Prosper hires former USAA exec in quest to reignite growth

Prosper Marketplace, a pioneering online lender that has struggled recently, has hired a former USAA executive as its chief financial officer.

Usama Ashraf will oversee Prosper’s finance activities and its capital markets function, the San Francisco company said in a press release Wednesday.

The privately held firm’s previous chief financial officer, David Kimball, was promoted to chief executive in November after the resignation of CEO Aaron Vermut.

Prosper’s capital markets responsibilities were previously held by Eric Thaller, who reportedly left the firm last month for a job at a consumer lending startup in Los Angeles.

The capital markets function is a critical role at marketplace lenders, whose access to funding for loans has dwindled in the past year as some large institutional investors have soured on the sector.

Prosper uses an online platform to match borrowers – often consumers seeking to consolidate credit card debt – with individual savers, hedge funds and other investors.

The 12-year-old firm originated $311.8 million in loans in the third quarter, down 71% from the a year earlier. Prosper laid off 28% of its staff in May.

Ashraf “will be instrumental in bringing new institutional investors onto the Prosper platform, including banks, as we continue to grow the platform in 2017,” Kimball said in the press release.

Ashraf, who is to join Prosper on Feb. 27, most recently was deputy chief financial officer and treasurer at Annaly Capital Management. Earlier he was corporate treasurer at the San Antonio-based USAA.