Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Thu, July 1, 2010 Wells Fargo Reduces Student Loan Rates in Time for Peak Lending Season
SAN FRANCISCO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Just in time for peak student lending season,Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) announced the reduction of variable interest rates across all pricing tiers for the [ Wells Fargo Collegiate® Loan ] and Wells Fargo® Student Loan for Parents, offering interest rates as low as 3.50% for those who qualify based on the current Prime Rate index.
"We strongly advise students and families who borrow private student loans to exhaust all grants, scholarships, and federal loan eligibility first."
In addition to these new low rates, all Wells Fargo private student loan customers can reduce their interest rate during repayment by 0.25% by setting up automatic payments, and [ Wells Fargo Collegiate® Loan ] customers can lower their rates by an additional 0.50% through the Wells Fargo Student Graduation BenefitSM Program. If students qualify for both programs and the lowest pricing tier, their overall interest rate could be as low as 2.75% based on todaya™s Prime Rate index of 3.25%.
According to the CollegeBoard, published tuition and fees at public four year colleges and universities rose at an average annual rate of 4.9% per year beyond general inflation from 1999-2000 to 2009-2010, more rapidly than the previous two decades.
aIn todaya™s economy, families are having a harder time affording college,a said Kirk Bare, head of Wells Fargo Education Financial Services. aThe cost of education continues to increase faster than inflation. The recession has reduced personal income, home equity, and investments. We are reaffirming our commitment to our customers and to the student lending industry by lowering our rates at a time when our customers need it most. We want to be the financial services provider of choice for our customers for every stage of their life.a
[ Wells Fargo Collegiate® Loan ] and Wells Fargo® Student Loan for Parents do not have application, origination, or repayment fees, and customers can defer payments until graduation or make in school payments
aWells Fargo offers private student loans to qualified customers who need to fill the gap between the amount of federal financing for which they qualify and the overall cost of their education,a Bare added. aWe strongly advise students and families who borrow private student loans to exhaust all grants, scholarships, and federal loan eligibility first.a
Wells Fargo private student loan products include [ Wells Fargo Collegiate® Loan ], [ Wells Fargo Education Connection® Loan ], Wells Fargo® Student Loan for Parents, Wells Fargo GraduateSM Loan, MedCAP® Alternative Loan, MedCAP-XTRA® Loan, the Wells Fargo Bar ExamSM Loan, and the Wells Fargo Private ConsolidationSM Loan. Customers can learn more about student lending at WellsFargo.com/student or call toll-free at800-378-5526.
Wells Fargo Education Financial Services serves more than 2.4 million student and family customers in all 50 states and is committed to helping customers make smart borrowing decisions to finance education. Education Financial Services provides customers with financial tips and tools to keep their finances on track while in school and prepare them financially for when they finish college. Wells Fargo markets its education products to colleges and universities, directly to consumers and through Wells Fargo Bank and Wachovia Bank.
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.2 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 10,000 stores, over 12,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally.
