SoFi Blog

When we launched the SoFi Loan Program at 40 schools this April, we had high hopes for how our innovative model would disrupt the $1 trillion student loan marketplace.

And disrupt it has.

Since Hurricane Sandy first hit the East Coast, our thoughts at SoFi have gone out to all those affected. Much of the devastation is still being realized, and we continue to be saddened by the challenges many face as a result of this terrible storm. Beyond the significant hardship, however, we have been impressed by the resilience of people, the strength of communities, and how both neighbors and strangers can come together in these difficult times.

Spence brings wealth of financial services knowledge to social community lending company.

San Francisco, CA – Nov. 1, 2012 – Social Finance, LLC (“SoFi”) today announced the addition of Economist and Nobel Laureate Mike Spence to SoFi’s board of directors. In his new board role, Mr. Spence brings extensive economic expertise and contacts in the financial industry that will provide added value to SoFi’s social community lending model and ultimately benefit the alumni and students currently participating in SoFi-backed loans.

SoFi connects students and alumni economically through school-specific student loan funds. With SoFi’s unique lending program, borrowers benefit from a loan with a lower fixed rate than federal Direct and PLUS loans, and alumni earn an attractive market return while also helping students and recent graduates from their alma mater. Currently available in 78 schools ranging from large universities such as Stanford University and University of Michigan to smaller colleges such as Smith College and Swarthmore College, SoFi currently lends in 32 states, operates its own broker dealer, SoFi Securities, and has received over $90 million in loan requests.

Mr. Spence is a recipient of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He recently authored The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World, dealing with developing country growth and integration into the global economy. The book discusses increased capital availability to those who have traditionally been closed off from the financial markets, a salient topic that aptly embodies the social community mission of SoFi. The book received critical acclaim for its clear and lucid analysis of a complex topic.

A Rhodes Scholar, Mr. Spence graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Economics, received his MA from Oxford University and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He is on the faculty of the New York University Stern School of Business and a former Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Currently, he also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Mr. Spence sits on a number of boards for public and private companies, including Genpact and Mercadolibre. In the past, he served on the boards of Siebel Systems, Bank of America, Nike, and other large public companies.

“The addition of Mike Spence to our board of directors further cements SoFi’s role as a disruptive force in financial services,” said Mike Cagney, co-founder and CEO of SoFi. “His pioneering studies and subsequent publications on economic growth and competition, particularly in developing countries, falls in line with SoFi’s credence that one can do well while still doing good.”

About SoFi

Located in the Presidio in San Francisco, SoFi was started by a team of Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) students in the fall of 2011. SoFi’s inaugural loan program was a $2 million pilot at the GSB that fall. Since then, SoFi has moved toward becoming a national lender via state registration, created a broker dealer, expanded its product set to include both in-school and consolidation loans, raised significant capital to fund loans and expanded its presence to more than 50 schools nationwide. SoFi is backed by a group of leading institutions including Baseline Ventures, DCM and Renren. The company encourages interested students, alumni and investors to visit www.sofi.com for more information.

Adds top finance and student loan experts to bolster lending company’s expansion to 250 institutions.

San Francisco, CA – Nov. 1, 2012 – Social Finance, LLC (“SoFi”) today announced three new executive hires including the addition of former CEO of KKR Financial Nino Fanlo as CFO, former General Counsel to SLM Corporation (Sallie Mae) Rob Lavet as General Counsel, and former co-head of Goldman Sachs San Francisco office Chris Lalli as VP of Institutional Sales. Both individually and collectively, these hires add significant financial and student loan expertise to SoFi and will help in bolstering expansion of the lending company to 250 higher education institutions over the next year.

SoFi connects students and alumni economically through school-specific student loan funds. With SoFi’s unique lending program, borrowers benefit from a loan with a lower fixed rate than federal Direct and PLUS loans, and alumni earn an attractive market return while also helping students and recent graduates from their alma mater. Currently available in 78 schools ranging from large universities such as Stanford University and University of Michigan to smaller colleges such as Smith College and Swarthmore College, SoFi currently lends in 32 states, operates its own broker dealer, SoFi Securities, and has received over $90 million in loan requests.

SoFi’s new Chief Financial Officer, Nino Fanlo brings over 30 years of leadership experience in financial services and capital markets. Fanlo was formerly the CEO of KKR Financial and Executive Vice President and Treasurer of Wells Fargo. As SoFi’s CFO, he will lead the company’s financial operations and work closely with the management team on the creation and execution of its business strategy, operating plan, and corporate development activities.

Rob Lavet acts as General Counsel for SoFi. Lavet’s detailed understanding of federal and private student lending will be of significant strategic value to SoFi. At Sallie Mae, he managed legal affairs, corporate compliance, and student loan servicing policy functions. His extensive experience on regulatory, transactional, litigation, and securities matters will be especially useful to SoFi’s alumni investors.

And Chris Lalli, a 25-year veteran of Goldman Sachs, also joins SoFi as the VP of Institutional Sales. While at Goldman Sachs, Lalli was the manager and co-head of the San Francisco office and was responsible for fixed income institutional sales. Lalli’s experience and proven track record of fixed income sales will be critical as SoFi expands its investor base beyond alumni to include university endowments, foundations and institutional investors seeking a compelling social impact opportunity.

“Our growth throughout the past year has driven the recent hiring of Nino, Rob, and Chris,” said Mike Cagney, Co-Founder and CEO of SoFi. “They each play a key role in furthering the scope and reach of SoFi, and their significant expertise in the finance and investment industries will allow us to provide safe, attractive investment opportunities for alumni. Our mission is also to guarantee a transparent and efficient investment and loan experience for student and alumni, and our success in doing so will be thanks in large part to the added skills of our new additions.”

About SoFi

Located in the Presidio in San Francisco, SoFi was started by a team of Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) students in the fall of 2011. SoFi’s inaugural loan program was a $2 million pilot at the GSB that fall. Since then, SoFi has moved toward becoming a national lender via state registration, created a broker dealer, expanded its product set to include both in-school and consolidation loans, raised significant capital to fund loans and expanded its presence to more than 50 schools nationwide. SoFi is backed by a group of leading institutions including Baseline Ventures, DCM and Renren. The company encourages interested students, alumni and investors to visit www.sofi.com for more information.