RSSEarlier this month the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau introduced its new Financial Aid Comparison Shopper.
The online tool allows individuals to enter their personal financial aid information, adjust family contributions, input scholarships and military benefits and more in order to calculate the overall debt burden and estimated monthly payments after graduation.
Previously, the Bureau announced:
- Know Before You Owe for student loans, which the CFPB calls a “financial aid shopping sheet”;
- A system to file student loan complaints; and
- The student debt repayment assistant, which can help students develop an appropriate repayment plan after graduation.
The CFPB has said the student loan market is “too big to fail.” Outstanding student loan debt has now surpassed $1 trillion.
On April 27, the CFPB combined two missions. President Obama signed an Executive Order directing the Departments of Education, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), to help guide servicemembers and veterans in effectively using their education benefits.
One of the biggest issues is protecting servicemembers from being unfairly targeted by for-profit colleges, according to Holly Petraeus, who leads the Office of Servicemember Affairs.
Recently more banks have exited the student loan market, particularly since the federal government ended guarantees for private student loans in 2010. In late March, Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank announced it will no longer accept student loan applications, and JPMorgan Chase said it will lend only to existing customers.
