<p>Actually, based on the crowd-sourced model described, I already do fund loans – but not for students. I am a Kiva lender - see <a href=“https://www.kiva.org%5B/url%5D”>https://www.kiva.org</a> - and have been for years. So is my daughter-- she joined in 2009 while still a student. My net investment is around $75 
– but with the reminder of this thread, I think I’ll throw another $25 into the pot. </p>
<p>Kiva is a micro-lender – your money is pooled to provide funds for farmers and small business owners in third world countries. You pick the person or group you would like to lend to. After the money is paid back you can relend it or withdraw it. You do not earn interest – Kiva is a nonprofit with a charitable purposes. Since 2007, my daughter and I have funded roughly 20 loans, all of which were fully repaid or are current with their payments.</p>
<p>Obviously we don’t really care whether we get repaid or not. This is just an interesting way that we can use our relative affluence as US citizens to lend a helping hand to others. But if I can help fund a loan to a farmer in Bolivia or a food merchant in Cambodia and get paid back… then I see no reason why the for-profit, student lending model might not be profitable. </p>
<p>This is not a direct loan situation; it is simply a direct investment in a company that is in the loan business. The CommonBond company looks risky because funds are not liquid (unlike my Kiva 'investment", the money can’t be withdrawn whenever the investor decides to call it quits). It is not so clear what the status is with SoFi.</p>