Losses on Private Student Loans Hit Lowest Level Since 2008
December 13 2016 - 8:40AM
Dow Jones News
Lenders wrote off an annualized 1.9% of undergraduate and
graduate private student-loan balances in the third quarter, down
from 2.4% a year prior, according to a new report Tuesday from data
firm MeasureOne.
That is the first time this figure has fallen below the 2% mark
since at least 2008, the farthest back MeasureOne tracks the data.
Losses peaked at 10.1% in the third quarter of 2009.
The private student-loan industry has undergone a major
turnaround since the recession, taking a starkly different route
than the federal government by tightening lending standards. Almost
every private student loan extended to undergraduates also requires
a creditworthy parent or other adult cosigner, a process that
leaves two borrowers on the hook and lessens chances of lenders
writing off bad debts.
Missed payments are also hovering near record lows, a mark they
hit earlier this year. Some 1.9% of outstanding private
student-loan dollars were at least 90 days past due in the third
quarter versus 2.3% a year prior. A peak of 6.1% came in the second
quarter of 2009, according to MeasureOne's data, which is based on
the six largest student-loan companies, including SLM Corp., or
Sallie Mae, and Navient Corp.
Private student loans are a small piece of the student-loan
market. Federal student-loan balances account for 92.5% of
outstanding student-loan debt. Most of that has been extended
without checking borrowers' credit scores. While default rates for
federal student loans have been coming down in recent years, they
remain high despite the low national unemployment rate.
Wall Street has been bullish on private student-loan companies
since Election Day. Expectations of lighter regulation and an
opportunity for private companies to play a bigger role in
financing college debt has contributed to Sallie Mae's shares
rising 53% since Donald Trump's victory. Shares of Navient, the
largest student-loan servicer by balances, are up 24%.
Write to AnnaMaria Andriotis at annamaria.andriotis@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 13, 2016 08:25 ET (13:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024