Laurel Road
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Predecessor | Darien Rowayton Bank |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States (all 50 states) |
| Parent | KeyBank |
Laurel Road—previously known as Darien Rowayton Bank—is a digital financial services firm based in New York City. Established in 2013 as the national lending arm of Darien Rowayton Bank (DRB), it became part of KeyBank following its acquisition in 2019. Laurel Road provides services throughout all 50 states in the United States.
As of September 2021, the company had facilitated the origination of $9 billion in both federal and private student loans via its platform.
History
Originally founded in Connecticut in 2006, Darien Rowayton Bank was purchased by Alcar LLC in 2009, which brought in a new leadership team. In 2013, DRB introduced a student loan refinancing initiative aimed at professionals holding undergraduate and graduate degrees. By 2015, this program extended to include residents and fellows refinancing their loans after securing employment contracts. The national online lending division was rebranded as Laurel Road Bank in 2017.
In 2018, Laurel Road formed a collaboration with the American Medical Association to tackle the issue of medical student debt.
In April 2019, KeyBank—a prominent FDIC-insured financial institution—acquired Laurel Road. This transaction did not include three branches located in Connecticut, leading to the relocation of Laurel Road’s headquarters to Manhattan. In 2021, Laurel Road introduced a digital banking service tailored specifically for physicians, nurses, and dentists, named Laurel Road for Doctors, alongside launching Laurel Road Checking.