Student Lending
CBA is the public policy voice for private-market capital to fund loans supporting America’s students. Private student loans serve important purposes, primarily to provide gap funding for undergraduates who need to pay for college. In addition, for some families and graduate students, private loans can be a sensible alternative to federal loans, especially PLUS loans. Almost 97% of private student loans are being successfully repaid. That is largely due to the high level of underwriting required to receive a private loan, as well as the use of cosigners. Nearly 70% of private student loans are made by six lenders, five of which are CBA Members. Collectively, private loans account for just 8% of loans being made today. The other 92% are Direct Loans made by the U.S. Department of Education.
July 25, 2018CBA on House Democrats’ Higher Education Proposal Legislation would lead to higher tuition, student debt WASHINGTON – The Consumer Bankers Association today expressed concerns with the Higher Education Reform proposal announced by Democrats in the House of Representatives. “There are some aspects of this plan we support, but taken as a whole this virtually unlimited source of federal lending,...
July 16, 2018CBA Says Recent Student Lending Legislation Misdirected, Needed for Federal – Not Private – Loans CBA: “Private lenders offer a responsible product to help students achieve their education goals with transparent, plain language know before you owe information. The same cannot be said of the current state of federal student lending, which saddles students with unmanageable debt.” Washington, D.C...
June 22, 2018D.C. DOWNLOAD Court Rules Bureau’s Structure Unconstitutional – The U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York ruled yesterday the Bureau "unconstitutionally structured." The opinion was in the case of CFPB v. RD Legal Funding, LLC et al. Whether the decision, which disqualified the Bureau as a plaintiff in the case, will be appealed depends on a number of factors. However, it is...
June 1, 2018My Visit to Huntington Bank – I always enjoy visiting with CBA members and this week I had the pleasure to meet with the folks at Huntington Bank. First and foremost, they are a great group of bankers who work tirelessly on behalf of their customers. We had a lively discussion on the regulatory environment, small-dollar rulemaking, M&A activity and bank innovation. I was glad CBA Board Member...
May 31, 2018The private student loan industry may soon get more favorable treatment on the government’s financial-aid website. Right now, the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid website presents private student loans as an option students should only consider after loans offered by the government. But the site could soon take a less-biased approach towards private loans, according to...
May 11, 2018DRIVING THE CONVERSATION Rumor Mill Churns: McWatters as Bureau Director? – There is plenty of buzz in D.C. surrounding President Trump’s potential nomination of National Credit Union Administration Board Chair Mark McWatters as the next Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau). We have had conversations with McWatters, as well as many other potential candidates for the...
May 4, 2018Private lenders hold just a fraction of the outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. -- about 7.7 percent as of last year. But those companies have plans to grow their student loan holdings. And they argue that with the help of Congress, they could play an even bigger role in the student loan marketplace -- as they formerly did. Purposefully expanding private lenders' piece of the student loan...
April 27, 2018REGULATORY ROUNDUP Mulvaney Plans to Drop Public Complaints Portal – CBA has long advocated for unverified contents of the complaint portal to no longer be made public and this week the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s Acting Director Mick Mulvaney acted on this request. While we fully support the Bureau fulfilling its important, Congressionally-mandated mission of compiling complaints,...
April 6, 2018April 6, 2018 The Honorable Mike Crapo The Honorable Sherrod Brown Chairman Ranking Member Committee on Banking, Housing Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs & Urban Affairs U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 534 Dirksen Office Building 534 Dirksen Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Chairman Crapo and Ranking Member Brown: The Consumer Bankers Association (...
CBA Statement for CFPB Semi Annual Report HFSC Hearing