Some people are finding it tougher than ever to get a bank loan amid the nation's credit crisis, but many are getting a warmer welcome at the "teller window" on the Web. People are flocking to social network sites such as Prosper.com and Zopa.com, which connect lenders and borrowers at the grassroots level, using an eBay-style auction of loans and interest rates. Sites and players have multiplied in the nascent industry -- known as peer-to-peer online lending -- which is barely 2 years old.
July 20th 2008