How the student debt crisis and the need for state oversight is making local news
City Limits
February 26, 2019 | As Feds Turn Away, New York Looks to Regulate Student-Loan Servicers
“The importance of this bill is the state government would have the tools at its disposal to make sure student-loan companies are following the law,” says Seth Frotman, the one-time student loan ombudsman at the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau who resigned last summer over Trump administration policies, and launched the independent Student Borrower Protection Bureau. “For far too many borrowers, that’s simply not the case.”
Albany TimesUnion
January 25, 2019 | Women, Older Adults Facing Student Loan Debt in Record Numbers
“The study on student debt, from the Student Borrowers Protection Center, comes amid a number of developments, including a push in New York for greater oversight of companies that service college loans. It also comes as U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has declared the $1.5 trillion worth of student loans that exist nationally a financial crisis that is hobbling countless families. DeVos, though, has angered many consumer advocates by proposing to roll back some rules regarding student loan servicers, prompting a push for more regulations on the state level.”
ABC WKBW Buffalo
September 20, 2016 | Student Loan Debt Soars in New York Over Last Decade
“In the last ten years, student loan debt has increased 112 percent, jumping to $82 billion from $39 billion.”
Reuters
December 15, 2017 | Student Borrowers Under Most Stress in New York City’s Poorest Areas
“…[B]orrowers in New York [City] had on average $34,900 in debt, 18 percent above the national average. About 1 million, or 15 percent, of residents had loans, totaling $34.8 billion.”
MarketWatch
April 28, 2017 | New York Lawmaker Looks to Crack Down on Student Loan Companies
“‘It’s important for states to have a mechanism where these companies are regulated, there’s definitive responsibilities and prohibitions on the way that they operate, and there’s a clear and concise avenue for consumers to register complaints,’ Zebrowski said.”
BinghamptonHomepage.com
November 27, 2018 | Student Loan Debt Debate
“Assembly members today pointed to a lack of inaction on the federal side, as a reason to come together to talk about legislative ways they can combat student debt. For example, much of the discussion was over ways the state can have more oversight on the student loan industry, to make sure no mistakes are made and to make it easier if students have questions about the process.”