BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Jan 6, 2012) - The First Marblehead Corporation (NYSE: [ FMD ]) today confirmed that it has regained compliance with the New York Stock Exchange, Inc.'s ("NYSE") continued listing standards.

On November 2, 2011, the Company received notification from NYSE Regulation, Inc. that it was not in compliance with Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, which requires an average closing price of not less than $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.

The Company received confirmation on January 3, 2012 that it had demonstrated an accelerated cure by having a closing price greater than $1.00 per share on the last trading day of December 2011 while maintaining an average share price greater than $1.00 over the 30 trading days preceding the end of that month.

About The First Marblehead Corporation - First Marblehead helps meet the need for education financing by offering national and regional financial institutions and educational institutions the Monogram® platform, an integrated suite of design, implementation and credit risk management services for private label, customizable private education loan programs. For more information, go to [ www.firstmarblehead.com ]. First Marblehead supports responsible lending and is a strong proponent of the smart borrowing principle, which encourages students to access scholarships, grants and federally-guaranteed loans before considering private education loans; please see [ www.SmartBorrowing.org ]. First Marblehead also offers outsourced tuition planning, billing and payment technology services through its subsidiary Tuition Management Systems LLC. For more information, go to [ www.afford.com ].