U.S. lawmaker queries lenders on links to colleges (SLMA, EFP)

[eppur_se_muova]

Source: Reuters/CNN

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Amid growing government scrutiny of the student loan business, the chairman of a House committee said Thursday he has asked five major lenders to provide information about their relationships with college financial aid offices.

California Democrat George Miller requested the information from industry leader Sallie Mae as well as rivals Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup's Student Loan Corp.

In a letter to Thomas Fitzpatrick, chief executive of SLM Corp., the formal name for Sallie Mae, Miller cited news reports raising "concerns about student loan providers offering gifts or other questionable incentives to colleges that agree to encourage students to take out their student loans with specific lenders."
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On Monday, student loan group Education Finance Partners (EFP), hoping to head off a lawsuit from New York officials, said it will disclose payments it makes to colleges.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/03/30/student.loans.congress.reut/index.html

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Miller is not the only one interested ... so is Kennedy, and NY state AG Cuomo. All the big lenders are involved, one way or another. Of course, they've been getting a free ride under the Bu**sh** maladministration.

(If you are European, none of this article will make sense to you, since you probably have no idea why there are such things as "student loans".)


ON EDIT: Miller is also looking into a conflict of interest involving the Reading First program, part of NCLB: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...