Learn about Credit Grades

What is a credit grade?

A credit grade is what potential lenders use to measure your likelihood of repaying money you have borrowed based on your past history. Everything from your first credit card to your home mortgage contributes to your credit history. Your credit grade can be affected by many factors, such as how much money you owe and your on-time payment history. Lenders will consider this credit grade (along with other factors, such as your group's borrowing history) to determine the interest rate they are willing to offer you, and how much to loan.

How is a credit grade different from a credit score or credit rating?

A Prosper credit grade is a letter grade that Prosper assigns you based on your credit score, for use solely in the Prosper marketplace. Prosper obtains your Experian Scorex PLUS^SM credit score from your credit report, and assigns one of seven credit grades.

Here is a table that shows the equivalent credit scores for Prosper credit grades:

Grade:	AA	A	B	C	D	E	HR
Score:	760 and up	720-759	680-719	640-679	600-639	560-599	520-559

Your credit grade is posted with your loan listing to help lenders plan their bids appropriately. Your numerical credit score is never displayed or disclosed to anyone.

Note: Having Prosper obtain your credit grade won't affect your credit score. Although we are making a request for your credit score, we're doing so at your instruction so no inquiries viewable by subsequent users of your credit report will be placed in your credit file. That means your credit score won't be affected when you register or post a listing. Only if you obtain a loan through Prosper will an inquiry that others can see be placed in your credit file.

What is HR?

HR stands for High Risk. These borrowers have a credit score between 520 and 559, which many traditional lenders consider to be high-risk. At this time, Prosper does not allow borrowers with credit scores below 520 to create a listing for a loan.

Why do credit grades matter?

A credit grade, along with additional credit data, is a measure of the likelihood that a borrower will repay his or her loan. When lenders bid on listings, Prosper uses the borrower's credit grade and additional credit data to estimate the loss to borrowers of that credit grade, and presents it on the bidding page.

Will my performance at Prosper affect my credit rating?

Yes. Prosper communicates repayment and delinquency information to credit reporting agencies. Your credit score will be adjusted accordingly, based on your loan payment performance.

For many borrowers, taking a loan through Prosper is a great opportunity to improve their credit score, which can lead to better loan rates in the future.

How can I look up my credit report and score?

It's important to make sure the information in your credit report is correct. If information in your credit report is incorrect, it can negatively affect your credit score, and therefore your ability to borrow money. It is recommended that you review your credit report annually from each of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion), especially to monitor for the possibility of identity theft. You can learn more about credit reports here: http://www.experian.com/

You are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). Learn more about how to order your free annual credit report.

How can I refresh my credit grade?

If it has been more than 30 days since your last credit pull, you can refresh your credit grade by creating a loan listing. If it has not been more than 30 days since your last credit pull, you can still create a new listing, but we will not refresh your credit grade.

Why does my credit grade not map to my FICO, Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion score?

Prosper uses a different scoring model than the scoring model used by other credit reporting agencies. Scoring models are algorithms that predict risk for different types of loans. Prosper uses the Experian Scorex PLUS^SM model which is appropriate for online lending.

What should I do if I disagree with my credit grade?

Prosper uses the Experian Scorex PLUS^SM model to calculate credit grades. If you disagree with your credit grade, the first thing to do is to ensure all of the information Experian has in your credit file is correct. A free copy of this information can be obtained once per year from each of the three credit agencies at www.annualcreditreport.com.

What should I do if there is something missing or wrong in my credit file?

If there is incorrect or missing information in your credit file, only you as the consumer can correct your file. The file you received should contain instructions for doing this.

Why does my credit grade not map to the score I receive from Experian's web site?

Prosper uses a different scoring model than Experian's Credit Expert web site. Scoring models are algorithms that predict risk for different types of loans. Prosper uses Experian Scorex PLUS^SM model which is more appropriate for online lending. View Prosper's policy on changes to borrower credit reports.

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