SoFi has announced details of its latest fundraising round which now adds $500 million in new equity capital for the firm; the financing was led by Silver Lake and included SoftBank and GPI Capital; the fundraising will support the continued expansion for the firm; it now offers student loan refinancing, personal loans, mortgage loans, life insurance, wealth management and banking; it also plans to expand its services to Australia and Canada. Source
In an article from Quartz several stories are outlined sharing how SoFi has helped borrowers get re-employed or negotiate for higher salaries; in one example Joanna Mathews was laid off and called SoFi to get forbearance on her credit consolidation loan which was approved; Joanna was subsequently assigned a counselor to help in the process to find employment, speaking weekly to her counselor; Joanna attended webinars on writing resumes and interviewing, eventually landing 15 interviews; after a three month search Joanna was employed again; in another story a borrower reached out to a SoFi coach for tips on salary negotiation, bargaining for an additional $6,000 per year using tips from SoFi. Source
SoFi is becoming one of the US's largest and most comprehensive marketplace lenders. Since launching in 2011 they have originated over $15 billion in loans. They market themselves as a new kind of finance company and recently acquired Zenbanx, expanding their products to deposit accounts. SoFi also offers student loan refinancing, mortgage loans, personal loans, wealth management and life insurance.
In Lend Academy's recent podcast with SoFi, CEO Mike Cagney provides some insight on how the company might be valued on a per customer basis. Mike Cagney says larger banks are valued at approximately $10,000 to $100,000 per customer. SoFi currently expects to have 500,000 customers by the end of 2017 and 2 million customers in the next two to three years; at a value of $50,000 per SoFi customer, this would imply a $100 billion valuation. Source
SoFi has partnered with Promontory Interfinancial Network to help facilitate community bank investments in SoFi loans; Promontory Interfinancial Network will provide due diligence support for community banks; the Promontory Interfinancial Network includes a network of thousands of banks; for the partnership Promontory Interfinancial Network commissioned Promontory Financial Group (recently acquired by IBM) to provide a review and report on SoFi's underwriting, operations and systems to Promontory Interfinancial Network's banks for deal support; according to SoFi, the program will provide a gateway for small to mid-sized banks' participation in marketplace lending investment; Promontory Interfinancial Network will make SoFi's loan program information available for its bank network on its loan marketplace, Bank Assetpoint; network banks will not incur any additional charges for loan investment through the network and SoFi will pay Promontory Interfinancial Network a fee for each transaction. Source
In a move viewed as a step towards becoming more central to their member’s financial lives, SoFi acquired Zenbanx for...
Silver Lake Partners is leading the next financing round for SoFi that is expected to add $500 million in new capital for the growing alternative finance company; investors include Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. and several other Asian investors along with DCM Ventures and Third Point; with the completion of the fundraising, SoFi will be valued at approximately $4.3 billion; recent acquisitions and product introductions have helped the firm expand its offerings from student loan refinancings to personal loans, mortgages, wealth management, life insurance and digital banking. Source
SoFi has securitized another portfolio which was priced on February 2; Moody's provided ratings ranging from Aaa to Baa2 for the portfolio; the portfolio includes private student loans from SoFi; the value of rated loans was $561 million. Source
Buying and selling a home is a process that is full of friction. For some buyers financing is a roadblock due...
SoFi bought online bank Zenbanx for approximately $100 million and will now be the first online lender to offer deposit accounts; Lend Academy provides more details on the acquisition in their article; the acquisition will help SoFi become a more central source for financial services to their clients; Zenbanx currently offers mobile accounts in the US and Canada; the current business will become integrated with SoFi's operations and Zenbanx's founder and CEO will be joining SoFi to run banking services; the acquisition gives SoFi significant latitude to launch additional banking products and the deposit accounts will add to the company's current products which now include student loan refinancing, consumer loans, mortgages, wealth management services and insurance. Source
Sofi has been leading the US fintech market with new products and record originations from its core student loan business; they recently acquired Zenbanx to offer deposit products; they are also expanding into nearly all aspects of financial services; Lend Academy talks with Mike Cagney in their podcast; Mike talks about their business model and how they are different from other top US lenders; also provides insight on their securitization funding and strategy. Source