CommonBond, a platform to help students and graduates pay for higher education, has closed a $50m Series D led by Fifth Third Capital.
First Republic Bank and Columbia Seligman Investments also made their first commitments to the company, while, existing backers Neuberger Berman, August Capital, and Nyca Partners also participated. Angel investors taking part included former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, and former Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer.
US-based CommonBond is a student loan platform that offers refinance loans to college graduates or new loans to students.
There is also a selection of repayment benefits through its ‘CommonBond for Business™ program.’ Through this, employers can offer their staff, contributions to their debt repayments, access to a platform for loan evaluation, and access to refinancing and loans, via the app.
To date, the company has funded $1.5bn in loans and has gained over 200 business partners.
This funding comes after a strong year of growth for CommonBond. In 2017, the company had a 250 per cent YoY revenue growth and surpassed its net income goal ‘by millions’, according to the company.
Equity from the round will be used to support CommonBond’s growth and investment in to the technology.
Fifth Third Bank head of payments, strategy, and digital solutions Tim Spence said, “At Fifth Third, we recognize that student debt is the number one challenge our millennial customers face.
“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.”
The company’s total funding efforts have reached $130m, with the company having closed a $30m round in 2016.
Earlier in the month, Fifth Third led the Series A round in to child-focused personal finance platform Current.
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