Social Finance Inc. is taking it slow after a rough year for financial technology companies. The online lending company known as SoFi, which specializes in refinancing student loans, is pushing back plans for an initial public offering in order to focus on developing other business lines, said Chief Executive Officer Mike Cagney. Meanwhile, the company hasn’t yet closed a $500 million funding round, an effort that has SoFi courting international investors to purchase loans and potentially take an equity stake at the same time. The industry has been challenged this year by slower growth and waning venture funding for financial technology startups. A decline in public market valuations of online lenders isn’t encouraging for a SoFi IPO, Cagney said in an interview. Read more: bloomberg.com
