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.