Public / private partnership is vital to ensuring affordable
access to education
The Student Loan Corporation (SLC) reiterated today its commitment to
the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and to its mission of
providing schools, students, and families with affordable, reliable
access to higher education.
SLC reaffirmed its dedication in light of the Administration’s recently
released fiscal year 2010 budget outline. The outline includes a
proposal to provide federal student loans solely through the
government’s Direct Lending Program as early as July 2010. Congress will
debate this proposal in the coming weeks to define the scope of any
legislation pertaining to how federal student loans are provided in the
U.S.
“Although we share the Administration’s desire to make education
financing more affordable and accessible to students and their families,
schools and borrowers will not enjoy the many critical benefits of
competition without private sector involvement in student loan lending,”
said Michael Reardon, Chairman, President and CEO of SLC. “In addition,
eliminating the FFEL Program would limit choice for students and
families, and would be less efficient and more costly to taxpayers at a
time when the nation is experiencing severe economic stress.”
For over 40 years, the FFEL Program participants, including SLC, have
provided schools, students and families with a choice of lenders as well
as innovative products and services, such as easy-to-use online
applications, tools and resources; financial literacy programs; default
prevention services; and a variety of incentives to lower consumers’
total borrowing costs. And when it comes to efficient service,
competition has driven enhanced levels of customer satisfaction, as a
result of responsiveness, personal attention and on-campus support.
These attributes have led 73% of higher education institutions to choose
the FFEL Program over the government’s Direct Lending Program. For more
information on this topic, please go to www.faaonline.com.
Mr. Reardon concluded, “We continue to engage in active dialogue with
government leaders to support a federal loan program that leverages the
best characteristics of the public and private sectors. We look forward
to continuing to work closely with government officials and the higher
education community in shaping the future of student lending.”
SLC has been dedicated to providing essential education financing to
schools across the country for over 50 years. The Company continues to
provide both federal and private student loans to schools nationwide,
originating $5.7 billion in FFEL Program loans and $1.8 billion in
private CitiAssist® Loans in 2008.
The Student Loan Corporation (NYSE: STU) is one of the nation's
leading originators and holders of insured student loans providing a
full range of education financing products and services to meet the
needs of students, parents, schools and lenders. The company was
previously a division of Citibank and became a NYSE listed corporation
in 1992. Citibank, N.A. is the majority shareholder. Citibank was one of
the first banks to finance higher education, beginning in 1958. For
information or inquiries regarding student loans, please call
1-800-STUDENT. Customers with Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf
(TDD) may call 1-800-846-1298. College planning and financing
information is also available at www.studentloan.com.
Investors:
Brad Svalberg, 203-975-6292
The Student Loan
Corporation, Investor Relations
or
Media:
Mark Rodgers,
212-559-1719
Citi, Public Affairs
