SoFi Blog

We recently hit the streets to ask people how they feel about their banks. The responses weren’t surprising:

“I don’t think my bank cares much about me.”

“I’ve never recommended my bank to anyone.”

“I don’t really trust banking institutions in general.”

Beating up on banks has become a national pastime. Yet what’s crazy is how long we’ve put up with it – the nickel-and-dime fees, the bad customer service, the being treated like a number. Most of us don’t even switch banks when we get fed up —it’s too much hassle, and aren’t they all the same anyway?  

Ready to make your debt sweat in the New Year?

Whether it’s a credit card carrying around extra poundage after the holidays, a student loan that sweats when it walks up the stairs, or a mortgage that requires multiple airplane seats, we’ve got a plan that will whip your debt into shape by making it so skinny, it literally disappears.

Read on for our 5-step debt shape-up guide, and make 2016 the year you shed some serious debt.

When you’re buying your first home, it can be tempting to mentally skip ahead to the fun part where you’re picking out window treatments and hanging your favorite artwork.

However, as anyone with prior experience will tell you, the process of buying a home should begin long before you start planning your epic remodel. As a first-time homebuyer, checking a few boxes early on in the process can help ensure you’re prepared to act when the home you want goes on the market.

Want to know where to start? Here are six essential steps for setting up your home buying experience the right way.

There has been a growing regulatory interest in non-bank (marketplace) lenders, from the State of California to the Fed, the FDIC and the Treasury. And while some of this attention can be misguided, we should expect and welcome greater interest given the rapid growth of our industry. Foundation Capital suggests one trillion dollars of global marketplace loan origination by 2025. What is sometimes lost in discussions, however,is why this growth is occurring. Simply put, many non-bank lenders are taking an unorthodox approach to lending to meet consumer needs in a way that traditional financial services firms won’t (or can’t). And as a result, the impact is far greater and more inclusive than many realize.

We get a lot of amazing and humbling feedback from our members, but recently we received an extra special note and package. Robert, a SoFi member and student loan refi borrower, went to Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. He graduated in 2010 with a BA in Political Science and four student loans. He consolidated with a big bank but he said it left him with a large payment and interest rate. He then refinanced with SoFi and lowered his payment and loan duration. He’s now an operations manager, is married and has a 2 year old son. We loved his inspiring poem and hope you do, too: