SoFi to acquire Golden Pacific Bancorp, expedites effort to obtain National Bank Charter

By Pavithra R

Social Finance (SoFi), a leading next-generation financial services platform, has announced signing a definitive agreement to acquire Golden Pacific Bancorp and its wholly-owned subsidiary Golden Pacific Bank, a critical strategic step in its path to obtaining a national bank charter.

GPB is a Sacramento, California-based community bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and has approximately $150 mn in assets. Under the agreement, SoFi will pay $2.55 in cash for each share of GPB or approximately $22.3 mn in aggregate to acquire GPB to advance SoFi’s effort to obtain a national bank charter. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals from the OCC, the Federal Reserve and other customary closing conditions.

“We believe that by pursuing a national bank charter, we will be able to help even more people get their money right with enhanced value and more products and services. We are thrilled to have found a partner in Golden Pacific Bank to both accelerate our pursuit to establish a national bank subsidiary, as well as begin to expand our offerings in SoFi’s financial products and Galileo’s technology platform to serve local communities. We look forward to working with Virginia and her team,” said Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi. 

Through the acquisition, SoFi will switch its current de novo bank application to a change of control application. If granted a national bank charter by the OCC and Federal Reserve pursuant to its change of control application, SoFi plans to contribute $750 mn in capital and pursue its national, digital business plan while maintaining GPB’s community bank business and footprint, including GPB’s current three physical branches. 

“We’re excited for this new partnership with SoFi and the strength it will bring to enhance our ability to serve our customers at the highest level. We will continue our commitment to bringing more services and convenience for our individual customers, small businesses, and the communities that we serve in Sacramento and surrounding counties,” said Virginia Varela, President and CEO, Golden Pacific Bank, N.A. 

On completion of the transaction, GPB’s community bank business will operate as a division of SoFi Bank, N.A., a renaming of GPB’s bank entity. GPB President and CEO Virginia Varela will continue to lead the GPB community bank business under Paul Mayer’s direction, who will serve as President of SoFi Bank, N.A.

SoFi received preliminary, conditional approval from the U.S. OCC for a national bank charter. If it obtains final regulatory approval, it will allow SoFi to accept deposits and make loans that use SoFi’s member deposits versus the higher cost of funding for its loan offerings as a non-bank, creating greater efficiency and enabling the firm to offer more choices and compelling value to its customers.