Fitch affirms Sallie Mae

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed SLM Corp.'s ("Sallie Mae") A+ long-term issuer default rating, F1+ short-term issuer rating, A+ long-term senior debt rating and A preferred stock rating. The outlook is stable.

The agency said the affirmation reflects Sallie Mae's leading market share in the federally guaranteed student lending industry, earnings consistency, increasing diversity of revenues and the reduction in near-term legislative risk with the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which was completed in February 2006. In addition, Fitch recognizes that the company's funding diversity and capitalization trends have improved in recent years.

The company's ratings could be negatively impacted by declining credit quality in the private education loan portfolio, which now represents approximately 15% of the company's managed student loan portfolio, the agency added.

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