Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), 73263-73311 [E8-28632]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 2, 2008 / Notices
need for, and proposed use of, the
information; (5) Respondents and
frequency of collection; and (6)
Reporting and/or Recordkeeping
burden. OMB invites public comment.
Dated: November 25, 2008.
Angela C. Arrington,
IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of Management.
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Institute of Education Sciences
Type of Review: Revision.
Title: Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS), WebBased Collection System.
Frequency: Annually.
Affected Public: Not-for-profit
institutions; Businesses or other forprofit; State, Local, or Tribal Gov’t,
SEAs or LEAs.
Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour
Burden:
Responses: 58,090.
Burden Hours: 173,802.
Abstract: The National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES) is
requesting an amendment to its threeyear clearance for the Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System
(IPEDS) to run for the 2008–09, 2009–
10, and 2010–11 Web-based data
collections. Current authorization for
IPEDS expires July 31, 2011 (OMB No.
1850–0582). The Higher Education
Opportunity Act (HEOA), which became
law on August 14, 2008, after OMB had
already granted IPEDS a three-year
clearance, has several implications for
the IPEDS annual Web-based data
collection. The law requires the
immediate implementation of several
new institutional reporting
requirements so that the data may be
made available on the College Navigator
Website by August 2009. A change
memo was sent to OMB on August 19,
2008, that included a small number of
non-substantive changes to the 2008–09
data collection based on the new
requirements; OMB provided clearance
for those changes in a notice on August
26, 2008. NCES now requests in this
document a limited number of
additional substantive changes to spring
cycle of the 2008–09 IPEDS Web-based
data collection, which opens on March
4, 2009, in order to implement HEOA
requirements. These changes are to: (1)
Make previously approved changes to
financial aid reporting required, rather
than optional, in spring 2009; (2) collect
additional financial aid data; (3) collect
data on students with disabilities; and
(4) collect additional graduation rate
data.
Requests for copies of the information
collection submission for OMB review
may be accessed from https://
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edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the
‘‘Browse Pending Collections’’ link and
by clicking on link number 3823. When
you access the information collection,
click on ‘‘Download Attachments’’ to
view. Written requests for information
should be addressed to U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537.
Requests may also be electronically
mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed
to 202–401–0920. Please specify the
complete title of the information
collection when making your request.
Comments regarding burden and/or
the collection activity requirements
should be electronically mailed to
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339.
[FR Doc. E8–28534 Filed 12–1–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
Federal Family Education Loan
Program (FFELP)
Department of Education,
Department of the Treasury, Office of
Management and Budget.
ACTION: Notice of terms and conditions
of additional purchase of loans under
the Ensuring Continued Access to
Student Loans Act of 2008.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Under the authority of section
459A of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended (‘‘HEA’’), as enacted
by the Ensuring Continued Access to
Student Loans Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110–
227) and amended by Pub. L. 110–315
and Pub. L. 110–350, the Department of
Education (‘‘Department’’) may
purchase, or enter into forward
commitments to purchase, Federal
Family Education Loan Program
(‘‘FFELP’’) loans made under sections
428 (subsidized Stafford loans), 428B
(PLUS loans), or 428H (unsubsidized
Stafford loans) of the HEA, on such
terms as the Secretary of Education
(‘‘Secretary’’), the Secretary of the
Treasury, and the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget
(collectively, ‘‘Secretaries and Director’’)
jointly determine are ‘‘in the best
interest of the United States’’ and ‘‘shall
not result in any net cost to the Federal
Government (including the cost of
servicing the loans purchased).’’
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The Secretary initially exercised this
authority in accordance with a notice
published in the Federal Register on
July 1, 2008 (73 FR 37422). This notice
(a) establishes the terms and conditions
that will govern certain additional loan
purchases made under section 459A of
the HEA, as extended by Pub. L. 110–
350 (Short-term Purchase Program), (b)
outlines the methodology and factors
that have been considered in evaluating
the price at which the Department will
purchase these additional FFELP loans,
and (c) describes how the use of those
factors and methodology will ensure
that the additional loan purchases do
not result in any net cost to the Federal
Government. The Secretaries and
Director concur in the publication of
this notice and have jointly determined
that the purchase of additional loans as
described in this notice is in the best
interest of the United States and shall
not result in any net cost to the Federal
Government (including the cost of
servicing the loans purchased).
DATES: Effective Date: The terms and
conditions governing the purchase of
additional loans under the Short-term
Purchase Program are effective
December 1, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S.
Department of Education, Office of
Federal Student Aid, Union Center
Plaza, 830 First Street, NE., room 111G3,
Washington, DC 20202. Telephone:
(202) 377–4401 or by e-mail:
ffel.agreementprocess@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at
1–800–877–8339.
Individuals with disabilities can
obtain this document in an accessible
format (e.g., braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) on
request to the contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The Department’s purchase of FFELP
loans is intended to ensure that students
and parents continue to have access to
FFELP Stafford and PLUS loans for the
remainder of the 2008–2009 academic
year and the 2009–2010 academic year,
including second and subsequent
disbursements of loans which have
already had a first disbursement. The
Department initially offered lenders the
opportunity to participate in a Loan
Participation Purchase Program
(‘‘Participation Program’’) and a Loan
Purchase Commitment Program
(‘‘Purchase Program’’) (collectively,
‘‘Programs’’). Pursuant to section 459A
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of the HEA, the Secretaries and Director
established the terms and conditions
that govern the Participation Program
and the Purchase Program in a notice
published in the Federal Register on
July 1, 2008 (73 FR 37422). Minor
revisions to this notice were published
in the Federal Register on July 17, 2008
(73 FR 41048).
Under the Participation Program, the
Department has purchased participation
interests in eligible loans that are held
by an eligible lender acting as a sponsor
under a Master Participation Agreement.
To participate in the Participation
Program, each sponsor entered into a
Master Participation Agreement with
the Department and a third-party
custodian.
Under the Purchase Program, the
Department has purchased eligible loans
that are held by eligible lenders. To
participate in the Purchase Program,
each eligible lender entered into a
Master Loan Sale Agreement with the
Department and agreed to deliver to the
Department or its agent the fully
executed master promissory note (or all
electronic records evidencing the same)
evidencing each eligible loan that the
lender wished to sell to the Department
and any and all other documents and
computerized records relating to all
such loans.
Subsequent to the announcements of
the Purchase Program and Participation
Program in July, the Secretaries of
Education and Treasury have concluded
that additional actions are necessary to
ensure students and parents have access
to FFELP for the remainder of the 2008–
2009 academic year. Specifically, the
Secretaries believe some lenders may
not be able to obtain capital to make
second disbursements even for the
short-term necessary before lenders can
utilize the existing programs. Through
the Short-term Purchase Program, the
Department is extending the offer to
purchase loans to include eligible loans
made for the 2007–2008 academic year
under the terms and conditions
established in this notice, including the
appended Master Loan Sale Agreement–
2007–2008, dated November 24, 2008.
The Department plans to purchase these
loans on or about December 1, 2008 and
will continue purchasing them through
February 28, 2009 or the date on which
one or more conforming Asset-Backed
Commercial Paper (ABCP) conduit(s) for
purchasing FFELP loans becomes
operational, whichever occurs earlier.
The Department will expend up to $500
million to purchase eligible loans each
week during this period, for a potential
total aggregate amount of up to $6.5
billion. The Department will only
accept offers from lender requests for
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the Department to purchase loans under
the Short-term Purchase Program once
each week. Details of how a lender must
submit such offers will be provided by
the Department by postings to its official
Web site at https://
www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov/ffelp.
The Department will purchase no
loans from a lender in a given week
unless the average outstanding principal
balance of the loans offered by the
lender for that week is at least $3,000.
The Department will calculate the total
amount of the outstanding principal
balance of the loans offered for sale for
the week by lenders that submit offers
that meet the $3,000 minimum balance
requirement, and will purchase all such
loans if the amount needed to purchase
them does not exceed the $500 million
offered amount.
If the amount needed to purchase all
loans in qualifying offers in a given
week exceeds $500 million, the
Department will initially designate for
purchase from each lender an amount
that is the lesser of its outstanding
balance of loans offered for sale or the
total outstanding balance of the loans
offered by such lender multiplied by a
percentage that is the ratio of that
lender’s 2007–2008 loan volume to the
2007–2008 loan volume of all lenders
that submitted qualifying offers to sell
loans in the same week. If this process
fails to spend the entire $500 million in
a given week, the Department will
determine the percentage that the
amount of loans offered by each lender
that was not initially designated for
purchase bears to the total amount
offered but not so designated from all
lenders for that week, and it will
multiply the remainder of the $500
million by this percentage to designate
for purchase an additional amount of
loans from each lender. The Department
will purchase from each lender an
amount that is the sum of its initial plus
additional designated amounts. In no
case will the Department purchase an
amount that exceeds a lender’s offered
amount. Moreover, no lender shall
receive more than 85 percent of the
weekly offering until all lenders wishing
to sell loans to the Department have
been satisfied.
Terms and Conditions
Under the Short-term Purchase
Program, the Department will purchase
fully disbursed FFELP loans (subsidized
Stafford loans, unsubsidized Stafford
loans, and PLUS loans) originated for
academic year 2007–2008. FFELP
Consolidation loans are not eligible for
purchase by the Department under this
program. To participate in the Shortterm Purchase Program, each eligible
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lender must enter into a separate Master
Loan Sale Agreement—2007–2008,
dated November 24, 2008 (attached as
Appendix A to this notice) with the
Department and deliver to the
Department or its agent the fully
executed master promissory note (or all
electronic records evidencing the same)
evidencing each eligible loan that the
lender wishes to sell to the Department
and any and all other documents and
computerized records relating to that
eligible loan.
For the purpose of the Short-term
Purchase Program, an otherwise eligible
FFELP loan must have been first
disbursed on or after May 1, 2007 for a
loan period that includes July 1, 2007 or
begins on or after that date. At the time
of purchase by the Department, the loan
must be free and clear of any
encumbrance, lien or security interest or
any other prior commitment. At the
time of purchase by the Department, the
loan cannot be in a default status, be
210 or more days delinquent, or have
had a lender claim filed for it. In
addition, if the lender wishes to sell a
loan from a particular borrower, all
loans from that particular borrower
must be offered for sale.
Under the Short-term Purchase
Program, the Department will purchase
loans with borrower benefits; however,
the benefits are limited to those that can
be implemented by the Department’s
servicer for these loans. The Department
will accept loans that provide Eligible
Borrower benefits as summarized in
Exhibit F to the Master Loan Sale
Agreement—2007–2008, dated
November 24, 2008, attached as
Appendix A to this notice. A listing of
those specific borrower benefits will be
posted to the Department’s Web site at
https://www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov/
ffelp. The Department will not purchase
loans if a cash rebate was promised to
the borrower.
The Department will purchase loans
for 97 percent of the total of the
outstanding principal balance plus
accrued but unpaid interest as of the
purchase date. In order to ensure that
the loans offered for sale represent a fair
share of the loans in a lender’s 2007–
2008 portfolio, the average outstanding
balance of all of the loans included in
a lender’s weekly offer must be at least
$3,000. Upon purchase, the loans
become Federal assets and will be
serviced by the Department’s contracted
servicer as FFELP loans. Any lender that
wishes to participate in the Short-term
Purchase Program will be required to
commit to originate or acquire loans,
and continue participation in the FFEL
program, as set forth in the Master Loan
Sale Agreement (Appendix A).
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Additional terms and conditions for the
Short-term Purchase Program are
contained in the Master Loan Sale
Agreement—2007–2008, dated
November 24, 2008 (Appendix A).
Outline of Methodology and Factors in
Determining Prices
In accordance with Pub. L. No. 110–
227, Pub. L. 110–315, and Pub. L. 110–
350, the goal in structuring the Shortterm Purchase Program is to maximize
student loan availability while ensuring
loan purchases result in no net cost to
the Federal Government. More
specifically, this Short-term Purchase
Program will offer temporary liquidity
to FFELP lenders to encourage their
continued participation in the program
and ensure that students and parents
have access to FFELP Stafford and PLUS
loans for the 2008–2009 and 2009–2010
academic years, including second and
subsequent disbursements of loans
which have already had a first
disbursement. This section of the notice
responds in particular to the statutory
requirement for an outline of the
methodology and factors considered in
evaluating the price at which loans may
be purchased, and describes how the
use of such methodology and
consideration of such factors will ensure
no net cost to the Federal Government
results from the loan purchases under
the Short-term Purchase Program.
Price: As noted elsewhere in this
notice, the Short-term Purchase Program
is intended as a temporary, transitional
measure to help lenders address
immediate liquidity shortages until one
or more conforming Asset-Backed
Commercial Paper (ABCP) conduits for
purchasing FFELP loans become
operational.
To determine the price FFELP loans
would be purchased at, the Secretary of
Education and the Secretary of Treasury
took into account several factors. These
factors included the price that would
ensure this program resulted in no net
cost to the Federal Government; the
increased liquidity that the rate would
offer distressed lenders; borrower
benefits; and other factors. Based on this
analysis, the Secretaries determined that
97 percent of outstanding principal and
accrued interest was an appropriate
price for this program.
Borrower Benefits: The Department
will purchase loans with certain
borrower benefits; however, the
Department will only purchase loans
with benefits that can be implemented
by Federal Student Aid’s current
servicing processes. Further, the 97
percent price considers borrower
benefits for both administrative
expediency, cost neutrality, and to
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ensure that student’s or parent’s
expected borrower benefits on
purchased loans are not compromised.
Analysis of Cost Neutrality
The cost-neutrality analysis used
credit subsidy cost estimation
procedures established under the
Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (Pub.
L. No. 101–508) and OMB Circular A–
11. These procedures entail performing
various analyses to project cash flows to
and from the Government, excluding
administrative costs. For changes to
outstanding FFEL guaranteed loans, the
analysis reflects the modification cost,
or the difference between the estimate of
the net present value of the remaining
cash flows underlying the most recent
President’s Budget for such loan
guarantees, and the estimate of the net
present value of these cash flows after
the purchase program, reflecting only
the effects of the modification. For new
loans, cash flows are discounted to the
point of disbursement, using the Credit
Subsidy Calculator 2 (‘‘OMB
calculator’’), developed by the Office of
Management and Budget to estimate
credit subsidy costs for all Federal
credit programs, as the discounting
tool.1 Costs for new loans can be
expressed as subsidy rates that reflect
the Federal costs associated with a loan;
these costs are expressed as a percentage
of the credit extended by the loan. For
example, a subsidy rate of 10.0 percent
indicates a Federal cost of $10 on a $100
loan.
The metric to determine cost
neutrality was that costs under the new
program should not exceed costs
expected under the FFEL program had
the loan purchase authority in Pub. L.
No. 110–227 not been extended in this
manner. All costs were based on
estimates in the 2009 President’s Budget
for the FFEL program, and estimated
administrative costs.
Student loan cost estimates were
developed to assess the Federal cost
incurred for loans financed for students
in five categories for each loan type:
Those attending proprietary schools,
two-year schools, freshmen/sophomores
at four-year schools, juniors/seniors at
1 The OMB calculator takes projected future cash
flows from the Department’s student loan cost
estimation model and produces discounted subsidy
rates reflecting the net present value of all future
Federal costs associated with loans made in a given
fiscal year. Values are calculated using a ‘‘basket of
zeros’’ methodology under which each cash flow is
discounted using the interest rate of a zero-coupon
Treasury bond with the same maturity as that cash
flow. To ensure comparability across various
Federal credit programs, this methodology is
incorporated into the calculator and used
government-wide to develop estimates of the
Federal costs of credit programs.
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four-year schools, and students in
graduate programs. Risk categories have
separate assumptions based on
historical patterns—for example, the
likelihood of default or the likelihood of
exercising statutory deferments or
discharge benefits—of borrowers in each
category. The analysis also considered
risk factors particular to the Short-term
Purchase Program, such as the
likelihood that lenders would sell only
their least profitable loans.
This discussion outlines the analysis
of the Short-term Purchase Program
with respect to the following critical
aspects affecting the Federal cost:
Æ Administrative costs
Æ Borrower behavior
Æ Lender behavior
Æ Risk factors
Administrative Costs. Federal
administrative costs are normally not
included in subsidy cost calculations.
To capture the full cost of the Shortterm Purchase Program, however,
section 459A of the HEA requires that
the determination of cost neutrality
reflect total costs, including Federal
administrative costs subject to annual
appropriation, and these costs were
included in this analysis.
Administrative cash flows primarily
involve servicing costs associated with
loans purchased by the Department.
These costs can extend for up to 40
years, as servicing must continue until
the last loan is paid in full. Under the
base scenario where $6.5 billion in
small loans were purchased, servicing
costs would be $261 million on a
present value basis. Estimates were
developed using the price structure of
the Department’s servicing contract for
put loans, with adjustments for start-up
costs, inflation, and other costs.
Borrower Behavior. Since the base
FFEL program serves as the foundation
of the Short-term Purchase Program, and
the characteristics of the base program
are unchanged, there is no reason to
believe that the Short-term Purchase
Program will affect borrower behavior.
Thus, this cost analysis uses borrower
behavior assumptions used to prepare
the FY 2009 President’s Budget to gauge
the effect on program costs of borrowerbased activities such as loan repayment,
use of statutory benefits such as
deferments and loan discharges, and
default rates and timing. These
assumptions are based on a wide range
of data sources, including the National
Student Loan Data System, the
Department’s operational and financial
systems, and a group of surveys
conducted by the National Center for
Education Statistics such as the 2004
National Postsecondary Student Aid
Survey, the 1994 National Education
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Because the Short-term Purchase
Program would allow lenders to sell
loans with contingent borrower
benefits—such as interest rate
reductions for a specified number of ontime payments—all alternatives include
an adjustment to reflect the impact of
these potential reductions on future
loan repayments. Consistent with stress
tests applied by rating agencies in the
private securitization market, this
adjustment reduces the net cash flow to
the Government by reducing the
principal of sold loans by 0.5 percent a
year.
In both scenarios, the Department
assumed a ‘‘worst-case’’ in which
lenders sold $6.5 billion of their
smallest, least profitable loans. Because
long-term loan servicing costs are
generally charged on an account basis
independent of loan size, small loans
tend to be less profitable than larger
loans. Under this scenario, it was
determined that costs for the Short-term
Purchase Program were less expensive
to the Government than baseline
subsidy costs for FFELP loans. (Please
see Table 1 for a summary of the
analysis.)
Risk Factors. Analyzing whether the
Short-term Purchase Program would
operate in a cost-neutral manner
requires that projected costs account for
the presence of various risk factors that
must be assumed since the Short-term
Purchase Program will not operate
entirely like the base FFELP, or without
operational risk. As such, the
Secretaries’ and Director’s estimates
included adjustments for four risk
factors: That some of the loans
purchased by the Department would be
those where the Department would
otherwise reject a reinsurance claim
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Longitudinal Study, and the 1996
Beginning Postsecondary Student
Survey.
Lender Behavior. A key factor in
assessing whether the Short-term
Purchase Program would operate in a
cost-neutral manner was lender
behavior: Specifically, how lenders
would participate in the program,
including how many and what type of
loans would they eventually choose to
sell to the Department. The Department
considered alternative scenarios of
lender behavior to determine whether
the Short-term Purchase Program could
be considered cost-neutral under each.
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under the FFELP (‘‘claim rejects’’); that
unforeseen problems undermine the
Department’s ability to effectively
oversee and administer the Short-term
Purchase Program (‘‘operational risk’’);
that costs related to servicing purchased
loans do not fully reflect possible future
requirements (‘‘general administrative
risk’’); and, that the composition of
loans ultimately sold to the Department
may result in higher Federal costs than
the composition assumed in this
analysis (‘‘portfolio composition risk’’).
To ensure cost estimates reflect a
conservative assessment of possible
Federal costs, the Secretaries and
Director added cost adjustments to
incorporate each risk factor. The
adjustments were based on an
assessment of private-sector behavior
and program data as follows:
Claim Rejects. This risk factor takes
into account the costs associated with
the purchase of loans that would not
typically qualify for the federal default
guarantee in the FFELP due to improper
origination or servicing. The 12 basis
point increase in cost is based on a
historical rejected claim rate of 1
percent of volume, and assumes that
these loans would have higher loss rates
than the average portfolio. This cost
assessment is double that which was
assessed in the analysis of the original
Purchase Program. This doubling is
appropriate given that the 45-day period
allotted to the Department, under the
Terms and Conditions of the original
Purchase Program, to conduct due
diligence on loans to be purchased is
much shorter under the Short-term
Purchase Program. This increased cost
assessment is intended to take this into
account.
Operational Risk. In the Short-term
Purchase Program, operational risk
might result from servicing errors,
technology failures, and the risk of
fraud. While the Department has made
every effort to mitigate operational risk,
the emergency nature and accelerated
implementation timeframe for the Shortterm Purchase Program make
operational risk more of a concern than
in established Department programs.
For the low risk scenario, the analysis
assumes a 20 basis point increase in
program cost to reflect this risk. The
analysis of the original Purchase
Program only included a 10 basis point
assessment. However, given the
accelerated implementation timeframe,
as compared to the original Purchase
Program, the doubling of this
assessment is appropriate in this case.
For the high risk scenario, the
analysis assumes an additional 60 basis
point increase for operational risk, for a
total of 80 basis points, consistent with
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the assessment in the high risk scenario
of the original Purchase Program. In this
scenario, the worst-case was estimated
using survey data from bank regulators
implementing an overhaul of bank
regulations. The largest United States
banking organizations will be subject to
a new system of capital requirements
that includes an explicit charge for
operational risk. Under those
regulations, banks will be required to
develop models generating a probability
distribution of losses for operational
risk, and hold capital equal to the 99.9th
percentile of that estimated probability
distribution. Banks were surveyed to
measure the anticipated impact of the
regulations. Using the best available
models of operational risk, the banks
reported that operational risk would
account for roughly 10 percent of their
required capital. As banks currently
finance on average about eight percent
of their assets with capital, worst-case
scenario operational risk losses can thus
be estimated at about one percent of
total assets. Also, while we do not
believe that this program has, or
necessarily will, face such a level of
operational risk, we developed the high
scenario to ensure that the program is
cost-neutral, even under extreme and
unlikely circumstances.
General Administrative Risk. The
analysis of cost neutrality examined the
Department’s current loan servicing
contract, and assumptions of borrower
status over the life of the loan after
purchase by the Department. The
analysis assumed minimal start-up costs
as the Short-term Purchase Program
builds on the current loan purchase
program infrastructure. In December
2008, the Department plans to extend its
current loan servicing contract for one
year. This will involve the renegotiation
of payment rates for certain activities
which may affect long-term servicing
costs for the loans purchased under the
Short-term Purchase Program. Given the
future uncertainty surrounding several
factors, including the assumptions
outlined above and the status of loans
ultimately purchased by the
Department, it is possible that
unforeseen additional costs may be
incurred. Accordingly, a General
Administrative Risk Factor of 100 basis
points was added to the analysis.
Portfolio Composition Risk. The cost
to the Government of the Short-term
Purchase Program depends on
numerous factors, including loan size,
default/prepayment risk, borrower
benefits, and other characteristics of the
purchased loans. The cost-neutrality
analysis accounts for some of these
factors, as outlined in this notice, but
may not incorporate all of the
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dimensions of lender behavior and the
loans ultimately purchased by the
Department. Given this uncertainty,
savings may deviate to some degree
from the savings estimated in the model.
To ensure that the potential risk and the
potential costs are adequately reflected,
a Portfolio Composition Risk Factor of
100 basis points was added to the
analysis. The Department considered a
base scenario under which lenders sold
$6.5 billion in loans, the maximum
amount allowable under the Short-term
Purchase Program. This scenario also
assumed lenders would sell their
smallest, least profitable loans to the
Department and included cost
assessments for claim rejects and
operational risk. This scenario would
result in an average loan balance of
approximately $3,000. Under this
scenario, the Short-term Purchase
Program is cost-neutral.
The Department also considered a
high operational risk scenario in which
the cost assessment for operation risk
was raised from 20 basis points to 80
basis points. Even with this increased
assessment, the Short-term Purchase
Program remains cost-neutral. The
Terms and Conditions for the Shortterm Purchase Program seek to reduce
the likelihood of lenders exclusively
selling low-balance loans. For example,
a floor would be established under
which batches of loans sold to the
Department must have a minimum
average balance of $3,000. This would
likely ensure that the base scenario
considered by the Department would
reasonably reflect the cost exposure to
the Federal Government should lenders
choose to sell their lowest balance
loans. In addition, lenders would be
required to sell all 2007–08 Stafford
loans held for a specific borrower. These
provisions make it less likely that
lenders will choose to sell only poorlyperforming loans to the Department.
Conclusion. After taking into account
alternative market and lender behavior
scenarios, the Administration
determines that the Short-term Purchase
Program is in the best interest of the
United States and will result in no net
cost to the Government.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34
CFR part 682.
Electronic Access to This Document.
You may view this document, as well as
all other Department of Education
documents published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF) on the Internet
at the following site: https://www.ed.gov/
news/fedregister/.
To use PDF you must have Adobe
Acrobat Reader, which is available free
at this site. If you have questions about
E:\FR\FM\02DEN1.SGM
02DEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 2, 2008 / Notices
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
using PDF, call the U.S. Government
Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1–
888–293–6498; or in the Washington,
DC area at (202) 512–1530. You may
also view this document in PDF at the
following site: https://www.ifap.ed.gov.
You may obtain a copy of the Master
Loan Sale Agreement and direction
regarding submission of the Master Loan
Sale Agreement and offers to sell loans
at https://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/ffelp.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
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Note: The official version of this document
is the document published in the Federal
Register. Free Internet access to the official
edition of the Federal Register and the Code
of Federal Regulations is available on GPO
Access at: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/
index.html.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Number 84.032 Federal Family Education
Loan Program)
Dated: November 26, 2008.
Margaret Spellings,
Secretary of Education.
Karthik Ramanathan,
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
Jim Nussle,
Director, Office of Management and Budget.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087i–1.
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 2, 2008 / Notices
[FR Doc. E8–28632 Filed 11–28–08; 11:15
am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Assessment Governing
Board; Meeting
National Assessment
Governing Board; Education.
ACTION: Notice of Closed Teleconference
Meeting.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The notice sets forth the
schedule and proposed agenda of a
forthcoming closed teleconference
meeting of the National Assessment
Governing Board. This notice also
describes the functions of the Board.
Notice of this meeting is required under
Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act.
DATES: December 15, 2008.
Time: 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Eastern
Daylight Time.
Location: Via Teleconference.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Munira Mwalimu, Operations Officer,
National Assessment Governing Board,
800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite
825, Washington, DC 20002–4233,
Telephone: (202) 357–6938.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
National Assessment Governing Board
is established under section 412 of the
National Education Statistics Act of
1994, as amended.
The Governing Board is established to
formulate policy guidelines for the
National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP). The Board’s
responsibilities include selecting subject
areas to be assessed, developing
assessment specifications and
frameworks, developing appropriate
student achievement levels for each
grade and subject tested, developing
standards and procedures for interstate
and national comparisons, developing
guidelines for reporting and
disseminating results, and releasing
initial NAEP results to the public.
On Monday, December 15, 2008, the
full Board will hold a closed
teleconference meeting from 200 p.m. to
400 p.m. to review and discuss the
qualifications of individuals to fill the
vacant position of Executive Director of
the National Assessment Governing
Board. Based on these discussions, the
full Board will approve the hire of the
Executive Director. These discussions
pertain solely to internal personnel
rules and practices of an agency and
will disclose information of a personal
nature where disclosure would
constitute an unwarranted invasion of
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:52 Dec 01, 2008
Jkt 217001
personal privacy. As such, the
discussions are protected by exemptions
2 and 6 of section 552b(c) of Title 5
U.S.C.
A summary of the activities of the
closed teleconference, and related
matters which are informative to the
public and consistent with the policy of
section 552b(c), will be available to the
public within 14 days after the meeting.
Records are kept of all Board
proceedings and are available for public
inspection at the U.S. Department of
Education, National Assessment
Governing Board, 800 North Capitol
Street, NW., Suite 825, Washington DC
20002, from 8:30 a.m. to 500 p.m.
Electronic Access to This Document:
You may view this document, as well as
all other documents of this Department
published in the Federal Register, in
text or Adobe Portable Document
Format (PDF) on the Internet at the
following site: https://www.ed.gov/news/
fedregister/. To use PDF you
must have Adobe Acrobat Reader,
which is available free at this site. If you
have questions about using PDF, call the
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO),
toll free at 1–888–293–6498; or in the
Washington, DC, area at (202) 512–1530.
Note: The official version of this document
is the document published in the Federal
Register. Free Internet access to the official
edition of the Federal Register and the Code
of Federal Regulations is available on GPO
Access at: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/
index.html.
Dated: November 20, 2008.
Mary Crovo,
Interim Executive Director, National
Assessment Governing Board, U.S.
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. E8–28547 Filed 12–1–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Formal Recognition of HighPerformance Green Building
Partnership Consortia
U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.
ACTION: Request for submission of
qualifications; request for comment.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Building Technologies
Program (BTP), within DOE’s Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, is seeking submissions from
qualified groups for formal recognition
as High-Performance Green Building
Partnership Consortia under section 421
of the Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007 (EISA), Public Law
No. 110–140. Groups seeking
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73311
recognition will need to satisfy the
representation qualifications as stated in
paragraph (f) of that section. DOE’s
recognition of a group as a consortium
will not guarantee any Federal funding.
Further, DOE is requesting comment on
possible factors for consideration in
future competitive selection of an entity
as a supporting consortia and potential
research, development, and deployment
partnerships.
DATES: Letters from groups seeking
recognition must be received at the
address below no later than February 2,
2009. Comments on potential future
competitive selections must be received
at the address below no later than
February 2, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Drury B. Crawley, Commercial
Buildings Team Lead, U.S. Department
of Energy, Office of Building
Technologies, 1000 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585–
0121. E-mail: drury.crawley@ee.doe.gov;
telephone: (202) 586–2344.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The 4.7 million commercial buildings
in the Unites States have a collective
footprint of about 74 billion square feet.
The public and private sectors annually
spend $286 billion on new capital
construction and $177 billion for
building renovation. Commercial
buildings’ energy demand, including
lighting, heating, cooling, water heating,
ventilation, and electronics, consume 18
percent of the Nation’s primary energy,
and 35 percent of its electricity.
Commercial buildings in the United
States consume 18 quads 1 annually—a
total annual ‘‘utility bill’’ of more than
$155 billion.
Considering construction, renovation,
and energy expenditures, Federal, State,
and local governments and individuals
invest over half a trillion dollars per
year in the commercial sector of the
built environment.
Energy Independence and Security Act
of 2007
Sections 421, 422, and 423 of the
Energy Independence and Security Act
of 2007 address the development of
commercial high-performance green
buildings. (42. U.S.C. 17081, 17082 and
17083) Section 421 of EISA directs the
Secretary of Energy to appoint a Director
of Commercial High-Performance Green
Buildings (Commercial Director). (42
1 Quad is a quadrillion BTU and equals 1015 BTU.
See the 2007 Buildings Energy Data Book, Chapter
6: Quad Equivalents, internet link at: https://
buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/?id=
view_book&c=6.
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73263-73311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28632]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP)
AGENCY: Department of Education, Department of the Treasury, Office of
Management and Budget.
ACTION: Notice of terms and conditions of additional purchase of loans
under the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Under the authority of section 459A of the Higher Education
Act of 1965, as amended (``HEA''), as enacted by the Ensuring Continued
Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-227) and amended by
Pub. L. 110-315 and Pub. L. 110-350, the Department of Education
(``Department'') may purchase, or enter into forward commitments to
purchase, Federal Family Education Loan Program (``FFELP'') loans made
under sections 428 (subsidized Stafford loans), 428B (PLUS loans), or
428H (unsubsidized Stafford loans) of the HEA, on such terms as the
Secretary of Education (``Secretary''), the Secretary of the Treasury,
and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (collectively,
``Secretaries and Director'') jointly determine are ``in the best
interest of the United States'' and ``shall not result in any net cost
to the Federal Government (including the cost of servicing the loans
purchased).''
The Secretary initially exercised this authority in accordance with
a notice published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2008 (73 FR
37422). This notice (a) establishes the terms and conditions that will
govern certain additional loan purchases made under section 459A of the
HEA, as extended by Pub. L. 110-350 (Short-term Purchase Program), (b)
outlines the methodology and factors that have been considered in
evaluating the price at which the Department will purchase these
additional FFELP loans, and (c) describes how the use of those factors
and methodology will ensure that the additional loan purchases do not
result in any net cost to the Federal Government. The Secretaries and
Director concur in the publication of this notice and have jointly
determined that the purchase of additional loans as described in this
notice is in the best interest of the United States and shall not
result in any net cost to the Federal Government (including the cost of
servicing the loans purchased).
DATES: Effective Date: The terms and conditions governing the purchase
of additional loans under the Short-term Purchase Program are effective
December 1, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S. Department of Education, Office
of Federal Student Aid, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street, NE., room
111G3, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 377-4401 or by e-mail:
ffel.agreementprocess@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The Department's purchase of FFELP loans is intended to ensure that
students and parents continue to have access to FFELP Stafford and PLUS
loans for the remainder of the 2008-2009 academic year and the 2009-
2010 academic year, including second and subsequent disbursements of
loans which have already had a first disbursement. The Department
initially offered lenders the opportunity to participate in a Loan
Participation Purchase Program (``Participation Program'') and a Loan
Purchase Commitment Program (``Purchase Program'') (collectively,
``Programs''). Pursuant to section 459A
[[Page 73264]]
of the HEA, the Secretaries and Director established the terms and
conditions that govern the Participation Program and the Purchase
Program in a notice published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2008
(73 FR 37422). Minor revisions to this notice were published in the
Federal Register on July 17, 2008 (73 FR 41048).
Under the Participation Program, the Department has purchased
participation interests in eligible loans that are held by an eligible
lender acting as a sponsor under a Master Participation Agreement. To
participate in the Participation Program, each sponsor entered into a
Master Participation Agreement with the Department and a third-party
custodian.
Under the Purchase Program, the Department has purchased eligible
loans that are held by eligible lenders. To participate in the Purchase
Program, each eligible lender entered into a Master Loan Sale Agreement
with the Department and agreed to deliver to the Department or its
agent the fully executed master promissory note (or all electronic
records evidencing the same) evidencing each eligible loan that the
lender wished to sell to the Department and any and all other documents
and computerized records relating to all such loans.
Subsequent to the announcements of the Purchase Program and
Participation Program in July, the Secretaries of Education and
Treasury have concluded that additional actions are necessary to ensure
students and parents have access to FFELP for the remainder of the
2008-2009 academic year. Specifically, the Secretaries believe some
lenders may not be able to obtain capital to make second disbursements
even for the short-term necessary before lenders can utilize the
existing programs. Through the Short-term Purchase Program, the
Department is extending the offer to purchase loans to include eligible
loans made for the 2007-2008 academic year under the terms and
conditions established in this notice, including the appended Master
Loan Sale Agreement-2007-2008, dated November 24, 2008. The Department
plans to purchase these loans on or about December 1, 2008 and will
continue purchasing them through February 28, 2009 or the date on which
one or more conforming Asset-Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP) conduit(s)
for purchasing FFELP loans becomes operational, whichever occurs
earlier. The Department will expend up to $500 million to purchase
eligible loans each week during this period, for a potential total
aggregate amount of up to $6.5 billion. The Department will only accept
offers from lender requests for the Department to purchase loans under
the Short-term Purchase Program once each week. Details of how a lender
must submit such offers will be provided by the Department by postings
to its official Web site at https://www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov/ffelp.
The Department will purchase no loans from a lender in a given week
unless the average outstanding principal balance of the loans offered
by the lender for that week is at least $3,000. The Department will
calculate the total amount of the outstanding principal balance of the
loans offered for sale for the week by lenders that submit offers that
meet the $3,000 minimum balance requirement, and will purchase all such
loans if the amount needed to purchase them does not exceed the $500
million offered amount.
If the amount needed to purchase all loans in qualifying offers in
a given week exceeds $500 million, the Department will initially
designate for purchase from each lender an amount that is the lesser of
its outstanding balance of loans offered for sale or the total
outstanding balance of the loans offered by such lender multiplied by a
percentage that is the ratio of that lender's 2007-2008 loan volume to
the 2007-2008 loan volume of all lenders that submitted qualifying
offers to sell loans in the same week. If this process fails to spend
the entire $500 million in a given week, the Department will determine
the percentage that the amount of loans offered by each lender that was
not initially designated for purchase bears to the total amount offered
but not so designated from all lenders for that week, and it will
multiply the remainder of the $500 million by this percentage to
designate for purchase an additional amount of loans from each lender.
The Department will purchase from each lender an amount that is the sum
of its initial plus additional designated amounts. In no case will the
Department purchase an amount that exceeds a lender's offered amount.
Moreover, no lender shall receive more than 85 percent of the weekly
offering until all lenders wishing to sell loans to the Department have
been satisfied.
Terms and Conditions
Under the Short-term Purchase Program, the Department will purchase
fully disbursed FFELP loans (subsidized Stafford loans, unsubsidized
Stafford loans, and PLUS loans) originated for academic year 2007-2008.
FFELP Consolidation loans are not eligible for purchase by the
Department under this program. To participate in the Short-term
Purchase Program, each eligible lender must enter into a separate
Master Loan Sale Agreement--2007-2008, dated November 24, 2008
(attached as Appendix A to this notice) with the Department and deliver
to the Department or its agent the fully executed master promissory
note (or all electronic records evidencing the same) evidencing each
eligible loan that the lender wishes to sell to the Department and any
and all other documents and computerized records relating to that
eligible loan.
For the purpose of the Short-term Purchase Program, an otherwise
eligible FFELP loan must have been first disbursed on or after May 1,
2007 for a loan period that includes July 1, 2007 or begins on or after
that date. At the time of purchase by the Department, the loan must be
free and clear of any encumbrance, lien or security interest or any
other prior commitment. At the time of purchase by the Department, the
loan cannot be in a default status, be 210 or more days delinquent, or
have had a lender claim filed for it. In addition, if the lender wishes
to sell a loan from a particular borrower, all loans from that
particular borrower must be offered for sale.
Under the Short-term Purchase Program, the Department will purchase
loans with borrower benefits; however, the benefits are limited to
those that can be implemented by the Department's servicer for these
loans. The Department will accept loans that provide Eligible Borrower
benefits as summarized in Exhibit F to the Master Loan Sale Agreement--
2007-2008, dated November 24, 2008, attached as Appendix A to this
notice. A listing of those specific borrower benefits will be posted to
the Department's Web site at https://www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov/ffelp.
The Department will not purchase loans if a cash rebate was promised to
the borrower.
The Department will purchase loans for 97 percent of the total of
the outstanding principal balance plus accrued but unpaid interest as
of the purchase date. In order to ensure that the loans offered for
sale represent a fair share of the loans in a lender's 2007-2008
portfolio, the average outstanding balance of all of the loans included
in a lender's weekly offer must be at least $3,000. Upon purchase, the
loans become Federal assets and will be serviced by the Department's
contracted servicer as FFELP loans. Any lender that wishes to
participate in the Short-term Purchase Program will be required to
commit to originate or acquire loans, and continue participation in the
FFEL program, as set forth in the Master Loan Sale Agreement (Appendix
A).
[[Page 73265]]
Additional terms and conditions for the Short-term Purchase Program are
contained in the Master Loan Sale Agreement--2007-2008, dated November
24, 2008 (Appendix A).
Outline of Methodology and Factors in Determining Prices
In accordance with Pub. L. No. 110-227, Pub. L. 110-315, and Pub.
L. 110-350, the goal in structuring the Short-term Purchase Program is
to maximize student loan availability while ensuring loan purchases
result in no net cost to the Federal Government. More specifically,
this Short-term Purchase Program will offer temporary liquidity to
FFELP lenders to encourage their continued participation in the program
and ensure that students and parents have access to FFELP Stafford and
PLUS loans for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 academic years, including
second and subsequent disbursements of loans which have already had a
first disbursement. This section of the notice responds in particular
to the statutory requirement for an outline of the methodology and
factors considered in evaluating the price at which loans may be
purchased, and describes how the use of such methodology and
consideration of such factors will ensure no net cost to the Federal
Government results from the loan purchases under the Short-term
Purchase Program.
Price: As noted elsewhere in this notice, the Short-term Purchase
Program is intended as a temporary, transitional measure to help
lenders address immediate liquidity shortages until one or more
conforming Asset-Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP) conduits for purchasing
FFELP loans become operational.
To determine the price FFELP loans would be purchased at, the
Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Treasury took into account
several factors. These factors included the price that would ensure
this program resulted in no net cost to the Federal Government; the
increased liquidity that the rate would offer distressed lenders;
borrower benefits; and other factors. Based on this analysis, the
Secretaries determined that 97 percent of outstanding principal and
accrued interest was an appropriate price for this program.
Borrower Benefits: The Department will purchase loans with certain
borrower benefits; however, the Department will only purchase loans
with benefits that can be implemented by Federal Student Aid's current
servicing processes. Further, the 97 percent price considers borrower
benefits for both administrative expediency, cost neutrality, and to
ensure that student's or parent's expected borrower benefits on
purchased loans are not compromised.
Analysis of Cost Neutrality
The cost-neutrality analysis used credit subsidy cost estimation
procedures established under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990
(Pub. L. No. 101-508) and OMB Circular A-11. These procedures entail
performing various analyses to project cash flows to and from the
Government, excluding administrative costs. For changes to outstanding
FFEL guaranteed loans, the analysis reflects the modification cost, or
the difference between the estimate of the net present value of the
remaining cash flows underlying the most recent President's Budget for
such loan guarantees, and the estimate of the net present value of
these cash flows after the purchase program, reflecting only the
effects of the modification. For new loans, cash flows are discounted
to the point of disbursement, using the Credit Subsidy Calculator 2
(``OMB calculator''), developed by the Office of Management and Budget
to estimate credit subsidy costs for all Federal credit programs, as
the discounting tool.\1\ Costs for new loans can be expressed as
subsidy rates that reflect the Federal costs associated with a loan;
these costs are expressed as a percentage of the credit extended by the
loan. For example, a subsidy rate of 10.0 percent indicates a Federal
cost of $10 on a $100 loan.
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\1\ The OMB calculator takes projected future cash flows from
the Department's student loan cost estimation model and produces
discounted subsidy rates reflecting the net present value of all
future Federal costs associated with loans made in a given fiscal
year. Values are calculated using a ``basket of zeros'' methodology
under which each cash flow is discounted using the interest rate of
a zero-coupon Treasury bond with the same maturity as that cash
flow. To ensure comparability across various Federal credit
programs, this methodology is incorporated into the calculator and
used government-wide to develop estimates of the Federal costs of
credit programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The metric to determine cost neutrality was that costs under the
new program should not exceed costs expected under the FFEL program had
the loan purchase authority in Pub. L. No. 110-227 not been extended in
this manner. All costs were based on estimates in the 2009 President's
Budget for the FFEL program, and estimated administrative costs.
Student loan cost estimates were developed to assess the Federal
cost incurred for loans financed for students in five categories for
each loan type: Those attending proprietary schools, two-year schools,
freshmen/sophomores at four-year schools, juniors/seniors at four-year
schools, and students in graduate programs. Risk categories have
separate assumptions based on historical patterns--for example, the
likelihood of default or the likelihood of exercising statutory
deferments or discharge benefits--of borrowers in each category. The
analysis also considered risk factors particular to the Short-term
Purchase Program, such as the likelihood that lenders would sell only
their least profitable loans.
This discussion outlines the analysis of the Short-term Purchase
Program with respect to the following critical aspects affecting the
Federal cost:
[cir] Administrative costs
[cir] Borrower behavior
[cir] Lender behavior
[cir] Risk factors
Administrative Costs. Federal administrative costs are normally not
included in subsidy cost calculations. To capture the full cost of the
Short-term Purchase Program, however, section 459A of the HEA requires
that the determination of cost neutrality reflect total costs,
including Federal administrative costs subject to annual appropriation,
and these costs were included in this analysis. Administrative cash
flows primarily involve servicing costs associated with loans purchased
by the Department. These costs can extend for up to 40 years, as
servicing must continue until the last loan is paid in full. Under the
base scenario where $6.5 billion in small loans were purchased,
servicing costs would be $261 million on a present value basis.
Estimates were developed using the price structure of the Department's
servicing contract for put loans, with adjustments for start-up costs,
inflation, and other costs.
Borrower Behavior. Since the base FFEL program serves as the
foundation of the Short-term Purchase Program, and the characteristics
of the base program are unchanged, there is no reason to believe that
the Short-term Purchase Program will affect borrower behavior. Thus,
this cost analysis uses borrower behavior assumptions used to prepare
the FY 2009 President's Budget to gauge the effect on program costs of
borrower-based activities such as loan repayment, use of statutory
benefits such as deferments and loan discharges, and default rates and
timing. These assumptions are based on a wide range of data sources,
including the National Student Loan Data System, the Department's
operational and financial systems, and a group of surveys conducted by
the National Center for Education Statistics such as the 2004 National
Postsecondary Student Aid Survey, the 1994 National Education
[[Page 73266]]
Longitudinal Study, and the 1996 Beginning Postsecondary Student
Survey.
Lender Behavior. A key factor in assessing whether the Short-term
Purchase Program would operate in a cost-neutral manner was lender
behavior: Specifically, how lenders would participate in the program,
including how many and what type of loans would they eventually choose
to sell to the Department. The Department considered alternative
scenarios of lender behavior to determine whether the Short-term
Purchase Program could be considered cost-neutral under each. Because
the Short-term Purchase Program would allow lenders to sell loans with
contingent borrower benefits--such as interest rate reductions for a
specified number of on-time payments--all alternatives include an
adjustment to reflect the impact of these potential reductions on
future loan repayments. Consistent with stress tests applied by rating
agencies in the private securitization market, this adjustment reduces
the net cash flow to the Government by reducing the principal of sold
loans by 0.5 percent a year.
In both scenarios, the Department assumed a ``worst-case'' in which
lenders sold $6.5 billion of their smallest, least profitable loans.
Because long-term loan servicing costs are generally charged on an
account basis independent of loan size, small loans tend to be less
profitable than larger loans. Under this scenario, it was determined
that costs for the Short-term Purchase Program were less expensive to
the Government than baseline subsidy costs for FFELP loans. (Please see
Table 1 for a summary of the analysis.)
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Risk Factors. Analyzing whether the Short-term Purchase Program
would operate in a cost-neutral manner requires that projected costs
account for the presence of various risk factors that must be assumed
since the Short-term Purchase Program will not operate entirely like
the base FFELP, or without operational risk. As such, the Secretaries'
and Director's estimates included adjustments for four risk factors:
That some of the loans purchased by the Department would be those where
the Department would otherwise reject a reinsurance claim
[[Page 73267]]
under the FFELP (``claim rejects''); that unforeseen problems undermine
the Department's ability to effectively oversee and administer the
Short-term Purchase Program (``operational risk''); that costs related
to servicing purchased loans do not fully reflect possible future
requirements (``general administrative risk''); and, that the
composition of loans ultimately sold to the Department may result in
higher Federal costs than the composition assumed in this analysis
(``portfolio composition risk'').
To ensure cost estimates reflect a conservative assessment of
possible Federal costs, the Secretaries and Director added cost
adjustments to incorporate each risk factor. The adjustments were based
on an assessment of private-sector behavior and program data as
follows:
Claim Rejects. This risk factor takes into account the costs
associated with the purchase of loans that would not typically qualify
for the federal default guarantee in the FFELP due to improper
origination or servicing. The 12 basis point increase in cost is based
on a historical rejected claim rate of 1 percent of volume, and assumes
that these loans would have higher loss rates than the average
portfolio. This cost assessment is double that which was assessed in
the analysis of the original Purchase Program. This doubling is
appropriate given that the 45-day period allotted to the Department,
under the Terms and Conditions of the original Purchase Program, to
conduct due diligence on loans to be purchased is much shorter under
the Short-term Purchase Program. This increased cost assessment is
intended to take this into account.
Operational Risk. In the Short-term Purchase Program, operational
risk might result from servicing errors, technology failures, and the
risk of fraud. While the Department has made every effort to mitigate
operational risk, the emergency nature and accelerated implementation
timeframe for the Short-term Purchase Program make operational risk
more of a concern than in established Department programs.
For the low risk scenario, the analysis assumes a 20 basis point
increase in program cost to reflect this risk. The analysis of the
original Purchase Program only included a 10 basis point assessment.
However, given the accelerated implementation timeframe, as compared to
the original Purchase Program, the doubling of this assessment is
appropriate in this case.
For the high risk scenario, the analysis assumes an additional 60
basis point increase for operational risk, for a total of 80 basis
points, consistent with the assessment in the high risk scenario of the
original Purchase Program. In this scenario, the worst-case was
estimated using survey data from bank regulators implementing an
overhaul of bank regulations. The largest United States banking
organizations will be subject to a new system of capital requirements
that includes an explicit charge for operational risk. Under those
regulations, banks will be required to develop models generating a
probability distribution of losses for operational risk, and hold
capital equal to the 99.9th percentile of that estimated probability
distribution. Banks were surveyed to measure the anticipated impact of
the regulations. Using the best available models of operational risk,
the banks reported that operational risk would account for roughly 10
percent of their required capital. As banks currently finance on
average about eight percent of their assets with capital, worst-case
scenario operational risk losses can thus be estimated at about one
percent of total assets. Also, while we do not believe that this
program has, or necessarily will, face such a level of operational
risk, we developed the high scenario to ensure that the program is
cost-neutral, even under extreme and unlikely circumstances.
General Administrative Risk. The analysis of cost neutrality
examined the Department's current loan servicing contract, and
assumptions of borrower status over the life of the loan after purchase
by the Department. The analysis assumed minimal start-up costs as the
Short-term Purchase Program builds on the current loan purchase program
infrastructure. In December 2008, the Department plans to extend its
current loan servicing contract for one year. This will involve the
renegotiation of payment rates for certain activities which may affect
long-term servicing costs for the loans purchased under the Short-term
Purchase Program. Given the future uncertainty surrounding several
factors, including the assumptions outlined above and the status of
loans ultimately purchased by the Department, it is possible that
unforeseen additional costs may be incurred. Accordingly, a General
Administrative Risk Factor of 100 basis points was added to the
analysis.
Portfolio Composition Risk. The cost to the Government of the
Short-term Purchase Program depends on numerous factors, including loan
size, default/prepayment risk, borrower benefits, and other
characteristics of the purchased loans. The cost-neutrality analysis
accounts for some of these factors, as outlined in this notice, but may
not incorporate all of the dimensions of lender behavior and the loans
ultimately purchased by the Department. Given this uncertainty, savings
may deviate to some degree from the savings estimated in the model. To
ensure that the potential risk and the potential costs are adequately
reflected, a Portfolio Composition Risk Factor of 100 basis points was
added to the analysis. The Department considered a base scenario under
which lenders sold $6.5 billion in loans, the maximum amount allowable
under the Short-term Purchase Program. This scenario also assumed
lenders would sell their smallest, least profitable loans to the
Department and included cost assessments for claim rejects and
operational risk. This scenario would result in an average loan balance
of approximately $3,000. Under this scenario, the Short-term Purchase
Program is cost-neutral.
The Department also considered a high operational risk scenario in
which the cost assessment for operation risk was raised from 20 basis
points to 80 basis points. Even with this increased assessment, the
Short-term Purchase Program remains cost-neutral. The Terms and
Conditions for the Short-term Purchase Program seek to reduce the
likelihood of lenders exclusively selling low-balance loans. For
example, a floor would be established under which batches of loans sold
to the Department must have a minimum average balance of $3,000. This
would likely ensure that the base scenario considered by the Department
would reasonably reflect the cost exposure to the Federal Government
should lenders choose to sell their lowest balance loans. In addition,
lenders would be required to sell all 2007-08 Stafford loans held for a
specific borrower. These provisions make it less likely that lenders
will choose to sell only poorly-performing loans to the Department.
Conclusion. After taking into account alternative market and lender
behavior scenarios, the Administration determines that the Short-term
Purchase Program is in the best interest of the United States and will
result in no net cost to the Government.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 682.
Electronic Access to This Document. You may view this document, as
well as all other Department of Education documents published in the
Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on
the Internet at the following site: https://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/
index.html.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about
[[Page 73268]]
using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free,
at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530. You
may also view this document in PDF at the following site: https://
www.ifap.ed.gov. You may obtain a copy of the Master Loan Sale
Agreement and direction regarding submission of the Master Loan Sale
Agreement and offers to sell loans at https://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/
ffelp.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/
nara/.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.032 Federal Family
Education Loan Program)
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087i-1.
Dated: November 26, 2008.
Margaret Spellings,
Secretary of Education.
Karthik Ramanathan,
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
Jim Nussle,
Director, Office of Management and Budget.
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[FR Doc. E8-28632 Filed 11-28-08; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P