Consumer Bankers Association Releases Education Loan Commitment to Customers.

ARLINGTON, VA. -- The Consumer Bankers Association today released a document to clarify and reaffirm banks' dedication to their student loan customers. The publication of CBA's Education Loan Customer Commitment is intended to reinforce that bank lenders operate at the highest level of ethical standards as well as under longstanding federal regulations. The commitment addresses key areas of public concern and was announced by CBA President Joe Belew. CBA is the recognized voice on retail banking issues in the nation's capital.

"Students, their families, and the educational institutions are our highest priority," said Belew. "We understand that seeking funding for higher education and planning for the financial future can be a challenge. By publicizing our commitment to our customers, we are seeking to continue the well-earned public trust in the lenders that participate in the Federal Family Education Loan program, a trust that has prevailed for over four decades."

The full Consumer Bankers Association Education Loan Customer Commitment is published online at www.cbanet.org. Key points include:

* Borrowers will be fully informed of their right to choose a student loan provider regardless of school preferred lender lists. Further, the criteria used by schools to create a preferred lender list should exclusively reflect the best interests of borrowers and should be fully disclosed.

* Lenders will not provide anything of value to a school, school employee or school affiliate or provide private loan products in exchange for a commitment of any kind relating to FFELP loans.

* Lenders will fairly and accurately disclose terms and conditions related to their loan products and will encourage maximizing use of grants, scholarships and other federal student assistance before borrowing private, non-federal loans.

* Lenders will not engage in marketing practices that may place the employee in a position of (or having the appearance of) a conflict of interest.

"The Association is committed to continuing to work at the highest level of ethical practices in the best interest of students, their families, and with educational institutions to increase awareness of the full range of financial aid opportunities and to promote access to higher education through the student loan programs," said Belew.

CBA has also launched an informational web site to provide guidance to students and families in navigating often complex educational loan programs. The site can be found at www.collegeboundaid.com.

CBA was founded in 1919 and provides leadership, education, research and federal representation on retail banking issues such as privacy, fair lending, and consumer protection legislation/regulation. CBA member institutions are the leaders in consumer financial services, including auto finance, home equity lending, card products, education loans, small business services, community development, investments, deposits and delivery and include most of the nation's largest bank holding companies as well as regional and super community banks that collectively hold two-thirds of the industry's total assets.