SoFi Blog

This holiday season, the ultimate gift on many recent grads’ wish lists is lower student loan debt.  Since more students are graduating with more debt than ever before, it’s not surprising that many are asking for cold hard cash versus the more tangible gifts of years past.

Every year around this time, I notice a slowdown in the number of phone calls I get from job candidates.  Some of it has to do with people taking time to relax and enjoy the holidays, but I think it’s also due to the myth that December is a bad month to find a new job.  Many candidates simply take a whole month off from their search because they assume that employers are doing the same on their end.

When was the last time you took a hard look at your student loans?

If you’re like many borrowers, you probably try hard not to think about them.  That monthly deduction from your bank account might be an aggravating reminder, but one that you’ve grudgingly come to accept over time.  After all, what’s the point in dwelling on your loans if there’s nothing you can do to change them?

Last Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report summarizing complaints from 3,800 student loan borrowers. SoFi was not named in these borrower complaints, but as a private lender focused on refinancing existing student loans, we hear a lot about the challenges our customers have faced with their previous lenders.

The private student lender reaches a capital-raising milestone thanks to this partnership with the non-profit corporation ECMC Group, Inc. providing services in support of higher education finance.

San Francisco, CA – SoFi (Social Finance, LLC), the private student lender, announced today it has reached the $500 million milestone in debt and equity to transform the student lending space.

The company reached this milestone thanks to securing a community fund investment from ECMC Group, Inc. “We are pleased to be part of the SoFi community. This partnership aligns nicely with ECMC Group’s mission to support student success through innovative education solutions,” said Greg Van Guilder, ECMC Group Chief Financial Officer. “We like the social community approach that SoFi brings to its lending programs, offering borrowers an opportunity to consolidate their educational debt into one comparatively low fixed or variable rate loan.”

To date, SoFi has raised $90MM in equity, $151MM in warehouse lines, $200MM in bank participations with the remaining capital coming from alumni and community investors.

“From the beginning, we believed access to capital was our biggest barrier to overcome in order to bring real transformation to the student loan market and compete with incumbents in this space,” said SoFi Chief Executive Officer Mike Cagney. “Now that we have unlocked substantial funding, we are able to quickly scale our programs to more students and graduates in need of a better option to pay off their educational debt.”

SoFi currently refinances federal and private student loans for graduates of 100 schools. Eligible applicants can consolidate their loans into one monthly payment and reduce their interest rates to variable rates as low as 2.94 percent (with Autopay) or fixed rates as low as 4.99 percent (with Autopay).

The company will continue to expand its capital base by partnering with alumni and institutions and has plans to securitize in the fourth quarter of 2013.

About SoFi 
SoFi is an innovative student lender focused on building a community around traditional financial products. Recent graduates and current students benefit from a lower loan rate and resources dedicated to helping them achieve their financial and career goals. Founded in 2011, SoFi has funded nearly $200 million in loans to students and alumni from 100 top universities. To learn more about SoFi visit: www.sofi.com.

About ECMC Group, Inc.
ECMC Group, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation that works to help students recognize and realize their potential by investing in, creating and providing innovative education solutions that support schools and improve student educational outcomes.

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