CommonBond Surpasses $625 Million in Total Funding

NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CommonBond, a leading marketplace lender, today announced it closed over $275 million in separate warehouse line funding from Barclays, Macquarie Capital, and others. The new capital provides additional lending capacity for CommonBond to support the company's rapidly-growing student lending business.  

The new funding takes CommonBond past $625 million in total funding to date, across both equity and lending capital. 

"We are pleased that two of the world's leading financial institutions have committed capital to fund our growing platform and welcome them to our banking lineup," said Morgan Edwards, CFO of CommonBond. "Stable capital is the foundation of our business and fosters expansion to benefit more customers across the country."

Brian Foley, Managing Director at Macquarie, added, "We are excited to partner with CommonBond, one of the leaders in consumer marketplace lending. The company stands out for its high quality underwriting, strong technology platform and innovative approach to student lending."  

In addition to the new lending capital, CommonBond continues to grow its capital markets team and capabilities. The company has hired Beth Starr as Vice President and Head of Capital Markets. Starr brings significant experience across financial services, including capital markets, ABS research, and institutional sales. Starr was Managing Director at Jefferies and Lehman Brothers, and worked at Merrill Lynch early in her career. At Lehman Brothers, she was instrumental in establishing several of the firm's fixed income businesses, including ABS, CLOs and structured credit. Starr is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

"CommonBond is at the forefront of disrupting consumer finance, and I'm excited to be joining the team," said Starr. "CommonBond's growth has been impressive, and I look forward to helping the company grow and diversify its funding sources as it continues to scale."  

Starr is the latest finance industry veteran to join CommonBond's executive team. Last summer, the company announced 25-year finance veteran Morgan Edwards as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to CommonBond, Edwards spent his career in debt capital markets at bulge bracket firms, including Morgan Stanley.

CommonBond has doubled its team to over 60 employees in the last three months, and expects to surpass 100 employees in the coming months.

"At CommonBond, we're creating a company built to last," said David Klein, CommonBond CEO & Co-Founder. "Our approach to underwriting, application of technology and uncompromising focus on people are cornerstones of our business. With this new funding, and the new additions to the team, we are well-positioned to 'wow' even more customers in 2016 and beyond."

About CommonBond

CommonBond is a leading marketplace lender that lowers the cost of student loans for borrowers and provides financial returns to investors. Started by three Wharton MBAs with backgrounds in financial services, CommonBond delivers best-in-class student loan options with competitive pricing, a simple tech-enabled experience and exceptional customer service that is empowered to help borrowers. The company saves borrowers more than $14,000 on average, over the life of the loan. CommonBond is the first company to bring the "one-for-one" social model to finance: For every degree fully funded on the company's platform, CommonBond funds the education of a student in need for a full year, through a partnership with Pencils of Promise. For more information, visit http://www.commonbond.co.

SOURCE CommonBond

Related Links

http://www.commonbond.co