Fintech start-up SoFi has received $1bn in Series E funding led by SoftBank to wean away customers who are dissatisfied with traditional banking.
SoFi refinances student loans and mortgages, and has loaned over $4bn to date.
The present round of funding was backed by its existing investors including Third Point Ventures and affiliates of Third Point, Wellington Management Company, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), RenRen, Baseline Ventures amongst others.
SoFi previously raised $365m in equity funding and $200m in a Series D round earlier this year which was backed by Dan Loeb’s Third Point Ventures.
Financial service providers have started catching the attention of investors as recently Avant, a company that offers consumers access to personal loans, raised $325m in new equity funding from investors including General Atlantic and J.P. Morgan and is now valued at around $2bn.
Credible, a new platform for borrowing and refinancing student loans raised $10m in funding led by Lending Club co-founder Soul Htite.
SoftBank has been investing in tech start-ups for a long time and it has invested in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan.
The company also led the $500m funding in Indian ecommerce site Snapdeal in August, and invested $250m into Singapore-based ride hailing app GrabTaxi.
