The lead article in the Money section of USA Today this week announced the results of a survey by Sallie Mae, a college-financing company with no relation to the U.S. Government. They used to be called the SLM Corporation, but evidently Sallie Mae sounds enough like Fannie Mae—which is connected to the government’s Federal Housing Finance Agency—to confuse some people and increase business.
According to the survey—of only 292 private-loan applicants—college students are using credit cards more often to pay for tuition and books. College seniors with at least one credit card graduated with an average of $4,138 in card debt, up 44% from four years ago, the survey noted, while the average credit card debt for freshmen jumped 27% to $2,038. (But give freshmen another three years of charging, and their debt will probably reach $4,138, too—if not more.)
Anyway, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the CEO of Sallie Mae earned $4.66 million last year, because the firm narrowed its 2008 losses to “only” $213 million. That’s up from the $1.66 million he made in 2007, when they lost $896 million.
But that’s chicken feed compared to what the firm’s executive vice chairman and CFO took home. In 2008, according to the Chronicle, he received $13.29 million, which included $12.12 million in option awards.
It makes you wonder: How much would they have received if the firm actually made a profit?
