All Borrowers Now Able to Consolidate Federal Student Loans with Sallie Mae

RESTON, Va., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to a law passed today by Congress, thousands of borrowers will soon be free to consolidate their eligible student loans with Sallie Mae, and receive the company's industry- leading benefits and services.

In a long-anticipated move, Congress today repealed the "Single Holder Rule" governing federal student loan consolidation. President Bush is expected to sign the measure immediately upon receiving it from Congress. The repeal would allow borrowers to consolidate with a new lender who may offer lower interest rates or better repayment terms and service. Under the Single Holder Rule, borrowers who had all their federal student loans with one lender were required to seek a consolidation loan from that company.

"This is great news for borrowers interested in consolidating their loans with Sallie Mae -- the industry leader in education funding," said Keith D'Ambra, senior vice president for loan consolidation, Sallie Mae. "Now all student loan borrowers interested in taking out a Sallie Mae Federal Consolidation Loan may be able to do so, regardless of whether they are currently a Sallie Mae student loan customer."

Sallie Mae is ranked among the nation's top financial service companies as measured by overall customer satisfaction.

While the rule's elimination will provide borrowers with additional options, it is also likely to lead to more aggressive direct marketing campaigns to students from consolidation brokers that are relatively new to the marketplace. "To make the best decision on loan consolidation, borrowers need to be savvy shoppers and carefully weigh the rates, benefits, and service of each provider vying for their business," said D'Ambra. "Borrowers also should be sure they are working with a company they know and trust."

A Sallie Mae SMART LOAN Consolidation Loan offers graduates a way to bundle existing student loans into one new loan, reduce the number of monthly bills coming in, and possibly lower his or her monthly payments. Student loan interest rates will climb 1.84 percentage points on July 1, but students, graduates and parents who act quickly and apply to consolidate their student loans by June 30 will be able to lock in today's lower interest rates.

"Right now it's critical that borrowers choose a lender that can help them submit their applications in time to beat the rate increase," D'Ambra cautioned. "Our highly-automated online application process lets borrowers submit the necessary paperwork in just minutes." In addition to the online application, Sallie Mae offers an electronic concierge service that completes the application on the borrower's behalf. The online application and concierge service are available 24/7 at http://www.salliemae.com/consolidation.

Sallie Mae SMART LOANS offer a number of other benefits to borrowers, including reduced interest rates, attractive repayment options, the availability of electronic payment services, online account management, toll- free customer hotlines and call center staff trained to meet your informational needs.

SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM) , commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation's leading provider of education funding, managing nearly $127 billion in student loans and serving 10 million borrowers. Sallie Mae was originally created in 1972 as a government-sponsored entity (GSE) and terminated its ties to the federal government in 2004. The company remains the country's largest originator of federally insured student loans. Through its specialized subsidiaries and divisions, Sallie Mae also provides debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including colleges, universities and loan guarantors. More information is available at http://www.salliemae.com/. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

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