The Gamble Of Lending Peer to Peer.

When peer-to-peer online lending first became possible in the United States five years ago, using the Web to make money by lending it to fellow citizens in need seemed wonderfully subversive. No more banks! Let the people play loan officer! The hype was literally suffused with the rhetoric of revolution when a company called Prosper began operations in February 2006. ''Prosper gives people the opportunity to take back the marketplace for consumer credit,'' the company's co-founder, Chris Larsen, said in its news release. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]