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Who Are Top 10 Originators of Federal Student Loans?

Posted on | March 10, 2010 | No Comments

Here are the top 10 originators of federal student loans, as measured by new guarantees in FY09 (in millions of dollars): 





Annual 
LENDER
FY09 FY08 Change
SLM CORPORATION (SALLIE MAE)  $20,990 $14,266 47%
WELLS FARGO/WACHOVIA $10,688 $9,063 18%
CITIBANK, STUDENT LOAN CORP  $5,870 $6,201 -5%
BANK OF AMERICA  $4,921 $4,275 15%
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK  $3,548 $3,418 4%
PITTSBURGH NATIONAL CORP (PNC)  $2,656 $1,269 109%
U S BANK  $2,262 $2,278 -1%
DISCOVER BANK $1,726 $245 605%
EDAMERICA  $1,563 $1,614 -3%
NATIONAL ED LOAN NETWORK (NELNET)  $1,557 $1,022 52%
TOP 10 TOTAL $55,781 $43,650
TOTAL FFELP Originations $72,663 $63,210 15%

———————————–
Observations:

  • Sallie Mae extended the distance between themselves and the rest of the field with a 47% surge in new guarantees which gives them a market share of 29%.  This surge has long term benefits for Sallie Mae on the servicing side too.  As one of the four companies selected to service loans sold to the Department of Education, Sallie will continue to service their own loans given the Dept.'s desire to avoid split servicing any of the loans put to them. 
    • Since 2007, Sallie Mae has more than doubled their federal loan originations from $9.0 billion to $21.0. 
  • The consolidation of the FFELP originators continued in FY09 with the top 10 now representing 76.8% of all new guarantees vs. 71.9% in FY08 (Note:  Wells Fargo/Wachovia data was combined since WF acquired Wachovia in late 2008).  The top 100 originators now constitute 98.1% of all new guarantees vs. 95.7% in FY08.  So, the next time someone tells you that 2000 banks are making federal loans…well, almost all of the volume is coming from the top 100. 
  • On a percentage basis, Discover (605% increase) and PNC (109%) had the largest increases among the top 10 originators. 

View full post on Student Lending Analytics Blog

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Where Is Sallie Mae Hiring?

Posted on | March 9, 2010 | No Comments

With the federal loan program in a state of flux (see the latest here), I thought I would take a look at Sallie Mae's career site and see where their hiring focus was these days.  Note that the requisitions listed on their Career site do not list the number of open positions per req. so the data provided is not the total jobs open only the total reqs. posted on their site.

The four sites where the bulk of staff are being hired are Newark, DE (new credit and collections center), Fishers, IN (technnology center) and Newton, MA (UPromise): 

City State Number
Newark  DE 29
Fishers  IN 25
Newton  MA 25
Reston  VA 16
Cincinnati  OH 4
Arcade  NY 3
Muncie  IN 3
Wilkes-Barre  PA 3
Horseheads  NY 2
Killeen  TX 1
Moorestown  NJ 1
Murray  UT 1
Perry  NY 1
 
Grand Total 114

———————————
As for the departments hiring, IT represented almost 1/3 of the recs., with collections a distant second at 13%.  Many of the jobs that had no department listed were credit/collections jobs available in Newark so the number of collections recs. are likely very close to their information technology. 

Functional area Number Percent of Total
Information Technology  36 32%
Collections  15 13%
Accounting/Finance  10 9%
Marketing  6 5%
Call Center Operations  4 4%
Other  4 4%
Credit  3 3%
Loan Servicing/Operations  2 2%
Administration Services  1 1%
Compliance  1 1%
Customer Service  1 1%
Human Resources  1 1%
Legal  1 1%
Training  1 1%
Blank field 28 25%

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Sen. Alexander: Student Loan Reform Savings Should Be Used To Lower Interest Rates On Federal Loans

Posted on | March 7, 2010 | No Comments

From the Washington Post

"But if there really is $47 billion in savings to be found, Congress
should return it to students as lower interest rates, not trick
students by overcharging them so Washington can create more government
programs.

Seven-eighths of students who applied for federal aid using the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) had an average loan debt of
$24,651. Assuming a standard 10-year repayment at 6.8 percent, those
students would pay roughly $9,400 in interest. If we really want to
save students money, why not just reduce the interest rate by 1.5
percentage points, to 5.3 percent, saving students $2,240 in interest?

If this Washington takeover happens, I propose that all 19
million-plus student loans made by the government carry this warning
label:

"Beware: Your federal government is overcharging you so your
representative can take credit for starting new government programs.
Enjoy the extra hours you work to pay off your student loan."

View full post on Student Lending Analytics Blog

Financial Literacy In The News

Posted on | March 5, 2010 | No Comments

  • Aspire Act would create savings account for every child born in the U.S.(AOL News):  "That is the premise of the bipartisan ASPIRE Act,
    which opens and seeds a savings account for every child born in the
    U.S. The aim is to provide each child with the means to learn to save,
    manage money, create wealth and invest in productive assets after
    reaching adulthood."
    • Great to see this transpire.  I had a post about England's program in November:  "Want to encourage saving?  Why not open a long-term investment
      and savings account for every child born in your country and seed it
      with about $500 at birth, add another $500 at the age of 7 and not
      allow any withdrawals until the age of 18?  Here is one country who
      does it through their Child Trust Fund, which has garnered over $4 billion in assets in 4.6 million accounts
  • Turn back the murktide:  New online financial literacy game I Gen Revolution launched:  "The Council for Economic Education (CEE), a leading not-for-profit
    advocate and service provider in the field of K-12 economic education,
    launched today Gen i Revolution, an online game developed to teach
    personal finance skills to middle and high school students.
    The competitive online game includes 15 Missions in which students
    complete a variety of activities to beat back the insidious "Murktide"
    infestation. The "Murktide," a confusion about basic personal finance
    principles, is rapidly spreading across the population, and middle and
    high school students are the last line of defense against a lifetime of
    poor financial decisions."
  • Wisconsin high school developing virtual financial literacy class:  "While the school has been active in teaching financial literacy in the
    classroom, Weber is pushing for a virtual finance class with the help
    of Altra Federal Credit Union. The virtual finance course will use a
    combination of 3-D virtual simulation and the integration of real-world
    products.  Amy McCutchin, a student teacher working with Weber’s
    classes, said each student will get a personal avatar and be able to
    simulate on the computer anything they would do in the real world.

    “It’s
    a safe environment,” McCutchin said. “They can make mistakes now rather
    than later. It’s the first course of its kind in the country.” Students
    will be exposed to a trial run of the program in April.  Teachers
    and students will be able to track students’ decisions and the impact
    of those decisions. As students navigate through the program, they gain
    financial knowledge and recognize the better choices, which will
    hopefully carry over into real life behaviors.

  • Idaho State Board of Education selects RealityWorks software and curriculum to help schools satisfy graduation requirement:  "The Idaho Department of Education has adopted the TimeMAPS Money Management & Life Skills Program
    from Realityworks, Inc., as a resource in the Professional-Technical
    Education/Family Consumer Science classification for grades 9-12. The
    financial literacy software and curriculum was approved to help
    districts ensure students meet graduation requirements, and the
    requirements of the Idaho State Standards."
  • Didn't take too long for someone to find this loophole in the new credit card legislation (from Smart Money):  "The CARD Act prohibits credit-card issuers
    from giving out free stuff to students in exchange for filling out a
    credit-card application on college campuses, at college-sponsored
    events, or within 1,000 feet of them.  But
    it leaves a huge loophole: Card issuers can still give out freebies as
    long as they don’t require students to sign up for a credit card. That
    means that credit-card companies can still hawk free stuff on campus
    for promotion, says Susswein."
  • Felix Salmon's opinion on where the Consumer Financial Protection should NOT be housed and the value of financial literacy programs put out by banks:  "Essentially, the CFPA, by its nature, is going to have to have an adversarial relationship with the banking industry, at least at the outset. The prudential regulators, meanwhile, exist to make those banks healthier: they like
    anything which generates income and profits, and have historically not
    cared in the slightest if such products are only profitable because
    they rip off consumers with moderate financial literacy. If they end up
    housing the CFPA, the CFPA will never be allowed to force the banks into the world of simplicity and honesty that we financial consumers so desperately need."
  • Budding Alex P. Keaton's (Family Ties reference) will have a chance to shine at this Money Bee event in Buffalo: "The University at Buffalo School of Management and M&T Bank will
    host more than 80 students from 16 public, private and charter schools
    in the third annual "MoneySKILL® Mania," a financial literacy competition for high school juniors and seniors…The goal of the event is to increase awareness of MoneySKILL, a free,
    interactive Internet curriculum designed to educate students to make
    informed financial decisions on a variety of personal finance issues, including income, money management, credit, saving and investing."
  • How would fare in completing an essay on this topic? (from student looking for help) "Imagine your parent(s) just inherited $100,000 from a long lost aunt.
    Explain to them why it’s important to invest their money so that it
    grows over time for retirement. Also, explain why it’s important to
    diversify their investments among stocks, bonds and mutual funds, which
    are called asset classes. Choose two investments from among the stock,
    bond, and mutual fund asset classes that you would recommend for the
    long-term. (For example, choose a stock and a mutual fund, a stock and
    a bond, or a bond and a mutual fund.) Explain why you would choose each
    one. Also, explain why you think your choices would be good investments
    for their retirement."

View full post on Student Lending Analytics Blog

Public Agenda Report Highlights Weaknesses Of College Counseling System

Posted on | March 3, 2010 | No Comments

From Inside Higher Ed:

The findings are based on a national survey of 614 individuals aged
22 through 30 who had attended college (although not necessarily for
long or long enough to earn a degree). Among the responses:
  • 48 percent said that they felt like "just another face in the crowd" in dealing with their guidance counselors.
  • 67 percent said that they would rank their counselors as fair or poor in helping them find an appropriate college.
  • 62 percent said that they would rank their counselors as fair or poor in helping them find ways to pay for college.
  • 60 percent gave their counselors fair or poor rankings on thinking about different career paths.

Here were the four findings listed on Public Agenda website:

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White House To Host Video Chat on College Affordability and SAFRA On Tuesday

Posted on | March 1, 2010 | No Comments

Thanks to James for making me aware of this upcoming video chat on Tuesday, March 2nd:

WHAT: Live
Interactive Video Chat on College Affordability and the Student Aid and Fiscal
Responsibility Act (SAFRA)

WHO: YOU, Secretary
of Education Arne Duncan, and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Melody
Barnes.

WHEN: Tuesday, March
2 from 5:30 to 6:00 PM EST.

WHERE: On the White
House website HERE or Facebook HERE

Secretary
Duncan and Melody will share information on the Student Aid and Fiscal
Responsibility Act and talk about how you can help in making higher education
affordable and accessible to everyone. The conversation will be moderated by
William Jawando from the White House Office of Public Engagement. At the end,
you will have the opportunity to ask Secretary Duncan and Melody questions
– so we hope you think of some good ones! (Note that this web chat is closed
press and for background purposes only.)

View full post on Student Lending Analytics Blog

SLA Webinar (Thursday, March 4th): What’s New In Private Student Loan Land?

Posted on | February 27, 2010 | No Comments

Join me for this informative webinar
to be held on Thursday, March 4th at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time.  This
90-minute webinar will focus on the current state of the private (non-federal)
student loan market as well as provide an outlook for the future.  This webinar
will be extremely helpful to financial aid professionals and others
interested in learning more about this dynamic market. 

Register for this webinar, which has a $99 registration fee, here.

Among the questions to be answered:

  • Which for-profit, non-profit and state agency lenders are still providing private education loans?
  • What are the main drivers behind the projected decline in the private student loan market in 2009-10?
  • What is the projected market shares in 2009-10 for the major private student lenders?
  • How are private loan interest rates changing? 
  • What are some new products/new developments to watch out for in the future? 
  • How
    are financial aid offices responding to the new preferred lender
    regulations and how will this likely impact lender marketing strategies
    going forward?
  • What other legislative activity could impact this market?
  • How are lenders implementing the recently enacted private student loan disclosure requirements?
  • How are schools implementing the new self-certification form for private student loans. 

View full post on Student Lending Analytics Blog

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Time For A Student Aid Summit

Posted on | February 25, 2010 | No Comments

I couldn't help, but think, as I watched the Health Care summit this morning, that it was time for a similar confab on student aid reform.  Why?  Given what many describe as a "once in a generation opportunity", it would seem to be worth a day to get a roomful of experts (ground rules:  no prepared statements, question and answer format with professional facilitator, students and parents provide some questions, seating chart set up so opponents sit next to each other) to tackle issues greater than who should be originating federal student loans:

  • How is the rising tide of student loan defaults going to be managed?  
    • When the largest servicer says that they can't make contact with delinquent borrowers for the contracted rate of $0.90, I get a bit concerned. 
    • Almost nine months into income-based repayment (often seen as a panacea), I think it is time for a full accounting of how the implementation has gone for both Direct and FFEL servicers.  
  • What can be done to improve college affordability aside from increasing the supply of grants and loans available to students which have historically had difficulty keeping up with the rate of tuition inflation?
  • What specific efforts should be made at the institutional level to assist low-income students, who tend to make up a disproportionate share of loan defaults?
  • From Paul Combe of ASA commenting on recent SLA post:  "The big
    question is, will “default prevention,” encompassing the kind of
    proactive contact and education services that borrowers really need to
    keep their loans in good standing, be funded? Like anything in life,
    prevention costs more in the short-term but less in the long-term; as a
    nation, do we have the gumption to do the right thing in this case and
    provide education loan borrowers the quality of services they deserve?

What other questions would you like to see asked at a student aid summit? 

View full post on Student Lending Analytics Blog

Who Is Offering Three-Year Undergraduate Degrees?

Posted on | February 23, 2010 | No Comments

I first saw this on the NY Times The Choice blog:

"The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
is announcing today that it will allow “highly motivated students” to
graduate in three years, beginning with the freshman class that will be
seated this fall.

Specifically, the program will be offered to incoming freshmen who
already have at least 12 college credit hours, either through Advanced
Placement or community college classes, or other accelerated work. By
paring a year off their undergraduate experiences, those students would
save an estimated $8,000, or 22 percent, in tuition, room, board and
other fees, compared to their peers in four-year programs."

From the News-Observer

"UNC Greensboro plans to become the first public university in North
Carolina to help students earn an undergraduate degree in just three
years.

The
university announced the initiative Monday, joining a growing number of
schools across the country that have created similar programs to help
students save a year of tuition. Last month, Mount Olive College, a
private, liberal arts school based in Wayne County, announced a similar
program."

Here were some statistics I found in a Washington Post article that are somewhat dated about prevalence of three-year degrees:

"The most recent statistics from the Education Department, from 2001,
show that 4.2 percent of U.S. undergraduates finished with bachelor's
degrees in three years, 57.3 percent graduated in four years and 38.5
percent took more than four years to graduate."

So, what other colleges are actively marketing a three-year undergraduate degree program (my sense is that many schools already offer that option for high schoolers entering with significant AP credits)?

Here were a few I found after about 20 minutes of searching:

I wonder how the results would differ today as to why students select a three-year program.  In this 1973 report found the top three reasons were:  graduate or professional school faster (36.5%), save money (34.1%) and avoid general freshman courses (12.8%).  My hunch is that saving money would trump all responses today. 

View full post on Student Lending Analytics Blog

Is College Debt Becoming A Bigger News Story?

Posted on | February 22, 2010 | No Comments

It now has it's own page on the Huffington Post (one of most popular news aggregator/blogs based on web traffic) with a new contribution from Secretary Arne Duncan titled "Move Our Money From Banks to Students."  Going down the left column, the home page for College Debt also provides nine different personal stories about how college students are (or are not) faring given their college debt levels. 

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