Student Loans Weblog

In the UK a large percent of the population have not paid back their college loans. The government wants to ensure that they get their money back or the graduates who did not pay back will go on a list of blackballed names which means they will fail to get personal loans, mortgages, or even credit cards. The Times Online reports:

The Student Loans Company (SLC), which has been lending to students for 15 years, is not allowed to identify graduates to banks and other financial lenders if they default on their loans.

But Ralph Seymour-Jackson, the chief executive, told The Times that he had asked the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to change the rules so that the SLC can pass on details of bad debtors to credit reference agencies.

He said: “First, this is a debt to the taxpayer and needs to be collected. There is also the issue of responsible lending where banks need to have a full picture of the debts a borrower has in order to make the right lending decisions. We should play our part in this.”