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."
Miller, who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee, asked for the information to be provided within 10 days.
He is seeking a wide range of data on loan recipients and benefits extended to them and their colleges, as well as documents on marketing practices and compensation policies, all extending back as far as 2001.
The lawmaker has already introduced legislation that would require lenders and institutions to disclose more fully the terms of their relationships.
Shocking that the Republican Congress saw nothing wrong with this, sort of like there was nothing wrong with the subprime lending programs. What else did the GOP ignore and when will we find out? It's going to be a never-ending story of corruption and greed and I'm sure we have just barely begun to scratch the surface.
