Sallie Mae 2005 Annual Report Download - page 30

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“MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS—OTHER RELATED EVENTS AND INFORMATION—Reauthorization.”) In
addition, Sallie Mae, Inc., as a servicer of student loans, is subject to certain ED regulations regarding
financial responsibility and administrative capability that govern all third party servicers of insured student
loans. Failure to satisfy such standards may result in the loss of the government guarantee of the payment
of principal and accrued interest on defaulted FFELP loans. Also, in connection with our guarantor
servicing operations, the Company must comply with, on behalf of its guarantor servicing customers,
certain ED regulations that govern guarantor activities as well as agreements for reimbursement between
the Secretary of Education and the Company’s guarantor servicing customers. Failure to comply with these
regulations or the provisions of these agreements may result in the termination of the Secretary of
Education’s reimbursement obligation. We must also comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act when we
furnish credit information on our FFELP student loan borrowers. In addition, under the HEA, generally,
after a FFELP student loan is 90 days delinquent, we must report this information to at least one national
credit bureau.
Our DMO’s debt collection and receivables management activities are subject to federal and state
consumer protection, privacy and related laws and regulations. Some of the more significant federal laws
and regulations that are applicable to our DMO business include:
•the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act;
•the Fair Credit Reporting Act;
•the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, including the Financial Privacy Rule and the Safeguard Rule; and
•the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
In addition, our DMO business is subject to state laws and regulations similar to the federal laws and
regulations listed above. Finally, certain DMO subsidiaries are subject to regulation under the HEA and
under the various laws and regulations that govern government contractors.
Our newly chartered Sallie Mae Bank is subject to Utah banking regulations as well as regulations
issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Hemar Insurance Corporation of America (“HICA”), our South Dakota insurance subsidiary, is
subject to the ongoing regulatory authority of the South Dakota Division of Insurance and that of
comparable governmental agencies in six other states. Management intends to dissolve HICA during the
first part of 2006.
PRIVATIZATION
The GSE was established in 1972 as a for-profit corporation under an Act of Congress for the purpose
of creating a national secondary market in federal student loans. Having accomplished our original mission
and with the creation of a federal competitor, the FDLP, we obtained congressional and shareholder
approval to transform from the GSE to a private sector corporation. As a result, SLM Corporation was
formed as a Delaware corporation in 1997. On December 29, 2004, we completed the Wind-Down of the
operations of the GSE, defeased the GSE’s remaining obligations and dissolved the GSE’s federal charter.
During the course of developing the Wind-Down plan, management was advised by its tax counsel
that, while the matter is not certain, under current authority, the defeasance of certain GSE bonds that
mature after December 29, 2004 could be construed to be a taxable event for taxable holders of those
bonds.
A significant benefit of shedding our GSE status is the ability to originate student loans directly,
thereby reducing our dependence on other student loan originators. Privatization has also facilitated our