Brazos, Nation's Largest Not-for-Profit Student Loan Lender, Reenters the Federal...

Brazos, Nation's Largest Not-for-Profit Student Loan Lender, Reenters the Federal Loan Program

Company Ready to Work with All Title IV Eligible Schools
WACO, Texas--(Business Wire)--
Brazos, the nation's largest not-for-profit provider of federally
guaranteed student loans, announced today that it is broadening its
national student loan market presence and will participate in the
2008/2009 federal loan program as a result of a new law that provides
liquidity for student loan lenders.

"The next few months are a critical time for students who are
planning to attend or return to college this fall and must determine
with their parents and schools how to finance their education," said
Murray Watson, President and CEO of Brazos Higher Education Service
Corporation. "With millions of students depending on FFELP loans, we
want to do our part to help educate them for tomorrow."

Effective immediately, all Brazos lenders, including Academic
Finance Corporation (AFC), Brazos Student Lending, EFSI, and
Studentloans.com, will accept applications for Stafford, PLUS, and
GradPLUS loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program
(FFELP).

Brazos lenders are ready to work with any school that the U.S.
Department of Education has qualified to participate in the Title IV
program. "This will enable us to help many more students who want to
further their postsecondary education," Watson said.

Earlier this year, due to instability and turbulence in the
capital markets, Brazos, along with many other student loan lenders,
temporarily suspended their participation in FFELP. Late last month,
Congress passed and the President signed into law the Ensuring
Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008. The law gave the
Department of Education new authority to work with student loan
lenders to make FFELP loans.

"Because of our long-standing commitment to students and their
parents, we want to do our part in helping educate Americans despite
the challenging financial environment," Watson said.

While the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008
has not yet been published in the Federal Register and codified as
law, the Brazos lenders today began accepting applications for and
processing loans from students accepted by any Title IV-approved
school for the 2008/2009 fall, winter and spring semesters.
Disbursement dates will be dictated by the details in the Federal
Register once released by the Department of Education.

Watson said, "Brazos is proud to participate in the Department of
Education's program, which enables us to further our not-for-profit
mission of making education a reality. As always, we remain dedicated
to providing access to education and best-in-class service to
borrowers and schools nationwide."

About Brazos

Brazos is a term used to refer to a group of not-for-profit
corporations that contract with and are managed by Brazos Higher
Education Service Corporation, Inc. (BHESC). BHESC provides
administrative support and employs all of the staff that performs the
accounting, servicing and marketing activities for each of the
companies. For more than 32 years, Brazos has facilitated the
financing of postsecondary education, making it a reality for
thousands of students nationwide. The Brazos companies combined hold
the distinction of being the #1 not-for-profit holder of federally
guaranteed student loans in the United States, with assets in excess
of $15 billion.

About FFELP

According to the Department of Education, more than 2,000 lenders
issued more than $50 billion in FFELP loans to 6.8 million borrowers
in fiscal year 2007.

Brazos
Carolyn Fortey, 508-541-4496
carolyn.fortey@studentloans.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008