Friday, October 06, 2006

CircleLending is a new Massachusetts-based company that administers loans between family members and friends. The interest rates are lower than the market rates. Listen to this NPR story about the company, and then evaluate its business in terms of transaction and information costs, and default and credit risks. Why is there a disparity between CircleLoan's rates and market interest rates? When might it make sense for a parent to loan money to a child (via CircleLending) even after a bank may have rejected the child's loan application?