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A rise in default rates has surprised investors in a securitized offering. Should default rates continue to rise, cash flows to investors will be diverted from paying interest income to paying back principal early.
For SoFi, the loans backing these bonds averaged more than $35,000, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency, mature in as long as seven years, and don’t have any collateral, meaning defaults can result in relatively high losses for lenders. The borrowers had annual salaries averaging around $130,000, and most were prime credits. SoFi bundled these personal debts into bonds that it sold in 2015, and got credit ratings from Kroll for the notes last year. Credit Suisse Group AG was lead underwriter for the bonds. Laurel Toney, a SoFi spokeswoman, said the structure is broadly performing as the company expected and all investors in that bond remain active participants in the company’s securitization program. Candice Sun, a spokeswoman for Credit Suisse, declined to comment on the securities.
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