There has been a lot of news coming out about SoFi recently; first came the departures of several senior executives; then news of a sexual harassment lawsuit came in August; now CEO Mike Cagney is stepping down as CEO from the company by the end of the year, having already stepped down as Chairman; in a letter sent to employees Cagney wrote, “The combination of HR-related litigation and negative press have become a distraction from the company’s core mission. I want SoFi to focus on helping members, hiring the best people, and growing our company in a way consistent with our values. That can’t happen as well as it should if people are focused on me, which isn’t fair to our members, investors, or you.” Source
Privately-owned, US marketplace lender, SoFi, has announced it will be expanding its product offerings to include life insurance by becoming a broker; within the industry the company is primarily known for its student loan refinancing services; it has also been expanding its product offerings to include personal loans, mortgage loans and wealth management in an effort to more actively meet broader financial needs for its clients; Lend Academy provides more details on the life insurance offering and future growth expectations for the company in their article. Source
Anthony Noto, COO of Twitter, has been offered the position as SoFi CEO. Source
The online lender has started a new marketing push to highlight new product offering to millennials; the company placed ads over the Thanksgiving holiday on TV and in newspapers with a unique twist on Black Friday. Source
The only online lender focused on veteran-owned businesses has found a recipe for success. Source
Lend Academy reviews LendingClub's Investor Day and shares the most interesting developments including a new “Exchange Traded Partnership”, details on direct payoff loans and new features of their auto finance product. Source
There are unique tax implications when it comes to investing in marketplace lending and investors should consider investing through an IRA; LendingClub is currently offering a bonus for IRA investments and is working with a new preferred custodian. Source
The new loan product is helping Americans get quick access to cash but it is not entirely free. Source
With fall approaching there are many conferences to attend for fintech professionals; Lend Academy shares a description of each conference as well as discount codes for attending some of the conferences; list includes FinovateFall, ABS East, OLPI Policy Summit, LendIt Europe 2017, Lend360, Money2020, American Banker's Digital Lending & Investing, AltFi Global Summit, IMN Investors Conference on Marketplace Lending, and Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit 2017. Source
After opening a search for a digital lending solution, the American Bankers Association has chosen Akouba; Lend Academy provides details in their article; Akouba offers banks a digital lending software solution for executing small business loans; it primarily works with community and regional banks; the ABA endorsement is a huge win for Akouba and will substantially add to its sales pipeline; the firm has 11 employees and has mainly been working with community banks reporting $500 million to $25 billion in assets; in addition to facilitating new business for Akouba, the ABA endorsement is also designed to help educate the market on advanced solutions for small business online lending; the ABA will be releasing a report on Akouba and the company will be holding a webinar on March 8 to discuss digitizing the small business lending process. Source