Fintech SoFi's profit doubles on record loan, member growth

By Manya Saini

April 29 (Reuters) - SoFi ‌Technologies on ​Wednesday posted ​a first-quarter profit that had doubled as the fintech lender's loan originations and member growth reached record highs.

Loan demand has picked ‌up across lenders as U.S. consumers and the broader economy ⁠remain resilient despite prevailing uncertainty from elevated oil prices linked to the Middle East turmoil and ‌still-high interest rates.

Total loan originations ‌at SoFi rose to a record $12.2 billion in the three months ended March 31, driven by strong growth across its personal, student and home ​segments.

Its member growth was up 35% to a record 14.7 million in the first quarter from a year ago.

"The health of our consumer base ⁠remains strong. We saw record loan growth in the first quarter with strong demand expected for the ​second quarter," SoFi CEO Anthony Noto told Reuters.

He added that point of sale debit spending continues to be strong and ​credit performance is in line with expectations.

U.S. consumers ‌have been spending steadily, underpinned by low unemployment and resilient incomes.

SoFi, which evolved from a student-loan refinancing startup into ⁠a broad financial services firm, has sought to disrupt traditional banking with products ranging from IPO investing to credit cards and savings accounts via a digital-first platform.

"If you look ⁠at legacy banks, they are constrained by fragmented, decades-old systems that make it incredibly ​hard to innovate," Noto said, adding that SoFi is gaining market share from these institutions.

Fintech firms have focused on younger, tech-savvy customers by offering mobile-first platforms, low fees and a ‌wide range of services in a single app.

SoFi's net interest income - a measure of lending profitability - increased 39% to $693 ‌million in the first quarter, while its total fee-based revenues rose 23% to $386.8 million.

First-quarter ⁠profit surged to 12 cents ‌per share, compared with ​6 cents a year earlier. Its adjusted revenue rose 41% to a record $1.1 billion.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Shreya Biswas)

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