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The Student Loan Marketing Association was originally created in 1972 as a government-sponsored enterprise and began privatizing its operations in 1997, a process it completed at the end of 2004 when Congress terminated its federal charter, ending its ties to the government. The company provides private education loans for students and their families. These loans are not made, insured, or guaranteed by any state or federal government.In 2005, Sallie Mae was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.In August 2006, Sallie Mae acquired Upromise, a company that provides rebates to buyers of certain brands, which can be applied to college savings accounts. In May 2020, Upromise was acquired by loyalty marketing company Prodege.On April 16, 2007, Sallie Mae announced that an investor group led by J.C. Flowers & Co. signed an agreement to purchase Sallie Mae for approximately $25 billion. Had the transaction been completed, J.C. Flowers, along with private-equity firm Friedman Fleischer & Lowe would have owned 50.2% of Sallie Mae, and Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase would each have owned 24.9%. Sallie Mae would have ceased to be a publicly traded company. The deal fell through in September 2007, with the buyers blaming adverse changes to the business's outlook as a result of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 and the tightening of global credit markets following the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis. Sallie Mae subsequently began legal action, only to drop it in January 2008 upon completion of a $31 billion funding round, including funding from Bank of America.On April 6, 2009, Sallie Mae announced that it would move 2,000 jobs back to the U.S. within the next 18 months as it shifts call center and other operations from overseas.On March 31, 2010, Sallie Mae announced the impending layoff of 2,500 employees in response to the signing of new legislation calling for the federal government to lend directly to students, bypassing institutions like Sallie Mae.On July 1, 2010, Sallie Mae announced that it would be moving its headquarters from Reston, Virginia, to its existing facility in Newark, Delaware.On September 17, 2010, Sallie Mae acquired federally insured loans from Citigroup-owned Student Loan Corporation worth $28 billion.SLM Corporation, the company that operates Sallie Mae, was formed in 2013. On February 25, 2014, Sallie Mae announced the launch of Navient, a separate entity for federal student loan servicing. On April 30, Sallie Mae legally separated from Navient, and made its primary focus private student loans, banking products, and credit cards for college students and their families.In March 2020, the company announced Jonathan Witter, former Hilton executive, would replace Raymond Quinlan as the new CEO.Sallie Mae announced a partnership with Mpower Financing in April 2021, to expand access to higher education for international and DACA students.
