SoFi Blog

Lending facility of $41 Million from Bancorp demonstrates continued momentum in capital raising for the private student lender SoFi.

San Francisco, Calif., – June 4, 2013 – SoFi (Social Finance, LLC) the private student lender, announced today that it has secured a $41 million lending facility from The Bancorp, Inc. (“Bancorp”) (NASDAQ: TBBK), a financial holding company. The facility gives SoFi increased capacity to expand its successful community-based lending model with a diversified funding base.

SoFi is transforming student lending by connecting investors and borrowers via school-specific lending funds that yield compelling financial returns while lowering the cost of student debt. Since launching publicly in April 2012, SoFi has seen exceptional traction, having funded over $100 million in loans.

“SoFi’s distinctive approach to financial services is exactly what Bancorp looks for in its affinity relationships,” said Donald Tyson, Bancorp’s Senior Credit Officer. “We are looking forward to growing with SoFi to help them meet the financial needs of their customers.”

This announcement comes two months after the company secured a $60 Million warehouse line from Morgan Stanley.

“This lending facility demonstrates the continued momentum we are experiencing in raising capital for our funds,” said Nino Fanlo, SoFi’s Chief Financial Officer. “Bancorp is the type of innovative bank that we want to work with in order to have a greater impact on the student loan market.”

About SoFi
SoFi is transforming the $1 trillion student loan market. By connecting accredited alumni investors and institutional investors with students and recent graduates through school-specific loan funds, investors can earn a compelling risk-adjusted return while helping borrowers refinance their existing federal and private student loans at a lower rate. All members benefit from a supportive community of people vested in one another’s success. Founded in 2011 by a team of Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni, SoFi has funded over $100 million in new and refinanced student loans to students and alumni of 82 schools. To learn more about SoFi visit: sofi.com/

About Bancorp
The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK) is a financial holding company that operates The Bancorp Bank, an FDIC-insured commercial bank that delivers a full array of financial services both directly and through private-label affinity programs nationwide. The Bancorp Bank’s regional community bank operations serve the needs of small and mid-size businesses and their principals in the Philadelphia-Wilmington region. To learn more about Bancorp visit: https://www.thebancorp.com/

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King dollar is back.  For the last decade, the dollar has generally been inversely correlated to the S&P 500.  When markets were up, the dollar was down versus most other currencies.  Higher markets were associated with lower volatility and greater risk appetite – the “Risk On” trade.  Investors would short dollars and buy higher yielding currencies like the Australian Dollar, Brazilian Real and Norwegian Krone.  On a risk-adjusted basis, these carry trades had an attractive Sharpe ratio and were the lifeblood of too many hedge fund managers (collecting 2/20 on carry is almost criminal, but that’s another story).

It’s good to be the king, while it lasts…

[UPDATE, 10/11/17: We’ve now launched a Student Loan Refinancing product specifically for medical residents and fellows. Learn more here.]

SoFi (Social Finance, LLC), the alumni-funded student lender, launches a new program today for doctors to refinance their educational debt.

As a result of exciting demand from the medical community and accelerating capital raised from alumni and institutional investors, SoFi is extending refinancing options to doctors who have completed residency and graduated from one of the 82 schools in the company’s footprint. Medical-school graduates from Johns Hopkins, University of California – San Francisco, and Washington University of St. Louis are also eligible.

With this announcement, SoFi is helping to address the 86 percent of 2012 medical-school graduates who reported to the AAMC that they have student loans. The majority of medical students who finance their education through borrowing have taken out Stafford and Grad PLUS loans at interest rates of 6.8% and 7.9% respectively, while the median student debt for the class of 2012 is $170,000.

As Bloomberg’s Janet Lorin reported in her April 2013 article on medical-school debt, “The next generation of U.S. physicians is being saddled with record debt amid a looming shortage of doctors needed to cope with a rising elderly population. The burgeoning debt burden may be turning students away from primary care, which pays about $200,000 a year, toward more lucrative specialties.“

SoFi will refinance student debt for doctors with a fixed rate of 5.74% APR when a 5-year-term is selected. This rate is further discounted to 5.49% APR when customers make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic, monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. Also available are 10-year and 15-year loan terms with fixed rates set at 6.375% APR and 6.875% respectively. These loans are also eligible for a 0.25% rate discount when a customer makes automatic payments.

“SoFi cannot succeed in transforming student loans without addressing the critical debt burdens experienced by those who ensure the health of our community. We are excited to offer loan products that provide more flexible options and meaningful savings.” said SoFi’s Chief Executive Officer Mike Cagney.

In addition to financial benefits, doctors refinancing with SoFi will benefit from a supportive community of people vested in one another’s success.

“We help our borrowers realize their goals beyond paying off student debt. Whether seeking employment opportunities, career advice, access to industry luminaries, or simply a like-minded network, our borrowers have many reasons for choosing SoFi,” said Cagney.

About SoFi

SoFi is transforming the $1 trillion student loan market. By connecting accredited alumni investors with students and recent graduates through school-specific loan funds, investors can earn a compelling risk-adjusted return while helping borrowers reduce the cost of their loans. All members benefit from a supportive community of people vested in one another’s success. Founded in 2011 by a team of Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni, SoFi has funded over $100 million in new and refinanced student loans to students and alumni of 82 schools. SoFi loans are made by SoFi Lending Corp, California Finance Lender’s License Number 6054612. To learn more about SoFi visit www.sofi.com