How is Sallie Mae a private company when its publicly trading its stock in the stock market? Also, just to make sure, it has no government backing, correct?
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Hi @Darrin_Hodkiewicz, in this context, “privatization” means that it is no longer a government entity.
The Student Loan Marketing Association was originally created in 1972 as a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and began privatizing its operations in 1997, a process it completed at the end of 2004 when Congress terminated its federal charter, ending its ties to the government. The company provides private education loans for students and their families.[6] These loans are not made, insured, or guaranteed by any state or federal government.[7]
Wikipedia has a good writeup on the history, if you’re interested: