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Credit and Employment Data

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What are credit grades?


A credit grade is a letter grade that Prosper assigns you based on a borrower's credit score, for use solely in the Prosper marketplace. Prosper obtains the borrower's Experian Scorex PLUSSM credit score, 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+ 720-759 680-719 640-679 600-639 560-599 520-559


Borrower credit grades are posted with their listing to help lenders plan their bidding. The numerical credit score is never displayed or disclosed to anyone (including the borrower). Learn more about credit grades.

Because of the timing of recognizing and reporting late payment activity from borrowers, late payments on Prosper loans may not yet be reported to credit reporting agencies when a borrower takes a subsequent loan. As a result, a borrower's Prosper payment activity may not be fully reflected in his or her credit grade. Please refer to the borrower's Prosper activity for full details on Prosper loan payment history.

What is a debt-to-income ratio?


Debt-to-income ratio (or DTI) is a measurement of the borrower's ability to take on additional debt. This number measures the borrower's monthly debt payments (excluding housing payments) relative to their monthly income. The DTI is expressed as a percentage, and is calculated by dividing the borrower's monthly non-housing debt by their monthly income. The borrower's monthly non-housing debt is derived from the borrower's credit report, and also includes the monthly payment on the Prosper loan the borrower is requesting. The borrower's monthly income is derived from the borrower's stated income. Generally, a DTI of 20% is considered the upper end of normal when excluding housing debt.

If the DTI is shown as "Not calculated", it may be for one of three reasons. First, DTI is not calculated for borrowers who indicate to Prosper that they cannot provide documented proof of income. Second, DTI is not calculated for self-employed borrowers. Third, DTI is not calculated in those rare instances where the borrower's credit report does not provide the borrower's monthly debt burden.

Self-employed borrowers have their DTI displayed as "not calculated" because of the difficulty in verifying their income. This is due primarily to the wide variety of business activities engaged in by self-employed borrowers, which present equally wide variations in the types of income documentation and tax statements often used to verify income. This makes income verification for many self-employed borrowers extremely difficult if not impossible. As a result, the DTI of self-employed borrowers is listed as "not calculated".

What additional credit data is available?


Registered lenders have access to additional credit data, which may give more insight into the reason why a borrower has received a particular credit grade. The following additional data comes from the borrower's credit report:
  • Now delinquent: The number of accounts on which the borrower is currently late on a payment. This includes any unpaid charge-offs or other derogatory balances.
  • Amount delinquent: Total past due amounts owed by the borrower. This includes accounts included in Chapter 13 bankruptcies, but excludes all other bankruptcies. Charge-offs or other unpaid derogatory balances are included provided the credit grantor has reported an amount past due to the credit bureau. Please note that not all credit grantors will report an amount past due with a charge-off or derogatory status.
  • Delinquencies in last 7y: The number of 90+ days past due delinquencies on the borrower's credit report in the last 7 years.
  • Public records in last 12m: The number of negative public records on the borrower's credit report over the last 12 months. Negative public records include, among other things, bankruptcies, liens, and judgments.
  • Public records in last 10y: The number of negative public records on the borrower's credit report over the last 10 years. Negative public records include, among other things, bankruptcies, liens, and judgments.
  • Inquiries in last 6 months: The number of inquiries made by creditors to the borrower's credit report in the last six months.
  • First credit line: The month and year the borrower's first recorded credit line was opened. Credit lines may include, among other things, revolving, installment, and mortgage credit.
  • Current credit lines: The number of credit lines presently current that have been reported within the last 6 months. These lines can be open or closed.
  • Open credit lines: The number of credit lines presently open that have been reported within the last 6 months.
  • Total credit lines: The total number of credit lines appearing on the credit report. Credit lines can be open or closed and may include, among other things, revolving, installment, and mortgage credit.
  • Revolving credit balance: Sum of outstanding balance on all open revolving credit lines reported within the last 6 months.
  • Bankcard utilization: Overall balance/limit ratio on open bankcards reported within the last 6 months. Calculation: (sum of total balances) / (sum of total limits)

What additional employment data is available?


Registered lenders have access to additional employment data for each borrower. The following additional employment data, which is self-reported by the borrower at the time of listing:
  • Employment status: The borrower's employment status. Options include: full-time, part-time, self-employed, retired, and not employed.
  • Length of status: The number of months and years that the borrower has had the stated employment status. If employed or self-employed, since when has the borrower held their current job or owned their current business? If retired or not employed, since when have they had this status?
  • Occupation: The borrower's current occupation.
  • Stated income: The borrower's stated income range, in $25,000 increments, or over $100,000. Stated income is always displayed, even for borrowers who indicate they cannot document their income.

What is "Prosper activity"?


If a borrower has any loan history with Prosper, the "Prosper Activity" box will appear under his or her credit and employment data box. Learn about Prosper activity.
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