Sep 16, 2008 3:16 pm US/Eastern
MEFA Offers Fixed Interest Loans To College Kids
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
The
Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority will start offering fixed interest rate loans to college students for the 2008-2009 academic years, the company announced Tuesday.
MEFA is back in business after raising $400 million in financing through the sale of bonds. "We are pleased to offer to Massachusetts families and students the MEFA Loan with a rate lower than that of alternative loans," said MEFA's executive director Thomas Graf.
MEFA has been working with Gov. Deval Patrick and other stakeholders to complete the financial transactions necessary to raise the capital required to fund the MEFA loan. "(Tuesday's) announcement is very good news for Massachusetts students and families," said Patrick. "I commend the staff at MEFA for their diligence in securing these lower-cost options, especially during challenging economic times."
The loans are available for this quarter and the second semester of the 2008-2009 year.
Early this year, MEFA announced it would no longer be able to finance private student loans because the auction rate bond market had collapsed. In April, the company said it could no longer support federal Stafford loans.
MEFA is a non-profit, self-financing state authority that was started nearly 30 years ago. The company has issued more than $2.3 billion in bonds and has assisted hundreds of thousands of families in financing a college education.
Read: USA Funds Prevents $20 Billion in Loan Defaults
Blog: Student Loan Information For Parents Blog: The Student Loan Guru
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