08/18/08
Knoxville, TN: Friday, August 15, was an auspicious occasion for Knoxville-based national student loan provider, Edamerica. The U.S. Department of Education announced that money has been earmarked for Edamerica’s immediate access, under the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (ECASLA), in order to disburse certified student loans. Edamerica is one of the first Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) lenders to take advantage of this opportunity.
Tony Hollin, Edamerica’s chairman and CEO, has worked tirelessly with the U.S. Department of Education to make operational the federal government’s loan participation and purchase program, as established under ECASLA. A total of 129 student loan providers have exited, suspended or reduced participation in the student loan business over the past six months, since the liquidity crisis ensued – but not Edamerica, the country’s eighth largest lender.
“We have not red-lined schools or walked away from our borrowers,” said Hollin. “We’re making good on our word to 3,200 schools and 200,000 students and families who are depending on Edamerica to go to school this semester.”
The loan participation and purchase program outlined in ECASLA allows qualified FFEL lenders, like Edamerica, to access credit lines provided by the federal government, subject to certain restrictions. The DOE credit lines will provide liquidity and alleviate funding shortages due to the recent collapse of the auction-rate securities market that has traditionally funded student loans. These credit lines supporting Stafford, PLUS and Graduate PLUS Loans have been approved for the 2008-09 academic year as a source of short-term liquidity for FFEL lenders.
With the infusion of much needed liquidity into the student loan marketplace, Edamerica is preparing to fund loans for all students and families nationwide, just as the company has done consistently for the past 20 years.
“We promised the financial aid community that we would see this through,” added Hollin. “We will not abandon their students, and we remain steadfastly committed to our shared vision of making the dream of a college education a reality for as many families as possible.”
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Edamerica is a top-ten student loan provider and has helped over a million students and families realize their dreams of higher education by offering low-cost postsecondary student loans nationwide. Edamerica is an Edfinancial Services lender. Edfinancial Services is a private corporation headquartered in Knoxville, TN with satellite servicing centers in Little Rock, AR and Jacksonville, FL. Servicing student loans nationwide, Edfinancial Services administers student loan volume approaching $9 billion.