Sallie Mae Smart Option Private Student Loan Referral Program
Tapping a profitable growth opportunity for your credit union
After the excitement of college acceptance, many of America's approximately 19 million college students and their families face the challenge of how to pay for the rising cost of college tuition. Through a partnership with Southeast Corporate and Sallie Mae, you can now offer your members guidance on their education financing options and a private student loan solution — the Smart Option Student Loan. It is an ideal way to help your members pay for college expenses not covered by scholarships and federal loans.
This partnership between Southeast Corporate and Sallie Mae offers your credit union the opportunity to:
- Provide a private lending option for your members and their families
- Tap a share of the more than $8 billion in private student loans which are projected to be needed in 2011. Especially since students’ use of PSL’s has increased over 60 percent since 2008.* (*How America Pays for College 2010)
- Expand your value proposition through strong marketing support from Sallie Mae, the market leader
- Expand your product line to attract, grow, and retain current member relationships by offering this solution as a complement to student checking, debit cards, online banking, etc.
- Acquire new members likely to grow into strong long-term relationships. In fact, 60 percent of students are likely to stay with their financial institution after graduation.* (*Celent 2007)
- Make student loans available to your members with no funding requirements
- Offer a student loan program with no lending or credit risk
- Generate additional fee income with no capital investment
A turn-key opportunity for your credit union whereby Southeast Corporate and Sallie Mae provide:
- All the tools and resources needed to market a successful Smart Option Student Loan program
- Content and credit union-specific link(s) for your home page and/or financial services web pages
- Sallie Mae-hosted, state-of-the-art online application to make it easy for your members to apply for a Smart Option Student Loan
- Sallie Mae provides pre-designed marketing materials along with website and email content for all your marketing needs
- Sallie Mae manages the loan origination, funding, disbursement and servicing; 24/7 call center and online service
- Full reporting on all aspects of the Smart Option Student Loan program
Features and Benefits for your Members:
- Competitive Interest Rates. Sallie Mae's rates range from: LIBOR +2% to +9.875% and your members will continue to benefit from having no origination or repayment fees, regardless of the applicant's or cosigner's credit.
- Borrow up to 100 percent of school certified education costs (minimum $1,000)
- Fast Online Application: The easy-to-use application only takes about 20 minutes to complete
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Payment Flexibility
- Monthly Interest-Only Payments: Borrowers who select this option may qualify for a lower interest rate
- Monthly $25 Fixed Pay: While the student is in school and during the six-month separation period
- Deferred Repayment option: Allows students to defer payments during the in-school and separation periods
- No prepayment penalty
- Multiple Discounts
- Applying with a creditworthy cosigner may help the student qualify or receive a lower rate
- Borrowers receive a 0.25 percent interest rate reduction for ACH payments Smart Reward: Borrowers receive 2% of their scheduled monthly payment as a reward in their Upromise® account when they pay on time
- Students may apply for a cosigner release after the successful completion of their education
- Students can build good credit histories by making monthly payments while developing sound borrowing and repayment behaviors
- Death and Disability Safeguard: Waives remaining loan obligation in the event of the student borrower’s death or total and permanent disability
Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan Successes:
Now your members can pay for college the smart way with great repayment options and competitive interest rates! Together we can do this!
If your credit union is interested in participating or would like more information about the Smart Option Student Loan program, please contact your Member Relationship Manager, Financial Strategist or Sandy Baker at (800) 342-0203, ext. 6810. You can also view an introductory webinar about this program by clicking here.
