NEW YORK, August 2, 2026, 15:02 EDT
A federal appeals court has kept automatic relief on track for more than 170,000 additional borrowers. Sweet v. McMahon now reaches over 450,000 people and more than $23 billion.
That implies roughly $51,000 per affected borrower. It is a scale estimate, not a promised individual award.
For private education-loan books, the direct write-off is zero. The settlement covers federal debt and leaves private loans unchanged. Servicers could still lose accounts or balances as federal loans disappear.
The larger investor issue began July 1. New rules ended Grad PLUS for new borrowers and capped federal graduate lending. The changes may leave funding gaps that private lenders can fill.
SLM Corporation NASDAQ:SLM, SoFi Technologies, Inc. NASDAQ:SOFI, and Nelnet, Inc. NYSE:NNI offer different exposures. U.S. cash markets were closed Sunday.
| Company | July 24 close | July 31 close | Weekly move | Market value | Trailing P/E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLM | $24.29 | $26.00 | +7.0% | $4.95 billion | 7.3 times |
| SoFi | $16.46 | $16.31 | -0.9% | $22.48 billion | 36.2 times |
| Nelnet | $133.36 | $135.87 | +1.9% | $4.90 billion | 11.8 times |
The cleanest policy read-through is SLM’s graduate-loan product. Graduate originations rose 29% in the second quarter. That growth came before the federal caps started. Their share reached 23%, up from 18%.
| Company | Latest student-loan scale | Growth measure | Credit or earnings marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLM | $716 million of Q2 private originations | Total +4.5%; graduate +29% | Delinquencies 3.72%; annualized net charge-offs 2.95% |
| SoFi | $2.7 billion of Q2 student originations | +170% year on year | Annualized student-loan charge-offs fell to 0.61% |
| Nelnet | $525.7 billion serviced for 15.5 million borrowers | Q1 servicing revenue +5.9% | Segment net income was $15 million |
SoFi’s headline growth is much faster. However, its disclosure provides one aggregate student-loan figure. That makes its graduate-policy link less precise. Chief Executive Anthony Noto called the wider quarter a “clear inflection point.” SEC
The settlement is far larger than quarterly private production. Its $23 billion equals 6.7 times SoFi and SLM’s combined latest-quarter student originations. That comparison shows scale, not direct exposure.
| Sweet settlement stage | Borrowers | Dollar measure | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relief reported by April | Nearly 300,000 | About $12 billion | Discharges and refunds delivered |
| Missed post-class deadlines | More than 170,000 additional | Not separately disclosed | Automatic relief required after the appeal failed |
| Overall settlement | More than 450,000 | More than $23 billion | Remaining relief still being distributed |
The department processed only 60,000 of more than 250,000 post-class applications by the deadline. Missed decisions produced the latest automatic relief.
Education Department spokeswoman Ellen Keast called the deadline “unrealistic.” The Ninth Circuit nevertheless affirmed the lower court’s refusal to grant more time. WUNC
PPSL President Eileen Connor said “the work isn’t over.” Her group says more than 1,000 class members still await required relief. Project on Predatory Student Lending
Other federal relief routes remain. Public Service Loan Forgiveness generally requires qualifying work and 120 payments. Borrower defense and other school-related discharges also continue.
Nelnet carries the next scheduled company catalyst. It reports second-quarter results after Thursday’s market close.
| Week-ahead timing | Catalyst | Main investor test |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, August 3 | U.S. markets reopen | Whether SLM extends its 7% weekly advance |
| Thursday, August 6 | Nelnet reports after the close | Servicing balances, borrower counts and segment margins |
| Throughout the week | Settlement implementation | Pace of discharges, refunds and account removals |
Risks: Private demand may not offset tighter underwriting or weaker enrollment. SLM’s annualized net charge-off rate rose to 2.95% from 2.36%, while delinquencies also increased.
The investor split is sharp. SLM offers the clearest graduate-loan upside, but carries more credit risk. SoFi offers faster growth at a richer valuation. Nelnet faces the most immediate servicing test.
Related articles: NASDAQ:SLM
