Laurel Road Bank has received national recognition; FinTech Breakthrough, an independent organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global fintech market named the bank as the best consumer lender in its annual awards.

Laurel Road launched its student loan refinancing service in 2013 and has rapidly grown it to total more than $4 billion in loan originations to date. The bank introduced an online mortgage platform using the same lending technology to offer homebuyers and owners a streamlined digital application process in 2018. The digital lending business was recently acquired by KeyBank, which closed on the deal earlier this week.

FinTech Breakthrough recognizes fintech innovators, leaders and visionaries from around the world in a range of categories, including banking, personal finance, lending, payments, investments, regtech and insurtech. The 2019 FinTech Breakthrough Award program attracted more than 3,500 nominations from all over the world.

All nominations were evaluated by an independent panel of experts within the financial services and technology industries, with the winning products and companies selected based on a variety of criteria including most innovative and technologically advanced products and services.

“Breaking into the financial services industry was nearly impossible just a few years ago, but as the fintech industry has now delivered proven tangible benefits for consumers and businesses, we are experiencing an impressive ‘breakthrough’ phase of fintech industry adoption,” James Johnson, managing director of FinTech Breakthrough, said in a statement. “This past year the industry experienced sustained growth, with a significant uptick in mainstream adoption of fintech solutions, as well as a noteworthy increase in financial institutions and fintech company partnerships. From dramatically improved customer experiences to increased operational efficiencies, the fintech industry accomplished a stellar year and we are proud to recognize the innovators and leaders in this space. Congratulations to our 2019 FinTech Breakthrough Award winners.”