Frequently Asked Questions

Borrowing

Who Can borrow?

A borrower is any person who is a U.S. resident that is a principle in a business and has borrowing authority. with a bank account, and a Social Security or federal tax ID  number. After passing PublicBankers identity verification and anti-fraud checks, borrowers can post their collateral online and borrow anything between $5,000 and $1,000,000..

What types of collateral can I post on Public Bankers?

You can offer anything you have as collateral. Equipment, furniture, vehicles, Intellectual properly, Lottery  or insurance settlements, receivables, etc. There is no limit to they type of collateral. If the lender likes your collateral you have a better chance of getting your loan

Do I need collateral?

PublicBankers is a collateral driven business lending site. We have found that for business loans lenders require collateral . Collateral give a certain degree of comfort to a lender that you will pay back your  

How long does it take to get funding on a loan?

Listing typically last a between 2 and 3 weeks. Expect you have your funds 7 to 10 days after the close of a successful listing.

Do I need to put money down when I purchase new equipment?

It is not required that you make a down payment when you are requesting financing. Putting money down on your equipment purchase does make some lenders more comfortable lending if they know you have some of your own money invested in the equipment.

How do I pay back multiple lenders?

Only one payment is required once a month and is paid only to public Bankers. Public Bankers will calculate and distribute a pro rata share to each lender.

Will lenders know my identity?

Yes. Since this is a business loan you and the prospective lender will be able to contact each other. You will have an opportunity to use a secure Public Bankers chat board to answer any questions that may arise.  This chat board will be shared with all registered lenders so everyone can see the answers to questions that may come up about t your loan.

What happens if a borrower misses a payment?

Borrowers who miss payments have same consequences that they would if they missed a payment on a bank loan. Late payments are reported to commercial credit reporting agencies. If you get too far behind in your payments it may be necessary to collect the collateral for your loan and sell it at auction to lower your debt. You will be responsible for all cost of disposal and any deficiency. Borrowers are also subject to a late fee on all missed payments,.

What happens if I want to pay my loan early?

Borrowers can make extra loan payments or repay the loan entirely at any time without penalty.

When public bankers checks my credit will that affect my credit score?

No. Since the loans are business loans used for business purposes your credit score should not be affected.

Do I have to personally guarantee my business loan?

No. There is no requirement at Public bankers that you sign a guarantee. That said providing a guarantee may make your loan more attractive to potential lenders. Over time as your listing is being bid on you will be seeing comments  from potential lenders why or why they will not bid on your loan. You can use this information to maybe change your terms to attract more lenders at better rates. The more you can offer the better success you will have a the very best rates.

Lending

Who can lend?

Any person who is a U.S. resident or US business with a bank account and a Social Security or Federal tax ID number and lend . All lenders must go through our identity verification and anti-fraud checks before they can be approved to make a bid, Once you are approved you can place as many bids as you like as long as it does not exceed 125% of the funds you have on deposit with Public Bankers.

How much money can someone lend?

Loans offered on prosper range in size from $5,000 to $1,000,000. You are welcome to make a bid as low as $250 to $1,000,000

How do I know if a loan is safe to invest in?

PublicBankers allows the borrower to decide how much information they are willing to give you. If requested by the borrower PublicBankers will do different levels of credit, verification and collateral checking. The more information the borrower gives you the easier it is to evaluate your risk. Each lender must determine their own personal risk tolerance when evaluating the loans listed. Don’t be afraid to contact the borrower through our secure chat room which is established with each listing.

If I make a loan what guarantees do I have that the loan will get repaid?

Just like a bank there is no guarantee that your loan will be repaid. Since all of our loans are secured with collateral if the loan is not repaid there is a chance we can repossess the collateral and sell it to pay some if not all of the loan balance. If you pick loans that have collateral that you are comfortable with and borrowers that have some type of track record of payment you will be a more successful lender.

How should people who lend spread their risk?

Because Prosper allows lenders to bid small amounts on all or part of loans, it is easy for lenders to create well-diversified portfolios. Using Prosper's portfolio plans feature, lenders can efficiently diversify their portfolio by automatically bidding on listings that reflect their pre-defined criteria.

For example, a lender can bid as little as $50 on any loan listing. To diversify their portfolio, a lender with $10,000 to deploy might want to spread a large number of small bids among several loans.

What happens if a borrower does not repay their loan?

Borrowers who miss payments on Prosper face the same consequences as they would if they miss a payment with any form of bank credit including the reporting of late payments to the credit bureaus. Borrowers also incur late fees, which are collected by Prosper and passed onto the people that loaned the money.

When a borrower's payment is late, Prosper communicates directly with the borrower to encourage repayment. After 15 days, Prosper notifies the borrower's friends and group leader of the late payment. After 30 days, Prosper engages a nationally-licensed collection agency, giving borrowers 90 days to bring the account to current. At more than 120 days past due, the loans are sold to a debt buyer. At that point, the borrower's credit report is negatively impacted with a default and they are banned from borrowing on Prosper ever again.

Can I collect payments myself?

Under no circumstances can you make collection calls or contact the borrower directly. Since there may be multiple lenders you could have legal liability from your fellow borrowers should you do something that jeopardizes the loan. PublicBankers has a strict servicing agreement between the borrows and the lenders giving us the ability to collect and negotiate for the group. Should you wish to contact the borrower or visit the borrower that request should be submitted to PublicBankers. Public bankers will contact the borrower and get that approval.

Will borrowers know their lenders' identity?

No. Since there are multiple lenders we will not share lender contact information with the borrower

When I open a deposit account with Public Bankers how do I know my money is safe?

When you open your account with Public bankers you will also receive a deposit account at an FDIC insured bank. These funds are your to withdraw at anytime as long as you do not have an open bid on a loan. Your deposited funds are now insured up to $250,000 by the FDIC insurance coverage and federal bank regulation.  Remember that FDIC insurance only applies to the money you have on deposit at the bank. Once you use your money to fund a loan you no longer have FDIC insurance.

Do lenders earn interest on deposits?

Yes. Since we open a special purpose account for you at the bank with you are able to receive interest on your deposits.

General Questions

Is Public Bankers regulated?

Lending and loan servicing activities are subject to state and federal regulation.

All Loans are originated by AeroFund financial a California state regulated financial institution. AeroFund holds a Commercial Finance Lenders license through the California department of corporations. All loans must be business in nature and be other $5,000 in size.