SoFi CEO Anthony Noto Says Personal Loans Can Help Americans Escape Credit Card Debt ‘Crisis’

• Noto also highlighted how SoFi has helped its members pay down more than $40 billion in credit card debt over the past decade.
• In its latest quarterly results, SoFi’s personal loan originations topped a record $8.3 billion. 
• Recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed total U.S. credit card balances topped $1.25 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, up from $1.18 trillion a year earlier.

As Americans grapple with record levels of credit card debt, SoFi Technologies (SOFI) CEO Anthony Noto is touting personal loans as a clearer path out of debt than high-interest revolving credit cards.

In a post on X, Noto said that even as credit cards keep people in debt “because the math is stacked against them,” personal loans are “a responsible alternative.”

America’s Credit Card Problem Deepens

The comments come amid recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that showed total U.S. credit card balances topped $1.25 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, up from $1.18 trillion a year earlier, notching the highest first-quarter level in 15 years, and the most since the 2008 financial crisis.

Meanwhile, U.S. credit card delinquencies have surged to a 15-year high, with 13.1% of credit card balances now 90 or more days overdue.

SoFi CEO: Why Personal Loans Offer An Alternative

Noto said that high credit card interest rates can cause repayments to balloon for years, even with almost no principal reduction. “Many borrowers pay mostly interest just to keep the line open,” he said.

Data from the New York Fed shows that average interest rates have climbed up to 21%, higher from 14.6% in February 2022. Forbes Advisor’s weekly credit card rates report as of early this week pegs the current average credit card interest rate at 25.18%.

Meanwhile, personal loans, with their fixed term, fully amortizing, and single-digit interest rates, help with balance reduction amid “no surprise carry cost, no open-ended timeline, no incentive for balances to linger,” Noto said.

“This makes personal loans a responsible alternative because it’s an option that actually helps them move towards being debt-free,” he emphasized.

SoFi’s Growing Personal Loans Business

In his comments on social media, Noto also highlighted how SoFi has helped its members pay down more than $40 billion in credit card debt over the past decade. “We want to give people a real exit from debt with competitive, fixed-term and clear timelines,” he said.

In its first-quarter results, SoFi’s total loan originations reached a record of $12.2 billion, up nearly $1.7 billion from last quarter. Personal loan originations also topped a record $8.3 billion.

In the quarter, the company also rolled out the Personal Loan Doc Coach powered by AI with the aim to streamline the loan application process.

The company’s recently-launched AI-powered financial assistant, SoFi Coach, also helps users tackle debt by combining financial mathematics with behavioral psychology.

Brian Walsh, head of advice and planning at the digital bank, said in an interview with Banking Dive that the assistant is trained to present guidance in ways that encourage action using tailored recommendations to help users make financial decisions, including paying down debt more effectively.

SOFI Stock: Retail Stance

In its latest quarterly results announced in late April, SoFi posted a revenue increase of 41% to a record $1.1 billion. The financial company also noted record loan originations, member growth of 35% to a record 14.7 million members, as well as product growth of 39%.

Despite the strong performance, SOFI stock has declined 40% in 2026. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SOFI slipped from ‘neutral’ to ‘bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours.

One user said, “this is just a laughingstock, incredible how bad this has become.”

However, another user said, “Wow, the Cash Coach app could be a serious game changer for Sofi! To get it all you need to do is become a Sofi Plus member. I can’t believe they have this capability. The share price doesn’t reflect this at all.”

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