NEW YORK, March 21, 2018
/PRNewswire/ -- CommonBond, a leading financial technology
company that empowers students and graduates to pay for higher
education, today announced a $50M Series D financing
round.
Fifth Third Capital Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB), led the round, with First
Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) and Columbia Seligman Investments also
participating, in addition to existing investors including
Neuberger Berman, August Capital, and Nyca Partners. Individual
investors in CommonBond include Vikram
Pandit, former CEO of Citigroup, and Tom Glocer, former CEO of Thomson Reuters. This
latest round brings CommonBond's total funding raised to over
$130M. CommonBond will use this new
funding to accelerate its growth and invest further in
technology.
"This round of equity powers our expansion as a leader in
fintech, enabling more ways for us to improve the financial health
of our members," said David
Klein, CommonBond CEO and co-founder. "We've set out to
build a great company for the long term by focusing on the
fundamentals – exceptional customer experience, best-in-class
technology, and a culture of respect and discipline. I'm
incredibly proud of the team for maintaining
maniacal focus on our customers and broader
stakeholders, positioning the company exceedingly well to
continue scaling on behalf of our members."
In February, Fast Company named CommonBond one of the World's 50
Most Innovative Companies, and the most innovative company in
education.
"At Fifth Third, we recognize that student debt is the number
one challenge our millennial customers face," said Tim Spence, head of payments, strategy, and
digital solutions at Fifth Third Bank. "CommonBond has built
an industry-leading digital proposition that delivers a memorable
experience and helps its members save thousands on their student
loans so they can finance their dreams. We are pleased to support
CommonBond's continued growth and look forward to working with them
to bring powerful capabilities to market."
CommonBond is the only company in the
United States to offer a complete suite of student loan
solutions, including: refinance loans for graduates, new loans for
current students, and student loan benefits for employees through
its CommonBond for Business™ platform. To date, the company has
funded over $1.5B in loans and signed
more than 200 CommonBond for Business partners.
"We are proud to support an outstanding innovator in finance,"
said Jim Herbert, chairman and CEO
(founder) of First Republic Bank. "And we look forward to
CommonBond's continued advancement in this space."
This funding follows significant growth for CommonBond. In 2017,
the company experienced 250 percent revenue
growth year-over-year and surpassed its net income
target by millions of dollars. Through the end of 2017,
CommonBond had experienced only two credit defaults. To
date, the company has secured over $3B in lending capacity, and most recently,
closed its first AAA-rated securitization. Additionally,
through CommonBond's industry-first "one-for-one" social mission,
the company has donated over $800,000
to nonprofit partner Pencils of Promise to fund the education of
children in need. Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as the
exclusive advisor to CommonBond on the transaction.
About CommonBond
CommonBond is a financial technology
company on a mission to give students and graduates more
transparent, simple, and affordable ways to pay for higher
education. The company offers refinance loans to college graduates,
new loans to current students, and a suite of student loan
repayment benefits to employees through its CommonBond for
Business™ program. By designing a better student loan experience
that combines advanced technology with competitive rates and
award-winning customer service, CommonBond has funded over
$1.5 billion in loans for its tens of
thousands of members. CommonBond is also the first and only finance
company with a "one-for-one" social mission: for every loan it
funds, CommonBond also funds the education of a child in need,
through its partnership with Pencils of Promise. For more
information, visit www.commonbond.co.
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SOURCE CommonBond