There is some good news for at least one online lender: Social Finance Inc., known as SoFi, for the first time received the highest possible credit rating from Moody’s on a new bond deal. SoFi received a triple-A rating from Moody’s Investors Service on its most recent securitization bond, a $380 million offering backed by online student loans completed Friday. It was the first offering by a startup online lender to get Moody’s top rating, which is common for established lenders. ...
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Moody’s has awarded its highest possible rating for a new bond deal coming out of online lender, Social Finance (known as SoFi). According to the report, the most recent bond securitisation deal merited a triple A rating from Moody’s, which is particularly significant as it is the first ever for a marketplace lender. The top rating reduces the cost of the financing for SoFi and also allows some new institutional money, specifically highly risk adverse funds, to step in and invest. This comes as particularly good news for the online lending market which has recently suffered some serious reputational damage as a result of the recent Lending Club scandal.