RESTON, Va. – Student loan giant Sallie Mae announced the sale of its Killeen, Texas, customer service center to Aegis Ltd, part of the Indian conglomerate Essar Group, and the transfer of its 350 employees to Aegis.
“This is the outcome we hoped for as we faced the unenviable task of restructuring our business in response to legislative changes," Sallie Mae's Chief Lending Officer Jack Hewes said, referring to the recent legislation that will eliminate all guaranteed student loans and replace them with direct government loans.
In April, Sallie Mae said it would cut 2,500 jobs as it realigned its business after Congress voted to end federal subsidies that supported private student lending.
The agreement will be effective June 4.
Separately, a top Sallie Mae official said during an investors conference yesterday the company would be interested in acquiring the lending operations of other larger players in the market, including Citibank.
