Sallie Mae 2015 Annual Report Download - page 3

1
FORWARD-LOOKING AND CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “we,” “us,” “our,” “Sallie Mae,” “SLM” and the “Company” refer
to SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries, except as otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains "forward-looking" statements and information based on management’s
current expectations as of the date of this report. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the
Company’s beliefs, opinions or expectations and statements that assume or are dependent upon future events, are forward-
looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause
actual results to be materially different from those reflected in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among
others, the risks and uncertainties set forth in Item 1A “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”); increases in financing costs; limits on liquidity;
increases in costs associated with compliance with laws and regulations; changes in accounting standards and the impact of
related changes in significant accounting estimates; any adverse outcomes in any significant litigation to which the Company is
a party; credit risk associated with the Company’s exposure to third-parties, including counterparties to the Company’s
derivative transactions; and changes in the terms of education loans and the educational credit marketplace (including changes
resulting from new laws and the implementation of existing laws). The Company could also be affected by, among other things:
changes in its funding costs and availability; reductions to its credit ratings; failures or breaches of its operating systems or
infrastructure, including those of third-party vendors; damage to its reputation; failures to successfully implement cost-cutting
and restructuring initiatives and adverse effects of such initiatives on the Company’s business; risks associated with
restructuring initiatives; changes in the demand for educational financing or in financing preferences of lenders, educational
institutions, students and their families; changes in law and regulations with respect to the student lending business and
financial institutions generally; changes in banking rules and regulations, including increased capital requirements; increased
competition from banks and other consumer lenders; the creditworthiness of the Company’s customers; changes in the general
interest rate environment, including the rate relationships among relevant money-market instruments and those of the
Company’s earning assets versus the Company’s funding arrangements; rates of prepayment on the loans that the Company
makes; changes in general economic conditions and the Company’s ability to successfully effectuate any acquisitions; and other
strategic initiatives. The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements also requires management to make
certain estimates and assumptions, including estimates and assumptions about future events. These estimates or assumptions
may prove to be incorrect. All forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are qualified by these
cautionary statements and are made only as of the date of this report. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update
or revise these forward-looking statements to conform such statements to actual results or changes in its expectations.
The financial information contained herein and in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, statements of
income, changes in equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2015, presents
information on our business as configured after the Spin-Off, as hereafter defined. For more information regarding the basis of
presentation of these statements, see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 2, “Significant Accounting Policies —
Basis of Presentation.”