Out of Control

Nearly four years ahead of schedule...

Sallie Mae, which is formally known as SLM Corp., has successfully refinanced more than $100 billion of government-sponsored enterprise, or GSE, assets in an accelerated privatization plan begun in 1997.

The corporation set aside enough cash and U.S. Treasury securities in a special purpose trust to pay down the remaining principle and interest on $1.85 billion of outstanding GSE bonds. The move enabled the Treasury to sign formal documents officially separating Sallie Mae from the federal government.

"We applaud the transformation of Sallie Mae into a wholly private company, dynamically increasing its options to provide financing services to students," Assistant Treasury Secretary Wayne Abernathy said at a document signing ceremony at Treasury's headquarters.