CommonBond is an NYC-based financial technology company that provides a complete suite of student loan solutions, including refinance loans for graduates, new loans for current students, and student loan benefits through its CommonBond for Business platform. Led by CEO and co-founder David Klein, the company has funded over $1.5B in loans and signed more than 200 CommonBond for Business partners. The company raised $50M in Series D equity financing to accelerate growth and invest further in technology. The Series D was led by Fifth Third Capital Holdings and included participation from First Republic Bank, Columbia Seligman Investments, Neuberger Berman, August Capital, Nyca Partners, and individual investors Vikram Pandit and Tom Glocer. The new capital brings total funding to over $130M. CommonBond operates an online lending platform focused on loans and refinancing for higher-education students, using proprietary algorithms to underwrite borrowers and bypass traditional banks. The company says users save about $15,000 on average per loan and that loan volumes are double year-over-year. Since going national three years ago, CommonBond has passed the half‑billion dollar mark in funds lent on its platform. Management reports the business is profitable on a per‑loan basis and projects full corporate profitability in 2018. To expand services beyond origination and refinancing, CommonBond acquired Gradible to enable employer contributions toward student loan payoffs. The company has also tailored its sales and support hiring to fit its student demographic. CommonBond is a tech-enabled consumer lender that provides funding and refinancing for student loans, combining proprietary technology, underwriting, customer service and a commitment to social good. The company completed a $150M securitization of student loan assets in April 2016. That transaction was co-led by Barclays and Goldman Sachs and received an “A” rating from DBRS. Purchasers of the assets included institutional investors such as insurance companies, banks, credit funds and asset managers. CommonBond completed a prior $100M investment-grade securitization in June 2015 and in January 2016 had raised more than $625M in total funding across equity and debt financing. The company expected to issue more securitizations and was on track to surpass $1 billion in loans funded in 2016. CommonBond operates an online student lending platform that today derives roughly 85–90% of its business from refinancing existing student loans while planning to grow its direct-loan business. The company has expanded its reach and says it is now lending to students at every graduate and undergraduate institution across the country. CommonBond reports it has not experienced a default or a 30+ day delinquency, and its prior loan securitizations received strong ratings from agencies. With new lending capacity, the company says it is on track to issue $1 billion in loans in 2016. CommonBond positions itself to offer high-credit borrowers better repayment packages within a U.S. market that has about $1.3 trillion in outstanding student debt. CommonBond is a New York–based marketplace lending platform for student loans where qualified investors purchase loans directly. Led by CEO and co‑founder David Klein, the company says it saves borrowers more than $14,000 on average over the life of a loan. CommonBond follows a one‑for‑one social model: for every degree fully funded on the platform it funds a year of education for a student in need through partner Pencils of Promise. The company is on track to originate more than $500 million in loans by the end of this year and expects to surpass $1 billion in loans funded in 2016. It raised $35m in a Series B round led by August Capital with participation from Nyca Partners and existing investors. The company intends to use the funds to grow its team and scale its operations nationwide, and August Capital partner Tripp Jones joined CommonBond’s board in conjunction with the financing.

Total raised

$944M

Funding rounds

10

Latest round

Series D

Latest activity

Mar 2018