The securitization portfolio will include private consumer loans from the SoFi platform; associated parties on the deal include PwC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Mizuho Securities USA LLC; according to Finsight, the securitization is SoFi's ninth this year with the last being a $500 million transaction that took place in June. Source
According to the Financial Times, SoFi had talks with various companies including Schwab earlier this year to sell the company; the discussions took place after an indicative offer of $6 billion from a foreign bank; the company subsequently held talks with other companies with a targeted price of between $8 - $10 billion; no acquirers were willing to match the price and SoFi decided to wait for an IPO. 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 was in talks to acquire clearing and custody firm Apex but the talks failed and the lender instead made...
SoFi has begun to acquire state life insurance licenses and is working with Protective Life Insurance Co. on a life insurance partnership; known for student loan refinancing, life insurance would add to the company's expanding product offerings which now include mortgage loans, personal loans and wealth management. Source
On CNBC’s Power Lunch, CEO Anthony Noto stated, “We want to accelerate our investment in some new products, one of...
SoFi recently partnered with WeWork to offer discounted student refinancing to WeWork employees and members; the move is part of a broader strategy for the company to move beyond their initial target market of alumni from top universities; offering student loan repayments as a workplace benefit is a new trend as companies look to help young employees get out from under the mountain of student debt; “The bigger story is that the student loan pay down as a benefit is a massive industry that hasn’t even got going yet — every Fortune 500 company is going to have this as a benefit in the next year or two,” said Peter Renton, analyst and founder of Lend Academy, to TearSheet. Source.
SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said the company is looking at potentially adding safeguards to day trading to ensure users are...
SoFi’s lending goal in 2017 was to lend more than they had in the previous 5 years combined; the online lender fell 26 percent short of the goal and instead lent out $12.9bn in 2017; the company had seen their share of issues in the last year with sexual misconduct claims and their CEO being forced out; SoFi spokesman Jim Prosser said the true goal for 2017 was closer to $13bn and the higher amount was a stretch goal. Source.
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