美國貨幣監理署(U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)有條件批準了貸款和金融科技公司SoFi獲取全國性銀行執照的申請。在獲得執照之后,SoFi將有權自行吸收存款和發放貸款。
目前,SoFi使用另外一家銀行的執照,為其業務提供法律擔保。包括Chime在內的許多所謂“挑戰者銀行”都使用了這種模式,但該模式會減少其利潤。
申請全國性銀行執照的過程耗時漫長且成本高昂,但金融領域的新貴卻都在積極申請。在線銀行Varo于今年8月獲得了執照,支付行業巨頭Square也在申請執照的過程當中。
SoFi最初憑借為律師等高收入職業提供學生貸款再融資起家。該公司的目標是成為一家全方位金融機構,而獲取銀行執照是這個整體策略的一個環節。SoFi目前提供從加密貨幣到零散股份等各種業務,并在10月28日宣布發行一款提供2%購物返現的信用卡。
與2018年相比,SoFi目前的基礎似乎變得更加穩定。2018年,公司創始人因為性騷擾丑聞而離職,并且學生貸款業務的利潤下降,使公司一度瀕臨崩潰。但在那之后,公司推出了多樣化的產品,并以12億美元收購了為許多數字銀行提供后端服務的Galileo公司,獲得了一個重要的新收入來源。
在SoFi有條件取得銀行執照的同時,許多挑戰者銀行卻在激烈競爭和低利率環境中陷入了困境。有分析師預測,這種情況會引發行業合并潮,甚至會有一些銀行直接消失。
貨幣監理署批準SoFi的申請,為其成為一家全國性銀行掃清了道路,但SoFi還必須等待聯邦存款保險公司(Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)和美聯儲(Federal Reserve)的正式批準。
SoFi的發言人表示:“我們期待繼續與貨幣監理署合作,在美聯儲和聯邦存款保險公司的指導下完成申請流程的剩余步驟?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W)
翻譯:劉進龍
審校:汪皓
美國貨幣監理署(U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)有條件批準了貸款和金融科技公司SoFi獲取全國性銀行執照的申請。在獲得執照之后,SoFi將有權自行吸收存款和發放貸款。
目前,SoFi使用另外一家銀行的執照,為其業務提供法律擔保。包括Chime在內的許多所謂“挑戰者銀行”都使用了這種模式,但該模式會減少其利潤。
申請全國性銀行執照的過程耗時漫長且成本高昂,但金融領域的新貴卻都在積極申請。在線銀行Varo于今年8月獲得了執照,支付行業巨頭Square也在申請執照的過程當中。
SoFi最初憑借為律師等高收入職業提供學生貸款再融資起家。該公司的目標是成為一家全方位金融機構,而獲取銀行執照是這個整體策略的一個環節。SoFi目前提供從加密貨幣到零散股份等各種業務,并在10月28日宣布發行一款提供2%購物返現的信用卡。
與2018年相比,SoFi目前的基礎似乎變得更加穩定。2018年,公司創始人因為性騷擾丑聞而離職,并且學生貸款業務的利潤下降,使公司一度瀕臨崩潰。但在那之后,公司推出了多樣化的產品,并以12億美元收購了為許多數字銀行提供后端服務的Galileo公司,獲得了一個重要的新收入來源。
在SoFi有條件取得銀行執照的同時,許多挑戰者銀行卻在激烈競爭和低利率環境中陷入了困境。有分析師預測,這種情況會引發行業合并潮,甚至會有一些銀行直接消失。
貨幣監理署批準SoFi的申請,為其成為一家全國性銀行掃清了道路,但SoFi還必須等待聯邦存款保險公司(Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)和美聯儲(Federal Reserve)的正式批準。
SoFi的發言人表示:“我們期待繼續與貨幣監理署合作,在美聯儲和聯邦存款保險公司的指導下完成申請流程的剩余步驟?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W)
翻譯:劉進龍
審校:汪皓
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted conditional approval to lending and fintech company SoFi to receive a national bank charter, a designation that will allow it to receive deposits and make loans on its own.
Currently, SoFi licenses the charter from another bank to provide the legal backstop for its operation—a model used by many so-called challenger banks such as Chime, but one that undercuts its profits.
The process of obtaining a national bank charter is slow and costly, but is one to which other financial upstarts are turning. Online bank Varo received one in August while payment giant Square is in the process of obtaining one too.
For SoFi, which first made its name refinancing the student loans of lawyers and other high-earning professionals, the bank charter is part of a larger strategy to become a full-service financial institution. The company now offers everything from cryptocurrency to fraction shares of stock, and on October 28 announced a credit card offering 2% back on purchases.
SoFi also appears to be on more stable footing than it was in 2018 when it endured a near crack-up following the departure of its founder amid a sexual harassment scandal and shrinking profits from its student-loan business. Since then, it has diversified its product offerings and obtained an important new revenue stream through the $1.2 billion acquisition of Galileo, a company that provides back-end services to many other digital banks.
SoFi's conditional acquisition of a bank charter also comes as many challenger banks face headwinds amid fierce competition and a low interest rate environment—a situation that some analysts predict will result in consolidation or some banks simply disappearing.
While the OCC's approval effectively paves the way for SoFi to become a national bank, the company must still wait for formal approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the OCC on the next steps of the application process, along with the Fed and FDIC," said a SoFi spokesperson.