Social Finance Inc. has filed as a sponsor for a securitization portfolio of private student loans; SoFi Lending Corporation, will act as the securitizer for the SoFi Professional Loan Program LLC 2017-B (SOFI 2017-B) portfolio. Source
SoFi has developed a new marketplace lending fund primarily targeting family offices; a regulatory filing shows the fund as SoFi Prime Income Fund with 33 investors each investing a minimum of $500,000; total fund investment is $105 million; the Fund will focus on investing in SoFi's unsecured student and personal loans. Source
SoFi has published a blog post in response to a New York Times article about recent news at the company; discusses what SoFi calls vague claims as it relates to their mortgage and personal loans business; provides updates on what the company is doing related to corporate culture and Mike Cagney’s departure. Source
SoFi is partnering with WSFS financial to roll out free checking account and debit cards this spring; it is calling the new initiative “SoFi Money”; the product will include peer to peer transfers, mobile check deposits and high yield interest rates on deposits; SoFi members will be the first to have access to SoFi Money before a broader rollout. Source
SoFi said it missed their internal 4th quarter earnings projections due to lower than expected loan performance, increased hiring costs and expenses related to management changes according to the WSJ; the company also said they expect the loan performance trend to continue into 2018 as the look to refine their credit model; the company is also looking to improve fraud prevention, automate loan processing and get better at collections. Source.
According to the WSJ, SoFi is pulling back on its expansion to foreign markets and asset management; two executives, Peter Early and Arkadi Kuhlmann are leaving the firm as part of the shift in focus; they led asset management and banking respectively at SoFi; despite some of the challenges the company extended $3.52 billion in loans in the third quarter, up almost 80% from the same period last year. Source
Fintech platform SoFi has struck a new exclusive partnership with card issuer Mastercard to be the sole issuer for SoFi...
In a press release SoFi shared that members have cumulatively paid off over $5 billion in credit card debt; members reduced their effective interest rate by 42% and saw credit scores rise by 17 points on average; SoFi borrowers can borrow up to $100,000 and choose a term of three, five or seven years; over 70% of borrowers report using funds for credit card refinancing and loan consolidation. Source
In October SoFi launched an offering targeted at medical school graduates; American Banker shares how the move is just the latest example of how lenders use data to tap into new borrower niches; the average debt load of medical school graduates is $190,000 and during residency salaries are around $60,000; since their income is low traditional lenders often won’t refinance these loans; with the new product residents can consolidate their debt and make a $100 monthly payment until they finish training. Source
SoFi has announced their plans to acquire Galileo Financial Technologies for $1.2 billion in cash and stock; Galileo allows companies...