US online person-to-person lending exchange Prosper has stopped accepting new loans as it looks to register its business with federal regulators.
In a blog on its Web site, Prosper says it "has started a process to register, with the appropriate securities authorities, promissory notes that may be offered and sold to lenders through our site in the future".
The outfit warns that the registration could take several months and until this is completed it will be in a "quiet period".
Existing lenders and borrowers will be unaffected. New borrowers can also still create loan listings which Prosper "will endeavour to fulfil through alternative sources".
Prosper is following in the footsteps of rival P2P firm Lending Club, which suspended new loans and lenders whilst it looked to register its business with securities authorities in April. Lending Club received SEC registration earlier this week.
Lending Club's decision to file with the SEC prompted speculation that Prosper would look to do the same, but it reportedly stated that its P2P marketplace already complies with state and federal laws.
In a SEC filing last year, Prosper says it business is in "full compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, including without limitation federal and state laws governing business practices and debt collection practices".
Last week another P2P platform, Zopa, said it was shutting down its operations in the US - just 10 months after launching in the country - due to tough market conditions.