, where partner companies pay us an agreed upon amount for referrals of customers from our website.  Other income was $47.5 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2012, which represented an increase of 108% over the corresponding prior year period.  The increase in other income during these periods was due to the addition of a number of new partners as well as increased traffic to existing credit referral partners.

Operating Expenses

Compensation and benefits were $2.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $898.6 thousand or 58% as compared to $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011.  The increase for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was largely due to the Company steadily increasing its employee headcount in 2011 and in the first three months of 2012, which in turn resulted in increased payroll costs such as salary and wages, payroll taxes, healthcare, and accrued vacation.  In particular, we increased our headcount across our marketing and operations to respond to increased volume demands. We intend to continue to increase headcount as we grow our lender and borrower bases and carry out our business plan.

Marketing and advertising costs consist primarily of affiliate marketing, search engine marketing, online and offline campaigns, public relations and direct mail marketing.  Marketing and advertising costs were $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $756.5 thousand, as compared to $518.0 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This was primarily due to our increased emphasis on our affiliate network, brand marketing, and search engine and online marketing campaigns in order to drive borrower and lender volume.

Depreciation and amortization expense was $158.3 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of 28% compared to the prior year period. This increase is mostly due to the capitalization of various internally developed software projects placed in service within the last year and in the current quarter, which in turn increased depreciation expense taken on those assets during the first three months of 2012.

 
32

 


General and Administrative Expenses

Professional service expenses are comprised of legal expenses, audit and accounting fees, consulting services, and other outside costs.  For the three months ended March 31, 2012 professional service expenses were $993.9 thousand, a 67% increase compared to $597.0 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2011.  The overall increase for professional service expenses during the three months ended March 31, 2012 as compared to the prior year period was due to a large increase in legal expenses related to the formation of Prosper Funding LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“PFL”).

Facilities and maintenance expenses consist primarily of rents paid for our corporate office lease and data co-location facility, software licenses and subscriptions, office supplies and expenses, repairs and maintenance expense and equipment and software costs that did not meet capitalization criteria. Facilities and maintenance expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2012 were $323.9 thousand, an increase of 116% relative to the corresponding prior year period. These increases were primarily due to additional software licenses and subscriptions purchased and also higher general facility costs caused by the expansion of our corporate office lease space.

Other general and administrative expenses consist of bank service charges, dues and subscriptions, insurance costs, travel and entertainment expenses, taxes and licenses costs, communications costs, recruiting costs and other miscellaneous expenses.  The increase is primarily due to SEC filing fees related to the formation of Prosper Funding LLC and recruiting fees for various marketing and technology positions.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We have incurred operating losses since our inception and we anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses through the end of 2012.  We had negative cash flows from operations of $4.1 million and $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.  As reflected in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, Prosper has incurred net losses and negative cash flows from operations since inception, and has an accumulated deficit of approximately $65.2 million as of March 31, 2012.

At March 31, 2012, the Company had approximately $15.1 million in available cash and cash equivalents and short term investments.  Since its inception, Prosper has financed its operations primarily through equity financing from various sources. The Company is dependent upon raising additional capital or debt financing to fund its current operating plan, however we believe that our current cash position is sufficient to meet our current liquidity needs.

Net cash used in operating activities was $4.1 million and $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.  Net cash used in operating activities was used to fund ongoing operations such as headcount costs, legal and accounting services, marketing expenses and cost of service expenses.  The anticipated increase in origination revenue is expected to reduce our ongoing cash requirements.

Net cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was $21.4 million which consisted of purchases of short term investments of approximately $3.0 million, maturities of short term investments of $2.0 million, the origination of $132.8 thousand in loans held for investment, repayments of $33.3 thousand related to loans held for investment, $33.1 million in borrower loan originations offset by $12.9 million in borrower loan principal repayments, and purchases of property and equipment of $163.3 thousand.

Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was $20.4 million which consisted of proceeds from the issuance of Borrower Payment Dependent Notes of $33.1 million, proceeds from the issuance of common stock of $3 thousand, offset by $12.7 million in repayment of Borrower Payment Dependent Notes.

 
33

 


On June 3, 2011, we entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with certain new investors and certain of our existing investors, pursuant to which we issued and sold to such investors 23,222,747 shares of our Series E Preferred Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $17.2 million. In connection with that sale, we issued 10,000,000 shares of our Series E-1 Preferred Stock to certain holders of our Series A, B and C Preferred Stock who purchased Series E shares.  The E-1 shares were allocated among these stockholders in proportion to their relative purchases of Series E shares.

On November 3, 2011 we entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with certain new investors, pursuant to which, Prosper issued and sold to such investors 8,996,739 shares of our Series F Preferred Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $9.0 million.  

As discussed in Note 12 of our consolidated financial statements, “Commitments and Contingencies,” contained elsewhere in this report, and in the “Insurance Recoveries” section above, Greenwich Insurance Company made payments to the Company in the amount of $2.0 million to reimburse the Company for the defense costs it had incurred in the class action suit. As a result, Greenwich has now satisfied its obligations with respect to the Company’s defense costs for the Hellum suit, with the exception of $142,584 in pre-judgment interest that Greenwich will be required to pay to the Company when a final judgment has been entered in the suit and all appeals have been exhausted.

With regard to the class action lawsuit, Prosper cannot presently determine or estimate the final outcome of the lawsuit, and there can be no assurance that it will be finally resolved in our favor. If the class action lawsuit is not resolved in our favor, Prosper may be obliged to pay damages, and might be subject to such equitable relief as a court may determine. Accordingly, the Company has not recorded an accrued loss contingency in connection with the sale of promissory notes to lender members. Accounting for loss contingencies involves the existence of a condition, situation or set of circumstances involving uncertainty as to possible loss that will ultimately be resolved when one or more future event(s) occur or fail to occur. An estimated loss in connection with a loss contingency shall be recorded by a charge to current operations if both of the following conditions are met: first, the amount can be reasonably estimated; and second, the information available prior to issuance of the financial statements indicates that it is probable that a liability has been incurred at the date of the financial statements. For more information, see Note 12 of our financial statements located elsewhere in this report.

Since our inception, inflation and changing prices have not had a material effect on our business and we do not expect that inflation or changing prices will materially affect our business in the foreseeable future.

Income Taxes

We incurred no income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.  Given our history of operating losses and inability to achieve profitable operations, it is difficult to accurately forecast how our results will be affected by the realization and use of net operating loss carry forwards.

ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes provides for the recognition of deferred tax assets if realization of such assets is more likely than not.  Based upon the weight of available evidence, which includes our historical operating performance and the reported cumulative net losses in all prior years, we have provided a full valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets.  We will continue to evaluate the realizability of the deferred tax assets on a quarterly basis.


 
34

 


Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

In February 2012, we formed Prosper Funding LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“PFL”). We are the sole member of PFL and its accounts have been consolidated with the consolidated financial statements presented in this report. PFL has been organized and will be operated in a manner that is intended to minimize the likelihood that it will (i) become subject to bankruptcy proceedings or (ii) be substantively consolidated with the Company, and thus have its assets subject to claims by the Company’s creditors, in the event the Company becomes subject to a bankruptcy proceeding. We intended to restructure the platform so borrower loans are held by PFL and PFL issues and sells the borrower payment dependent notes tied to the loans. On March 7, 2012, PFL filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC for a continuous offering and sale of such notes. Prosper Funding LLC has not commenced operations as of the date of this report.

Additional Information about the Prosper Marketplace Loan Platform

Recent Loan Originations

The tables below show loan volume, average loan size, average lender yield, average credit scores and other pertinent data by Prosper Rating for originations from July 13, 2009 to March 31, 2012.

 
Prosper Rating
 
Number
 
Amount
 
Average Loan Size
 
Dollar Percentage
AA
   
         1,711
 
$
14,532,205
 
$
8,493
   
10%
A
   
         3,589
   
28,841,147
   
8,036
   
20%
B
   
         3,110
   
25,056,761
   
8,057
   
18%
C
   
         2,701
   
17,714,740
   
6,559
   
12%
D
   
         5,587
   
31,351,594
   
5,612
   
22%
E
   
         3,547
   
16,092,766
   
4,537
   
11%
HR
   
         3,104
   
10,439,762
   
3,363
   
7%
Total
   
     23,349
 
$
144,028,975
 
$
6,169
   
100%



Prosper Rating
   
Weighted Average Borrower Rate
   
Weighted Average Estimated Loss
   
Weighted Average Lender Yield
   
Average Experian ScorexPlus Score
   
Weighted Average Borrower APR
 
AA
     
8.65
%
   
        1.41
%
   
7.65
%
   
803
     
9.05
%
 A      
11.41
%
   
        2.89
%
   
10.40
%
   
754
     
13.64
%
 B      
16.37
%
   
        5.62
%
   
15.37
%
   
723
     
18.69
%
 C      
21.32
%
   
        7.76
%
   
20.32
%
   
705
     
24.37
%
 D      
26.29
%
   
      10.73
%
   
25.29
%
   
694
     
29.70
%
 E      
31.40
%
   
      14.34
%
   
30.40
%
   
674
     
35.21
%
HR
     
31.98
%
   
      18.53
%
   
30.98
%
   
682
     
35.59
%
Total
     
20.18
%
   
       7.94
%
   
19.17
%
   
712
     
22.87
%


 
35

 

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Not applicable for smaller reporting companies.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, as appropriate, to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, we recognize that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and we are required to apply our judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

As required by Exchange Act Rule 15d-15(b), we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal quarter covered by this report. Based on the foregoing, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.
 
On March 15, 2012 the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and President, Chris Larsen resigned. Mr. Larsen was Chief Executive Officer for the full fiscal year 2011 and through March 15, 2012, and established, maintained and evaluated the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as well as its internal control over financial reporting during his time as CEO. At the time of Mr. Larsen’s resignation, Ms. Dawn Lepore, was appointed CEO. Thus, approximately two weeks prior to the end of our first fiscal quarter, she became responsible for maintaining the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures, as well as its internal controls over financial reporting.
 
Other than the event noted above, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during our most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

 
36

 

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings
 
The discussion of the NASAA settlement agreement, the class action lawsuit and our suit involving our insurance carrier with respect to the class action lawsuit, set forth in “Note 12 Commitment and Contingencies” of the Notes to the Financial Statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report is incorporated herein by reference.  From time to time, we may be involved in various legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business. While any litigation contains an element of uncertainty, management believes that the outcome of all pending legal proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operation or financial position. However, because of the nature and inherent uncertainties of litigation, should the outcome of any legal actions be unfavorable, we may be required to pay damages and other expenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.    We are not currently subject to any other material legal proceedings.  Except for the above matters, we are not aware of any litigation matters which have had, or are expected to have, a material adverse effect on us.
 
Item 1A. Risk Factors

Not applicable for smaller reporting companies.
 
Item 2. Unregistered Sale of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
 
On July 13, 2009, we commenced a public offering of up to $500,000,000 in principal amount of our Borrower Payment Dependent Notes pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-147019). The offering is a continuous offering and remains ongoing. The registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on July 10, 2009.  From July 13, 2009 to April 30, 2012, we sold $155,673,182 in principal amount of Notes at 100% of their principal amount.  The Notes are offered only through our website, and there are no underwriters or underwriting discounts.  We have incurred estimated expenses of approximately $2,097,411 in connection with the offering, none of which are being paid by us to our directors, officers, persons owning 10% or more of any class of our equity securities or affiliates. As set forth in the prospectus for the offering, we are using the proceeds of each series of Notes to fund a borrower loan through our platform designated by the lender members purchasing such series of Notes. None of the proceeds from the Notes are paid by us to our directors, officers, persons owning 10% or more of any class of our equity securities or affiliates.

Item 3. Defaults upon Senior Securities

Not applicable.

Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.


Not applicable.

Item 6. Exhibits

The exhibits listed on the accompanying Exhibit Index are filed or incorporated by reference as a part of this report and such Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.


 
37

 

SIGNATURES
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

         
 
 
Prosper Marketplace, Inc.
 
 
 
  Date: May 14, 2012
By:  
/s/ Dawn G. Lepore
 
   
Name:  
Dawn G. Lepore
 
   
Title:  
Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)
 
 
 
 
Prosper Marketplace, Inc.
 
 
 
  Date: May 14, 2012
By:  
/s/ Kirk T. Inglis
 
   
Name:  
Kirk T. Inglis
 
   
Title:  
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
 





 
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EXHIBIT INDEX



Exhibit
   
Number
Exhibit Description
31.1
 
Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, with respect to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.
     
31.2
 
Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, with respect to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.
     
32.1
 
Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, with respect to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.
     
101.INS
 
XBRL Instance Documents*
     
101.SCH
 
XBRL  Taxonomy Extension Schema Document*
     
101.CAL
 
Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document*
     
101.LAB
 
Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document*
     
101.PRE
 
Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document*
     
101.DEF
 
Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document*

* Pursuant to Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, these Interactive Data Files are deemed not filed or part of a registration statement or prospectus for purposes of Sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, are deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and otherwise are not subject to liability under those sections.

 

 


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