Sallie Mae Profits Slump

RESTON, Va. - (04/22/05) -- Student loan giant Sallie Maereported a 23% decline in first quarter net income to $223 million,or 49 cents a share, compared to the first quarter last year, basedon a fall in securitizations revenue. The company, formerly knownas SLM Corp. said pre-tax gains on its core business of thesecuritization of student loans fell to $50 million for thequarter, down from $114 million for the same period last year. Thecompany, which has grown to become the nation's leading originatorof guaranteed student loans, said it increased its preferredchannel of loan originations to $6.8 billion for the quarter, a 16%increase from the first quarter last year. The company alsocontinued to grow its portfolio and had a student loan portfolio of$112 billion at the end of the first quarter, a 21% increase from ayear ago.

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