5 Banks That Refinance Student Loans
If you already have an account with a bank that refinances student loans, you could get discounts or lower rates by refinancing with that lender.
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Banks may offer increased personalized customer service and relationship discounts for student loan refinance borrowers who also have another account with them. If you value such features, consider these banks:
SoFi.
Discover.
LendKey (via community banks).
Laurel Road.
PNC.
But with student loan refinancing, your priority should be finding the lowest possible rate — even if that means straying from your current bank. Many of the best student loan refinance companies are online lenders, like CommonBond, or credit unions, like PenFed.
Banks may offer increased personalized customer service and relationship discounts for student loan refinance borrowers who also have another account with them. If you value such features, consider these banks:
SoFi.
Discover.
LendKey (via community banks).
Laurel Road.
PNC.
But with student loan refinancing, your priority should be finding the lowest possible rate — even if that means straying from your current bank. Many of the best student loan refinance companies are online lenders, like CommonBond, or credit unions, like PenFed.
Banks That Refinance Student Loans
Lender | NerdWallet rating | Min. credit score | Fixed APR | Variable APR | Learn more |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LendKey Student Loan Refinance Check rate on LendKey's website | Best for Refinancing with a community bank | 660 | 4.49- | 4.38- | Check rate on LendKey's website |
![]() SoFi Student Loan Refinance Check rate on SoFi's website | Best for Refinancing with an online bank | 650 | 4.49- | 4.99- | Check rate on SoFi's website |
![]() Discover Student Loan Refinance | Best for Refinancing with an online bank | Does not disclose | N/A | N/A | Read review |
Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance Check rate on Laurel Road's website | Best for Refinancing with a brick-and-mortar, national bank | 660 | 4.24- | 3.74- | Check rate on Laurel Road's website |
![]() PNC Student Loan Refinance | Best for Refinancing with a brick-and-mortar, national bank | Does not disclose | 4.49- | 5.14- | Read review |
Our pick for
Refinancing with a community bank
LendKey partners with community banks, as well as credit unions, to refinance student loans.
on LendKey's website
LendKey Student Loan Refinance
Min. credit score
660Fixed APR
4.49-Variable APR
4.38-on LendKey's website
Our pick for
Refinancing with an online bank

on SoFi's website
SoFi Student Loan Refinance

Min. credit score
650Fixed APR
4.49-Variable APR
4.99-on SoFi's website
Discover Student Loan Refinance

Min. credit score
Does not discloseFixed APR
N/AVariable APR
N/AOur pick for
Refinancing with a brick-and-mortar, national bank
on Laurel Road's website
Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance
Min. credit score
660Fixed APR
4.24-Variable APR
3.74-on Laurel Road's website
PNC Student Loan Refinance

Min. credit score
Does not discloseFixed APR
4.49-Variable APR
5.14-Banks that refinance student loans
Some community banks also offer student loan refinancing — find them through LendKey, a marketplace that connects borrowers with community banks and credit unions.
Additionally, some online-only banks refinance student loans, including Discover.
In other cases, online student loan refinance lenders are backed by banks. For example, Education Loan Finance is the student loan refinancing division of Tennessee-based SouthEast Bank, and loans refinanced through College Ave Student Loans are funded by Firstrust Bank or Safra Bank.
Banks that don’t refinance student loans
Most big-name, national brick-and-mortar banks don’t refinance student loans, including:
Capital One.
Wells Fargo.
STUDENT LOAN REFINANCE RATINGS METHODOLOGY
Our survey of more than 29 banks, credit unions and online lenders offering student loans and student loan refinancing includes the top 10 lenders by market share and the top 10 lenders by online search volume, as well as lenders that serve specialty or nontraditional markets.
We consider 41 features and data points for each financial institution. Depending on the category, these include the availability of biweekly payments through autopay, minimum credit score and income requirement disclosures, availability to borrowers in all states, extended grace periods and in-house customer service.
The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.
Read more about our ratings methodologies for student loan refinance and our editorial guidelines.
Last updated on December 12, 2022
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Banks That Refinance Student Loans
- LendKey Student Loan Refinance: Best for Refinancing with a community bank
- SoFi Student Loan Refinance: Best for Refinancing with an online bank
- Discover Student Loan Refinance: Best for Refinancing with an online bank
- Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance: Best for Refinancing with a brick-and-mortar, national bank
- PNC Student Loan Refinance: Best for Refinancing with a brick-and-mortar, national bank
Frequently asked questions
You can only refinance student loans with a bank that offers this product. Traditional brick-and-mortar banks that refinance student loans include PNC and Citizens Bank. Online banks include SoFi and Discover.
Community banks, online banks and traditional banks offer student loan refinancing. Your priority should be finding the lowest possible rate you qualify for, even if it’s not from your current bank.
Bank of America does not refinance student loans. Other well-known, national banks that don’t offer this option include Chase Bank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.
Aim to find the refinancing loan with the lowest rate you qualify for. That may be a bank you have an account with, especially if it offers you a discount or lower interest rate.