BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON
                         BANKING AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
                            Senator Steven Glazer, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:             AB 2251        Hearing Date:    August 25,  
          2016
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          |Author:    |Mark Stone                                           |
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          |Version:   |August 19, 2016    Amended                           |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant:|Eileen Newhall                                       |
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            Subject:  Student loan servicers:  licensing and regulation:   
                             Student Loan Servicing Act

          CHANGES MADE TO THIS BILL AND THIS BILL ANALYSIS SINCE THIS  
          COMMITTEE'S JUNE 29, 2016 HEARING ARE SHOWN IN BOLD TYPE.
          
           SUMMARY       This bill enacts the Student Loan Servicing Act, operative  
          July 1, 2018, which establishes a new licensing law applicable  
          to student loan servicers, administered by the Department of  
          Business Oversight (DBO), as specified.
           THIS BILL
             
            1.  Contains findings and declarations regarding the magnitude  
              of outstanding student loan debt in the United States, the  
              challenges that this debt places on the state's economy, the  
              lack of consistent federal standards for student loan  
              servicing, and the results of a September, 2015 report  
              issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),  
              which documented several challenges faced by student loan  
              borrowers when attempting to gain answers to questions from  
              their servicers and gain assistance from their servicers in  
              correcting payment processing errors.  States the intent of  
              the Legislature to promote meaningful access to federal  
              affordable repayment and loan forgiveness benefits, reliable  
              information about student educational loans and loan  
              repayment options, and quality customer service and fair  
              treatment. 









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           2.  Establishes, on and after July 1, 2018, a new division  
              within the Financial Code, named the Student Loan Servicing  
              Act, administered by DBO, which requires persons engaged in  
              the business of servicing student loans in this state, as  
              defined, to obtain licenses, as specified.  


               a.     The following entities are not subject to the  
                 provisions of the bill:  state- or federally-chartered  
                 depository institutions; public postsecondary educational  
                 institutions or private nonprofit postsecondary  
                 educational institutions servicing student loans they  
                 extend to borrowers; specified nonprofit debt settlement  
                 and debt management companies; and persons who are  
                 licensed in good standing pursuant to the CFLL.  


               b.     A student loan is defined as any loan primarily for  
                 use to finance a postsecondary education and costs of  
                 attendance at a postsecondary institution and includes a  
                 loan made to refinance a student loan.  A student loan  
                 does not include an extension of credit under an open-end  
                 consumer credit plan; a loan that is secured by real  
                 property or a dwelling; or an extension of credit made by  
                 a postsecondary educational institution, if one of the  
                 following apply:


                     i.          The term of the extension of credit is no  
                      longer than the borrower's education program.


                     ii.         The remaining, unpaid principal balance  
                      of the extension of credit is less than $1,500 at  
                      the time of the borrower's graduation or completion  
                      of the program.


                     iii.        The borrower fails to graduate or  
                      successfully complete his or her education program  
                      and has a balance due at the time of his or her  
                      disenrollment from the postsecondary institution.










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               c.     A private postsecondary educational institution that  
                 is subject to the provisions of the bill is not required  
                 to comply with the bill with respect to loans that a  
                 licensee services on behalf of that private postsecondary  
                 educational institution.


               d.     The Commissioner of Business Oversight  
                 (commissioner) is given authority to administer the  
                 Student Loan Servicing Act and to promulgate rules and  
                 regulations and issue orders consistent with that  
                 authority; conduct investigations and examinations of  
                 applicants and licensees, as specified; grant or deny  
                 licenses based on specified criteria; impose and collect  
                 license fees and fees related to regulatory examinations,  
                 as specified; and pursue enforcement actions against  
                 licensees and unlicensed persons who are acting in a  
                 manner that requires licensure, as specified.


               e.     Licensees are required to submit to background  
                 information checks as a condition of licensure; maintain  
                 a minimum $25,000 surety bond on file with the  
                 commissioner; maintain a minimum net worth of $250,000 at  
                 all times, as documented in audited financial statements;  
                 submit an annual financial audit prepared by an  
                 independent certified public accountant; obtain approval  
                 from the commissioner prior to opening any new branch  
                 office; file any report required by regulation or order  
                 of the commissioner, including an annual report; refrain  
                 from engaging in certain prohibited practices deemed  
                 harmful to consumers; and submit to periodic examination  
                 by the commissioner.  Each licensee is also required to  
                 do all of the following:  


                     i.          Provide, free of charge on its Internet  
                      Web site, information or links to information  
                      regarding repayment and loan forgiveness options  
                      that may be available to borrowers and provide this  
                      information or these links to borrowers via written  
                      correspondence or email at least once per calendar  
                      year.  









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                     ii.         Respond to a qualified written request  
                      (QWR), as defined, by acknowledging receipt of the  
                      request within five business days, and within 30  
                      business days, provide information relating to the  
                      request and, if applicable, the action the licensee  
                      will take to correct the account or an explanation  
                      for the licensee's position that the account is  
                      correct.



                     iii.        Refrain from submitting adverse  
                      information to any consumer reporting agency for 60  
                      days following receipt of a QWR regarding a dispute  
                      on a borrower's student loan payment.



                     iv.         Except as provided in federal law or  
                      required by a student loan agreement, inquire of  
                      each borrower how to apply an overpayment by that  
                      borrower on his or her student loan, as specified.



                     v.          Accurately report each borrower's payment  
                      performance to at least one consumer reporting  
                      agency, if the licensee is required to or  
                      voluntarily reports to a consumer reporting agency.



                     vi.         If the sale, assignment, or other  
                      transfer of the servicing of a student loan results  
                      in a change in the identity of the party to whom the  
                      borrower is required to send payments or direct any  
                      communications concerning the student loan, notify  
                      that borrower in writing at least 15 days before he  
                      or she is required to send a payment to the new  
                      servicer.  This notification is required to contain  
                      specified information identifying and providing  
                      contact information for the new servicer, and  








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                      specifying the date on which the new servicer will  
                      begin accepting payments.  The servicer is also  
                      required to transfer all information regarding a  
                      borrower, a borrower's account, and a borrower's  
                      student loan to the new licensee within 45 calendar  
                      days of a sale, assignment, or transfer.



                     vii.        Retain and maintain its records of  
                      servicing a borrower's student loan for a minimum of  
                      three years after the student loan has been  
                      transferred, assigned, or paid in full, unless  
                      prohibited by federal law. 


               f.     The commissioner is granted several enforcement  
                 tools, including desist and refrain orders; censure,  
                 suspension, and bar orders; civil penalties of up to  
                 $2,500 per violation; citation and fine authority of up  
                 to $2,500 per citation; administrative penalties of up to  
                 $100 per day for failure to submit reports; license  
                 suspension and revocation, including the ability to  
                 immediately revoke a licensee's license if a licensee  
                 fails to comply with any order issued by the  
                 commissioner; and the ability to petition a court for  
                 ancillary relief on behalf of persons injured by the act  
                 or practice of a licensee.  Licensees are entitled to  
                 challenge enforcement actions brought by the commissioner  
                 pursuant to procedures specified in the Administrative  
                 Procedures Act (Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of  
                 Title 2 of the Government Code). A licensee wishing to  
                 challenge an immediate revocation must secure a court  
                 order restraining the enforcement of the commissioner's  
                 revocation order.  


           EXISTING LAW  grants DBO authority to administer the California  
          Finance Lenders Law (CFLL; Financial Code Section 22000 et seq.)  
          and the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act (Financial  
          Code Section 50000 et seq.), both of which authorize licensees  
          to service loans taken out for personal, family, or household  
          purposes, but neither of which is specific to loans taken out to  
          finance postsecondary educational expenses.








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           COMMENTS
         
          1.  Purpose:   This bill is sponsored by Attorney General Kamala  
              Harris to provide increased accountability among student  
              loan servicers and to improve the quality of communications  
              between student loan borrowers and their student loan  
              servicers.  According to this bill's author, the licensure  
              program proposed in this bill will be able to protect  
              consumers from errors by student loan servicers and allow  
              servicers to document their adherence to California's rules.  
           
           2.  Senate Rule 29.10 Hearing:   AB 2251 is back before this  
              committee pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10(b), following Senate  
              Floor amendments taken on August 19, 2016.  An earlier  
              version of AB 2251 was heard and passed by this committee on  
              a 5-2 vote in June, 2015.  Amendments made to the bill on  
              August 19th add language requested by the California  
              Association of Private Postsecondary Schools, California  
              Coalition of Accredited Career Schools, National Foundation  
              for Credit Counseling, and representatives of major credit  
              reporting agencies, as well as language provided as  
              technical assistance by the Department of Business  
              Oversight.

              This Committee may take only one of the following three  
              actions on AB 2251:  a) hold the bill in committee, b)  
              re-refer the bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee, or  
              c) return the bill to the Senate Floor for consideration.   
              The bill cannot be amended.  

           3.  Background:   Student loan debt is second in size only to  
              mortgage debt, among all types of debt held by U.S.  
              consumers.  According to CFPB, more than 41 million  
              Americans collectively owed more than $1.2 trillion in  
              outstanding federal student loan debt as of September, 2015.  
               In less than a decade, the volume of outstanding federal  
              student loan debt has more than doubled, rising from $516  
              billion in 2007 to over $1.2 trillion in the third quarter  
              of 2015.  During the same time period, the average student  
              loan debt burden of individual borrowers grew by nearly 60%,  
              rising from about $18,000 in 2007 to nearly $30,000 in the  
              third quarter of 2015.  








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          Measure One, a consortium of the nation's six largest private  
              student loan lenders, estimated that total outstanding  
              private student loan debt totaled approximately $100 billion  
              in the third quarter of 2015  
              (http://www.measureone.com/reports).  Approximately 92% of  
              outstanding student loan debt is federal, while 8% is  
              private. 



               Types of federal student loans  .  According to the U.S.  
              Department of Education (USDOE), there are four main types  
              of postsecondary education loans under which borrowers have  
              outstanding balances.  Direct Loans are federal loans made  
              directly to borrowers by USDOE through the William D. Ford  
              Federal Direct Loan program.  Federal Family Education Loan  
              Program (FFELP) loans were originated by private lenders and  
              guaranteed by the federal government.  New FFELP loan  
              originations ended in 2010, pursuant to the Student Aid and  
              Fiscal Responsibility Act, but a significant number of FFELP  
              loans remain outstanding.  Federal Perkins Loans, which are  
              co-funded by institutions of higher education and the  
              federal government, are originated and administered by  
              participating educational institutions.  Private student  
              loans are made by depository and non-depository financial  
              institutions, states, institutions of higher education, and  
              other entities.

               Who services student loans?   10 entities are currently  
              authorized to service federal student loans, including  
              CornerStone, FedLoan Servicing, Granite State-GSMR, Great  
              Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc., HESC/Edfinancial,  
              MOHELA, Navient, Nelnet, OSLA Servicing, and VSAC Federal  
              Loans  
              (https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/servicer 
              s).  A variety of institutions service private student  
              loans, including Citizens Bank, Discover, Navient, PNC Bank,  
              SallieMae, Wells Fargo Bank, AES, ACS, Aspire, Nelnet, and  
              several private educational institutions, among others.  A  
              different group of companies, including SoFi, Earnest,  
              CommonBond, CollegeAve, LendKey, U-Fi, and others offer  
              student loan borrowers the opportunity to refinance their  
              outstanding student loans, which can involve additional  








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              servicers beyond those listed above. 

              This bill applies its provisions to entities which service  
              federal or private student loans, or both, "in this state."   
              This bill's definition of "in this state" covers loans that  
              originate in California and are directed outside California,  
              loans that originate outside California and are directed to  
              persons in California, and loans that originate in and are  
              directed to persons in California.  The national scope of  
              loans covered by this bill, together with its application to  
              both federal and private student loan servicers, means that  
              the vast majority of student loan servicers operating in the  
              United States will be subject to this bill's provisions.   
              Exemptions provided for depository institutions, public and  
              nonprofit private postsecondary educational institutions,  
              and entities already licensed in good standing under the  
              CFLL may reduce the number of covered entities slightly, but  
              the majority of the entities listed immediately above will  
              be subject to this bill. 

               Concerns about student loan servicing.   In May, 2015, the  
              CFPB joined with USDOE and the Department of the Treasury to  
              launch a public inquiry into federal and private student  
              loan servicing practices.  That inquiry led to publication  
              of a September, 2015 report by the CFPB titled, "Student  
              Loan Servicing:  Analysis of Public Input and  
              Recommendations For Reform"  
              (http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201509_cfpb_student-loan- 
              servicing-report.pdf).  Analyzing over 30,000 comments,  
              including over 8,000 comments from individual borrowers with  
              outstanding student loans, that report identified a myriad  
              of frustrations and challenges faced by student loan  
              borrowers.  Concerns related to five specific areas,  
              including borrower benefits and consumer protections,  
              servicing transfers, customer service and error resolution,  
              payment processing, and practices that affect specific  
              borrower segments, such as military families and older  
              borrowers.  AB 2251 includes provisions intended to begin  
              addressing the findings of CFPB's inquiries into student  
              loan servicing practices.  

               New Federal Student Loan Servicing Blueprint.   On July 20,  
              2016, Ted Mitchell, Undersecretary of the USDOE, issued a  
              56-page memorandum, providing a detailed blueprint for the  








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              future of federal student loan servicing.  Within the next  
              two to three years, the USDOE envisions that all federal  
              direct student loans will be serviced from "a single  
              servicing platform on which all borrower accounts held by  
              USDOE will reside, and to which multiple customer service  
              providers will have access...This new ecosystem will  
              function in a manner that will clarify for borrowers that  
              the USDOE is the servicer of their loan."  Through a  
              USDOE-branded portal, borrowers will be able to log onto a  
              single website to get information about their federal direct  
              student loans, make payments, apply for benefits, and manage  
              their accounts.  Although the actual servicing of loans will  
              continue to be performed by USDOE contractors, borrowers  
              will not know the identities of these contractors, who will  
              operate behind the USDOE curtain.  At the present time, the  
              new portal is envisioned as covering all federal direct  
              student loans (which currently total about $1 trillion).   
              FFELP loans, Perkins loans, and private student loans, which  
              together total approximately $300 billion, will not be part  
              of the new portal initially, although some of these loans  
              may be migrated to the portal over time.  
           4.  Remaining Outstanding Issues:   

               a.     Interaction with new federal loan servicing  
                 platform:  The 56-page memorandum referenced immediately  
                 above lays out a detailed blueprint for servicer  
                 behavior, which will be enforceable by the USDOE through  
                 its agreements with servicing contractors.  Some of the  
                 provisions of this bill are inconsistent with details of  
                 the federal blueprint, which is expected to cover the $1  
                 trillion federal direct student loan servicing portfolio.  
                  For example, this bill's requirements for the timing and  
                 content of borrower notifications of loan servicing  
                 transfers are different than those in the blueprint.   
                 This bill's requirement that servicers post information  
                 on their websites and provide borrowers with annual  
                 notifications about loan repayment and loan forgiveness  
                 options is at odds with the USDOE's vision that  
                 everything will be USDOE-branded and offered through the  
                 USDOE web portal.  This bill's requirements for  
                 responding to QWRs differ significantly from the  
                 blueprint, which envisions a far more robust system for  
                 borrower/servicer communication.  









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               It is unclear how the provisions of this bill will work in  
                 the context of the new federal loan servicing platform.   
                 At present, this bill does not apply its provisions  
                 differently to different types of loans.  Thus, although  
                 the provisions of this bill could be more readily applied  
                 to FFELP loans, Perkins loans, and private student loans,  
                 all of which will initially be serviced outside the  
                 blueprint, this bill fails to make that distinction.  

               b.     Impact on small servicers:  The August 19, 2016  
                 amendments removed the opposition of the California  
                 Association of Private Postsecondary Schools (CAPPS),  
                 which had previously opposed the bill, because of the  
                 significant financial burden the bill would have imposed  
                 on small- to medium-sized trade schools in California.   
                 However, amendments taken to address CAPPS' concerns did  
                 not change any of the bill's financial requirements; they  
                 merely ensured that CAPPS' members would no longer be  
                 subject to the bill's provisions.  Small loan servicers  
                 continue to be impacted by the financial requirements of  
                 this legislation.  Some of these small servicers are  
                 not-for-profit, state-run agencies created by other  
                 states to make and service loans to borrowers residing in  
                 their states or attending their state schools. Yet, these  
                 out-of-state servicers will be covered by this bill, if  
                                                                       they service a loan held by a resident of California. To  
                 the extent the requirements of this bill prove too costly  
                 for smaller servicers, this bill could cause smaller  
                 servicers to transfer their California borrowers to  
                 larger, wealthier servicers.  It is unclear whether this  
                 consolidation will work in favor of California borrowers  
                 or simply consolidate the servicing of California  
                 borrowers' loans into the hands of a few large servicers.  
                  

               c.     Ability to alleviate licensing requirements through  
                 contracting: The August 19, 2016 amendments to this bill  
                 clarify that a private, postsecondary educational  
                 institution, which would otherwise be covered by the  
                 bill, is not required to comply with the bill, if it  
                 contracts out its servicing to an entity that is licensed  
                 pursuant to the bill.  However, the bill is silent on the  
                 extent to which other entities that are subject to its  
                 provisions can avoid the requirements of the bill by  








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                 contracting with licensed entities.  By expressly  
                 identifying one group that may avoid the need to be  
                 licensed by contracting with other entities, but  
                 remaining silent on other groups, the bill is likely to  
                 create confusion over its intent in this regard.  

               d.     DBO enforcement provisions added on August 19, 2016:  
                  Two of the amendments provided as technical assistance  
                 by DBO may warrant further discussion, and one of the  
                 amendments requires a technical correction.  The first  
                 amendment gives DBO the ability to immediately revoke a  
                 licensee's license, if that licensee fails to comply with  
                 an order issued by the department (page 26, lines 17  
                 through 22).  Any licensee wishing to challenge the  
                 immediate revocation of its license will be required to  
                 go to court to seek a restraining order within ten days  
                 of the effective date of the revocation order.  Although  
                 DBO has the authority to suspend or revoke licenses under  
                 all of the laws it administers, immediate revocation,  
                 combined with a requirement that a licensee wishing to  
                 challenge DBO's action go to court within ten days, is  
                 quite severe.  Although DBO has this authority under the  
                 CRMLA, this type of authority is not common among the  
                 laws that DBO administers.  It is unclear whether this  
                 authority is necessary under the Student Loan Servicing  
                 Act.

               The second amendment deletes language, which authorizes  
                 sole proprietors and nonpublicly traded persons to elect  
                 to have their balance sheets kept private, when DBO  
                 releases their annual reports to the public (page 20,  
                 lines 17 through 19).  The ability to keep one's balance  
                 sheet private is commonly used by licensees under other  
                 laws, such as the CFLL.  It is unclear why this language  
                 was deleted.  

               Finally, language added to the bill to provide the  
                 department with the authority to censure, suspend, or bar  
                 an individual for up to one year contains a confusing  
                 typographical error.  On page 23, line 33, the word "of"  
                 should be deleted and replaced with a comma.  
               
           5.  Summary of Arguments in Support:   









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               a.     Attorney General Kamala Harris believes that many of  
                 the issues addressed by the 2012 Homeowner Bill of Rights  
                 are similar to those that have surfaced in the student  
                 loan servicing industry.  "AB 2251 will protect students  
                 and provide clarity in a confusing space.  By passing  
                 this legislation now, California may successfully  
                 forestall a crisis like what homeowners experienced at  
                 the height of the country's mortgage fraud epidemic.   
                 This bill would ensure that bad actors who profit through  
                 harmful or deceptive business practices are held  
                 accountable, and that students can trust in the state's  
                 regulated responsibilities for servicers.  AB 2251 will  
                 provide clear guidance to borrowers and empower students  
                 to pursue their educations with confidence."

               b.     UAW Local 2865 writes that "the bill will provide  
                 clarity and give protections to students who are  
                 navigating the confusing realm of student loan servicing.  
                  It will ensure that student loan borrowers are given  
                 reliable information, quality customer service, and  
                 meaningful access to repayment and forgiveness programs."

               c.     Next Gen Climate Action strongly supports AB 2251,  
                 arguing that "the bill will help student loan borrowers  
                 be better informed and provide them with greater  
                 protection from bad actors in the industry."  

           6.  Summary of Arguments in Opposition:    

               a.     The Education Finance Council (EFC) is a trade  
                 association representing nonprofit and state-agency  
                 student loan organizations.  EFC's members contract as  
                 federal direct loan and FFELP servicers and serve as  
                 state-based education loan lenders and servicers.  "AB  
                 2251 potentially conflicts with numerous federal  
                 regulations and guidance that governs student loan  
                 servicing; has the potential to create confusion for  
                 California student loan borrowers, rather than protecting  
                 their interest; and would impose an onerous regulatory  
                 burden on state-based education loan lenders and  
                 servicers.  Therefore, EFC strongly opposes AB 2251 in  
                 its current form."  

               EFC is seeking an exemption from the bill for organizations  








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                 that are already heavily regulated by the USDOE and the  
                 CFPB and that are licensed by other states which have  
                 implemented licensing requirements.  However, even with  
                 such an exemption, EFC is concerned about the potential  
                 impact that AB 2251 would have on smaller nonprofit and  
                 state-based servicing entities.  "These smaller entities  
                 would simply be unable to manage the financial  
                 requirements of this bill.  This may cause additional  
                 organizations to terminate their servicing contracts  
                 rather than bear these exorbitant costs, resulting in a  
                 loss of some of the best servicers - those that already  
                 provide most, if not all, of the consumer protections AB  
                 2251 seeks to provide."
                
                b.     Like EFC, the National Council of Higher Education  
                 Resources (NCHER) is a national trade association  
                 representing state and nonprofit agencies that have  
                 contracts with the USDOE to service federal direct loans,  
                 and that service FFELP and private student loans.  In its  
                 letter of opposition, NCHER identifies six specific  
                 elements of AB 2251 that it would like to see amended.   
                 First, echoing concerns of other opponents, NCHER  
                 observes that the bill's definition of "in this state" is  
                 extremely broad and expands the bill's scope far outside  
                 California.  Many of the entities that will be covered by  
                 the bill have to comply with existing regulations,  
                 requirements, policies, and practices set by the federal  
                 government, many of which conflict with the pending  
                 legislation.  

               Second, the bill's definition of servicing includes any  
                 interaction with a borrower to assist that borrower in  
                 avoiding default.  This definition is overly broad and  
                 will likely encompass third party servicers that work  
                 with institutions of higher education to improve their  
                 default prevention efforts; guaranty agencies and their  
                 collection agency partners in the FFELP program that  
                 assist struggling borrowers in late-stage delinquency;  
                 and private collection agencies under contract with USDOE  
                 that perform pre-default activities.  

               Third, the bill's language prohibiting the reporting of a  
                 borrower's payment dispute conflicts with policies and  
                 procedures required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act  








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                 (FCRA).  The FCRA requires student loan servicers to  
                 report the balance and status of a loan; it does not  
                 envision parsing out disputed amounts.  

               Fourth, the bill's language on loan transfer notifications  
                 is contrary to the federal requirements contained in 34  
                 CFR 682.208(e)(1) governing the transfers of federal  
                 student loans.  These requirements will be confusing to  
                 student and parent borrowers, who will receive two  
                 notices with different information and instructions.

               Fifth, the legislation uses terms and definitions that are  
                 inconsistent with those used by USDOE and CFPB, and  
                 finally, the bill's use of a pro rata formula to  
                 calculate licensee assessments is overly burdensome,  
                 because it would involve annual assessment payments  
                 instead of a standard, pre-established formula.  A pro  
                 rata allocation of licensee costs is also unfair, since  
                 the nation's federal student loan servicers do not  
                 directly or indirectly control the number of loans  
                 assigned to them in the state of California. 
                
                c.     The Student Loan Servicing Alliance (SLSA) has  
                 approximately 25 servicer members, which service about  
                 95% of all outstanding student loans.  "In its current  
                 form, AB 2251 conflicts with numerous federal regulations  
                 and guidance that govern student loan servicing....We  
                 encourage you to work closely with stakeholders to  
                 improve the legislation and assure that student loan  
                 borrowers are treated consistently with federal policy.   
                 Although the bill has a delayed implementation date in  
                 order to allow for the possibility of further legislation  
                 to fix some of the outstanding issues, once the  
                 legislation is enacted, servicers will have to begin  
                 implementing the new requirements (regardless of any  
                 intention to change them) since there is still no clarity  
                 on what the final requirements will ultimately be.  And  
                 given that changes to servicing systems will be required,  
                 we need adequate lead time to program changes that are  
                 needed in order to comply with the new mandates in this  
                 bill."

               SLSA's letter of opposition identifies nineteen specific  
                 concerns it has with the bill's provisions.  Key concerns  








          AB 2251 (Mark Stone)                                    Page 15  
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                 include the fiscal burden of the bill on small servicers;  
                 the new structure of federal student loan servicing and  
                 the challenges of implementing this bill in the context  
                 of the new federal regime ("given this new structure,  
                 many of the proposals in the legislation simply do not  
                 make sense for the vast majority [77%] of all student  
                 loans in the nation"); the bill's overly broad  
                 definitions of "in this state" and "servicing;" the  
                 bill's problematic definition of "overpayment;" onerous  
                 and overly prescriptive licensee requirements; conflict  
                 with the FCRA; conflict with federal requirements for  
                 transferring student loans; conflict with federal  
                 recordkeeping requirements; the requirement that balance  
                 sheets included in licensees' annual reports be made  
                 public; and pro rata allocation of licensee costs.  

               Three of the concerns raised by SLSA, which are not raised  
                 by others, and for which SLSA offers suggested  
                 amendments, include the bill's definition of and  
                 requirements for application of overpayments,  
                 requirements around QWRs, and submission of annual  
                 audits.   

               For example, SLSA urges the author to amend his bill to  
                 delete the provision that requires servicers to honor,  
                 over the term of the loan, a borrower's direction  
                 regarding how to apply overpayments.  The bill's  
                 requirement that servicers adhere in the long term to  
                 borrower-specific instructions regarding the application  
                 of borrower overpayments is not operationally feasible;  
                 servicers have no mechanism by which to program their  
                 systems to reflect long-term individual borrower  
                 preferences.  The bill's definition of overpayment also  
                 requires amendment to exclude arrearages; as drafted, the  
                 bill would treat a payment made by a borrower to bring a  
                 delinquent balance current as an overpayment.  

                 Another provision of the bill requires servicers to  
                 acknowledge receipt of a QWR within five business days.   
                 However, there are many instances in which a borrower's  
                 problem can be solved quickly during a phone call.   
                 Requiring servicers to acknowledge a borrower's QWR, in  
                 writing, after the problem has been resolved, will only  
                 confuse borrowers.  The Real Estate Settlement Procedures  








          AB 2251 (Mark Stone)                                    Page 16  
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                 Act, from which this bill's author has borrowed the  
                 bill's QWR language, allows servicers to forego the 5-day  
                 acknowledgment if the action requested by the borrower is  
                 taken by the servicer within that period.  SLSA suggests  
                 that a similar amendment be made to AB 2251.  

                 Furthermore, although AB 2251 does not require servicers  
                 to provide substantive responses to QWRs when a borrower  
                 sends the same request multiple times, the bill does not  
                 absolve servicers from the responsibility to acknowledge  
                 receipt of multiple, repetitive requests.  SLSA suggests  
                 an amendment allowing servicers to stop sending 5-day  
                 acknowledgements after a servicer has sent the same  
                 borrower three notices informing that borrower that the  
                 servicer is not required to respond, because the borrower  
                 has repeatedly submitted the same request.  

                 Finally, SLSA observes that USDOE requires an annual  
                 financial audit, which must be filed with that department  
                 within six months of the end of a servicer's fiscal year.  
                  AB 2251 requires an annual audit to be filed with the  
                 commissioner within 105 days of the end of the servicer's  
                 fiscal year.  SLSA recommends harmonizing the state  
                 requirement with the existing federal requirement.  
                  
                d.     The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) represents  
                 nearly 70 members, including private sector lenders that  
                 make the majority of private student loans and  
                 organizations that are experienced in working with  
                 federal student loans.  CBA is "concerned about the  
                 potentially disruptive consequences that passage of AB  
                 2251 could have on our members' ability to offer loans to  
                 students from California or students from other states  
                 who wish to study in California.  AB 2251 is complex and  
                 detailed, and with its application to anyone with a  
                 California nexus, would have a national impact.  Given  
                 recent and continuing major federal initiatives on  
                 student loan servicing, AB 2251 would add a complex layer  
                 of regulation that will be duplicative of and possibly  
                 contradictory to the federal initiatives." 

               CBA is also concerned that, although the measure attempts  
                 to exempt banks from its licensing requirements, the bill  
                 does require subsidiaries of banks and other exempted  








          AB 2251 (Mark Stone)                                    Page 17  
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                 organizations, as well as their contractors, to be  
                 licensed.  The costs imposed on subsidiaries and  
                 contractors that require licensing will be passed on  
                 through CBA's member institutions, and ultimately to  
                 consumers.  
                
          
          LIST OF REGISTERED SUPPORT/OPPOSITION
            
          Support
           
          Attorney General Kamala Harris (sponsor)
          California Association of Nonprofits
          National Association of Social Workers-California Chapter
          Next Gen Climate Action
          UAW Local 2865
           
          Opposition
               
          Consumer Bankers Association
          Education Finance Council
          National Council of Higher Education Resources
          Student Loan Servicing Alliance


                                      -- END --