SoFi has partnered with Fannie Mae to help its customers pay down student loan debt using home equity; already focused on student loans, SoFi's new Student Loan Payoff ReFi will allow homeowners to refinance their home and simultaneously pay student loan debt; with home equity, borrowers can combine their mortgage and student loans to make one loan payment on their debt. Source
US legislators have proposed that student loan debt be discharged in the case of bankruptcy; the current law gives added protection to student loan lenders by requiring the debt to be repaid in bankruptcy; lawmakers and lobbyists are also considering other provisions that would provide debt relief to student loan borrowers who have filed for bankruptcy; while the debt relief initiatives will benefit borrowers, the effects will add increased default risk for investors in private student loans and private student loan securitizations. Source
The Student Borrower Protection Center released a report which digs into how education data in underwriting may be causing educational...
Fintech startup Earnest has expanded their product offering to in school loan offerings; David Green, Chief Product Officer, Earnest tells...
CommonBond’s study highlights the disconnect between what employees desire and what companies currently offer as benefits; CommonBond focuses on helping those...
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
Student loan trader Nate Huebscher reports on the simplicity and benefits of marketplace loans versus the traditional lending sources: Sallie Mae, Discover, and the US Government; interviews Jason Jones of LendIt and Karan Mehta of Marlette Funding; Huebscher discusses the wide variation in marketplace lending models; also reports on some of the market challenges ahead that could dramatically affect the next cycle of platform results. Source
Democratic Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren released her plan for student loans this week and it was met with mixed reviews;...
An increasing number of employers are adding student loan services and contributions to their employee benefit programs; IonTuition.com is one provider for employer related student loan debt services; they have released a survey which reports that 87.7% of participants would consider a student loan contribution program from their employer to be an important benefit; 57.8% also said they were interested in online educational tools from their employer regarding student loan debt. 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