KeyBank National Association announced on Wednesday it has successfully completed the acquisition of Laurel Road Bank’s digital lending business. According to KeyBank, the acquisition underpins the banking group’s strategic growth efforts, by enhancing its digital capabilities through customized, end-to-end lending products.
KeyBank reported that Laurel Road has built a compelling student loan refinancing platform, which launched in 2013 and has rapidly grown to total more than $4 billion in loan originations to date. The digital platform offers a simple and personalized process with attractive refinancing options, providing customers with potentially meaningful savings over the life of their loans. In 2018, the company introduced an online mortgage platform using the same simple and secure lending technology to offer home buyers and owners a digital application process.
The banking group also revealed that with the acquiring Laurel Road, its continuing its strategy of building targeted scale against defined client segments such as healthcare professionals, lawyers, and graduate students. Specific to Laurel Road, KeyBank will focus in three areas to drive growth:
- Expand national, digital-only lending capabilities: Capitalize on Laurel Road’s sustained success in delivering its capabilities through strategic partnerships and direct-to-market branding to enhance KeyBank’s digital-lending offerings to customers.
- Boost KeyBank’s client experience through compelling digital tools: Maximize the industry-leading technology behind Laurel Road’s platform to drive growth and improve efficiencies.
- Deliver a holistic banking experience to a targeted segment of consumers: Leverage Laurel Road’s expertise within the millennial professional market to build on its success and expand product offerings to acquire, broaden, and deepen relationships.
Speaking about the acquisition, Jamie Warder, Head of Digital for KeyBank, stated:
“Part of KeyBank’s strategy is to pair the best of the best in fintech with our industry expertise and scale. Now that the deal is officially closed, we’re thrilled to begin work with Laurel Road. The three pillars we’ve outlined aim to expand our business and offer more customer segments a comprehensive, digitally-led suite of services, and Laurel Road is a pivotal piece of this growth plan.”
Gary Lieberman, Founder and Chairman of Laurel Road Bank, went on to add:
“We’re deeply proud of what we’ve built at Laurel Road and share in Jamie’s excitement to get to work integrating and growing our combined products and business. Laurel Road set out to deliver a simple yet superior lending experience for millennials at every financial milestone. As part of KeyBank, our capabilities and scale have even more potential, and together we’re committed to enhancing the digital financial experience for all customers.”
