Wachovia halts private student loans
Wachovia Corp. stopped accepting applications for private, undergraduate student loans at the close of business Wednesday.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank (NYSE:WB) will continue to offer student loans for both graduate and professional education as well as student loans backed by the federal government.
"We are constantly evaluating our organization in the current environment, to ensure that we’re doing what’s best for our customers, our shareholders and our company, and at this time we thought it was prudent to stop accepting private undergraduate student loans," Wachovia spokeswoman Ferris Morrison said.
Wachovia has about $9.9 billion in student loans on its books, Morrison confirmed.
In April, rival Bank of America Corp cash advance. said it would discontinue selling private student loans. At the time, a BofA spokesperson said the bank wanted to focus on government-backed loans to provide a more consistent experience for customers.
Wachovia is the largest bank in the Philadelphia area based on local deposits.