CommonBond has created a March Debtness bracket to look at the payoff rates of this year's March Madness basketball teams; the bracket identifies the time it takes for students to pay off their student loans; UCLA is CommonBond's current March Madness winner with the fastest payoff rate at 4.42 years. Source
Currently the student loan debt market is at approximately $1.4 trillion; market share from government lenders has been on the rise under the Obama administration with federal student loans accounting for approximately 93% of the market versus 88% in 2008; in the Trump administration it is likely that private lenders will take a larger share as Republicans favor more financing options from private sector participants; since the November 8 election, shares of private lender Sallie Mae have increased 55%; marketplace lenders are also likely to take part in a market shift towards private student lending, specifically as their student loan offerings continue to expand. Source
MPOWER Financing, which provides funding for international students attending US universities, secured $6 million in funding; the round was led by private equity firm, Zephyr Peacock India; the company will use the capital to enhance its technology and expand marketing efforts in emerging markets, especially India; in addition to providing loans the company also helps to build credit history of students and provides them with personal finance education to use in life after college. Source
A story by American Banker highlights a potential legislation that will change how Americans pay for college; many people familiar with the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success and Prosperity through Education Reform Act believe it will benefit lenders and loan servicers. Source
In 2016 the student loan securitization market increased compared to 2015 and in 2017 the market has already been off to a good start; the panelists discuss the reasons for this trend of increased issuance including knowledge, confidence and a default rate of just 3 bps; in the case of the refinance product, supply has created the demand; panel also comments on the current regulatory landscape and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program which guarantees student loans; on the whole loan side, the panelists talk about the interest from investors, why they are deploying capital to the student loan market and the kind of returns they can expect; finally the panelists talk about risk retention and the importance of fintech in the origination of assets. Source
SoFi closed SoFi Professional Loan Program 2018-A; underlying collateral of student loans totaled more than $1 billion dollars; this is SoFi’s largest ever securitization as they continue to lead in the marketplace lending securitization market; there were 39 unique investors, including five new investors. Source
About 4.6 million people are currently in default on student loans which is more than double the number from 4 years ago; the number grew by almost 275,000 borrowers in the third quarter alone; even as the economy grows and there is a multitude of options available to borrowers more people fall behind. Source.
Income sharing agreements aren’t new and there were some early fintechs who have attempted this type of model; however there are new companies looking at income sharing agreements to help those with student loans tackle their debt. Source
Democratic Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren released her plan for student loans this week and it was met with mixed reviews;...
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