Overview

• Senior Education and Treasury officials have discussed a potential sale and spoken with finance executives, including possible buyers, according to the reporting.
• Officials are considering hiring an outside firm or bank to analyze loan programs and assess how private markets would value portions of the portfolio.
• Any transaction under discussion would focus on well‑performing parts of the roughly $1.6 trillion federal portfolio that serves more than 42 million borrowers.
• Federal law permits sales only after consultation with Treasury and only if taxpayers are not worse off, and analysts question whether investors would pay the government’s book value.
• Borrower advocates warn protections and collection practices could change if loans shift to private owners, while a senior official says the administration is reviewing all aspects of the portfolio.