California Lender Calls New Student Loan Plan "Ray of Hope" for Students Attending College in the Fall

LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/21/08 -- The President and CEO of ALL Student Loan, California's largest nonprofit student lender, called the plan proposed today by the U.S. Department of Education (the "Department") a positive step in meeting an expected gap in federally-subsidized student college loan funding. "This ray of hope, if implemented effectively, could reduce or even eliminate an expected multi-billion dollar gap in student loan funding for the 2008-2009 school year," said Quentin Wilson.

Over the past six months, dozens of lenders have exited or scaled-back their involvement in the federal student loan program. In California alone, those lenders account for over one billion in federal Stafford and PLUS loan volume.

In response, all parties involved in student lending -- Congress, the Department, lenders, and schools -- have been working to close the funding gap. ALL Student Loan previously announced a 30% increase in loan volume for 2008-09; the Department's plan may allow the nonprofit organization to further close the gap.

"The Department's efforts to inject short-term liquidly into the capital markets is good news for students and their families. While we wait to learn the details, we are cautiously optimistic that the plan will have the desired effect: namely, that no student will be denied access to affordable federal student loans," said Wilson. "We will continue working with the Department, as well as the State of California and California colleges and universities, to ensure prompt and effective implementation of plan."

About ALL Student Loan

ALL Student Loan (www.allstudentloan.org), California's largest nonprofit student lender, is dedicated to providing resources and programs for students and families so they can succeed in education beyond high school. Since 1980, ALL Student Loan has made more than $4 billion in affordable financing available to over 400,000 borrowers.

For more information: Joseph Booth (310) 242-8870 o (310) 710-2007 c www.allstudentloan.org

2008-05-21 17:11:55 0368255 MARKETWIRE