Prosper Marketplace CEO Aaron Vermut Resigns: Report

Aaron Vermut has resigned as chief executive of Prosper Marketplace, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Vermut stepped down last week but will remain a director at the San Francisco-based online lender, according to the report, which cites unnamed sources. David Kimball, Prosper’s chief financial officer since March, has been promoted to CEO, the report said.

Vermut has served as CEO since March 2014. Kimball joined Prosper earlier this year from the $75 billion-asset USAA in San Antonio, where he had been a senior executive.

Prosper and other marketplace lenders have struggled mightily this year as investor interest in the sector has waned.

Earlier this year, Prosper announced plans to cut more than 25% of its staff, citing declining loan volume and revenue. At the time, Vermut said he would forego his annual salary for the year. In August, the company reported a $35 million loss for the second quarter and in October the firm closed down its secondary market for its loans, effectively leaving investors with no choice but to hold loans to maturity.

Lending Club, a key competitor, abruptly replaced its CEO earlier this year, amid allegations that top executives falsified loan documents, and later announced that it had laid off roughly 12% of its workers. Another online consumer lender, Avant, laid off dozens of employees earlier this yearand scrapped plans to begin offering automobile loans.

A call to a Prosper spokeswoman was not immediately returned.