Even established institutions like Live Oak Bank struggled with a significant challenge in syndicated lending: fragmented and inefficient processes.
Syndicated loans, which involve multiple lenders working with a single borrower, present an “asymmetric information problem,” explains industry veteran Corbin Penland. Key documents and critical information often reside on disparate platforms, forcing banks to rely on cumbersome, manual workflows to track and make timely lending decisions.
Penland experienced this first-hand while working at Wilmington-based Live Oak Bank, where he most recently served as the Managing Director and head of the bank’s loan syndications. Recognizing the inefficiencies, Penland teamed up with software engineer Radek Filarski, who was also working at Live Oak Bank, to develop a technology solution.
Together they incubated the idea and proof of concept for Synply as a technology fix for what was missing in the loan space.
Inside The Synply Platform
Synply, short for syndication simplified, is one of the latest fintech platforms to spin out on its own from inside Live Oak Bank. This system-agnostic platform provides real-time access to syndicated loan data and streamlines portfolio management for bankers, integrating seamlessly with existing tools to boost efficiency and generate deeper insights.
Synply’s system-agnostic solution seamlessly integrates with existing products, allowing for increased efficiencies and more robust insights into syndicated loan portfolios.
Described as “built by bankers for bankers,” Synply is led by Penland, Filarski, and business operations manager Nick Strakhov. All three are part of Wilmington, North Carolina’s strong fintech scene and grew out of giants like Live Oak Bank, nCino, and Canapi Ventures.
“Wilmington is an obvious choice for us, just given the amount of FinTech innovation that’s here,” Strakhov told Hypepotamus.
Currently a three-person team, Synply plans to grow modestly, adding two to three employees over the next twelve months.
“Three Years of Runway”
Synply recently announced it closed a $4.8 million seed round from investors Live Oak Bank, Canapi Ventures, TReK Capital Partners, Woodforest National Bank, and OFG Bancorp.
Beyond being excited about the specific investors in the round, Penland said the seed round represents “three years of runway” for Synply.
“[This] allows us to be very deliberate with how we build products and make sure that we’re getting it right the first time, but it also gives us an opportunity to scale things up more quickly if we find the right opportunities,” Penland added.
Synply is the latest fintech startup to spin out of Live Oak Bank. Others include bank operating system giant nCino (went public in 2020). Other employees from Live Oak Bank have gone onto start their own ventures, including Wimington-based Lumos.
