(a) General. (1) The Secretary may enter into a reinsurance agreement with a guaranty agency that has a basic program agreement. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, under a reinsurance agreement, the Secretary reimburses the guaranty agency for—

(i) 95 percent of its losses on default claim payments to lenders on loans for which the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 1998;

(ii) 98 percent of its losses on default claim payments to lenders for loans for which the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 1993, and before October 1, 1998; or

(iii) 100 percent of its losses on default claim payments to lenders—

(A) For loans for which the first disbursement is made prior to October 1, 1993;

(B) For loans made under an approved lender-of-last-resort program;

(C) For loans transferred under a plan approved by the Secretary from an insolvent guaranty agency or a guaranty agency that withdraws its participation in the FFEL Program;

(D) For loans that meet the definition of exempt claims in paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section;

(E) For a guaranty agency that entered into a basic program agreement under section 428(b) of the Act after September 30, 1976, or was not actively carrying on a loan guarantee program covered by a basic program agreement on October 1, 1976 for five consecutive fiscal years beginning with the first year of its operation.

(2) For purposes of this section—

(i) Losses means the amount of unpaid principal and accrued interest the agency paid on a default claim filed by a lender on a reinsured loan, minus payments made by or on behalf of the borrower after default but before the Secretary reimburses the agency;

(ii) Default aversion assistance means the activities of a guaranty agency that are designed to prevent a default by a borrower who is at least 60 days delinquent and that are directly related to providing collection assistance to the lender.

(iii) Exempt claims means claims with respect to loans for which it is determined that the borrower (or student on whose behalf a parent has borrowed), without the lender's or the institution's knowledge at the time the loan was made, provided false or erroneous information or took actions that caused the borrower or the student to be ineligible for all of a portion of the loan or for interest benefits on the loan.

(3) A guaranty agency's loss on a loan that was outstanding when a reinsurance agreement was executed is covered by the reinsurance agreement only if the default on the loan occurs after the effective date of the agreement.

(4) If a lender has requested default aversion assistance as described in paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section, the agency must, upon request of the school at which the borrower received the loan, notify the school of the lender's request. The guaranty agency may not charge the school or the school's agent for providing this notification and must accept a blanket request from the school to be notified whenever any of the school's current or former students are the subject of a default aversion assistance request. The agency must notify schools annually of the option to make this blanket request.

(b) Reduction in reinsurance rate. (1) If the total of reinsurance claims paid by the Secretary to a guaranty agency during any fiscal year reaches 5 percent of the amount of loans in repayment at the end of the preceding fiscal year, the Secretary's reinsurance payment on a default claim subsequently paid by the guaranty agency during that fiscal year equals—

(i) 90 percent of its losses on default claim payments to lenders on loans for which the first disbursement is made before October 1, 1993 or transferred under a plan approved by the Secretary from an insolvent guaranty agency or a guaranty agency that withdraws its participation in the FFEL Program;

(ii) 88 percent of its losses on default claim payments to lenders on loans for which the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 1993, and before October 1, 1998; or

(iii) 85 percent of its losses on default claim payments to lenders on loans for which the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 1998.

(2) If the total of reinsurance claims paid by the Secretary to a guaranty agency during any fiscal year reaches 9 percent of the amount of loans in repayment at the end of the preceding fiscal year, the Secretary's reinsurance payment on a default claim subsequently paid by the guaranty agency during that fiscal year equals—

(i) 80 percent of its losses on default claim payments to lenders on loans for which the first disbursement is made before October 1, 1993 or transferred under a plan approved by the Secretary from an insolvent guaranty agency or a guaranty agency that withdraws its participation in the FFEL Program;

(ii) 78 percent of its losses on default claim payments to lenders on loans for which the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 1993, and before October 1, 1998; or

(iii) 75 percent of its losses on default claim payments to lenders on loans for which the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 1998.

(3) For purposes of this section, the total of reinsurance claims paid by the Secretary to a guaranty agency during any fiscal year does not include amounts paid on claims by the guaranty agency—

(i) On loans considered in default under § 682.412(e);

(ii) Under a policy established by the agency that addresses instances in which, for a non-school originated loan, a lender learns that the school terminated its teaching activities while a student was enrolled during the academic period covered by the loan;

(iii) That were filed by lenders at the direction of the Secretary; or

(iv) On loans made under a guaranty agency's approved lender-of-last-resort program.

(4) For purposes of this section, amount of loans in repayment means—

(i) The sum of—

(A) The original principal amount of all loans guaranteed by the agency; and

(B) The original principal amount of any loans on which the guarantee was transferred to the agency from another agency;

(ii) Minus the original principal amount of all loans on which—

(A) The loan guarantee was canceled;

(B) The loan guarantee was transferred to another agency;

(C) The borrower has not yet reached the repayment period;

(D) Payment in full has been made by the borrower;

(E) The borrower was in deferment status at the time repayment was scheduled to begin and remains in deferment status;

(F) Reinsurance coverage has been lost and cannot be regained; and

(G) The agency paid claims, excluding the amount of those claims—

(1) Paid under § 682.412(e);

(2) Paid under a policy established by the agency that addresses the condition identified in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section; or

(3) Paid at the direction of the Secretary.

(c) Submission of reinsurance rate base data. The guaranty agency shall submit to the Secretary the quarterly report required by the Secretary for the previous quarter ending September 30 containing complete and accurate data in order for the Secretary to calculate the amount of loans in repayment at the end of the preceding fiscal year. The Secretary does not pay a reinsurance claim to the guaranty agency after the date the guarterly report is due until the quaranty agency submits a complete and accurate report.

(d) Reinsurance fee. (1) Except for loans that were refinanced pursuant to section 428B(e)(2) and (3) of the Act, and all loans guaranteed on or after October 1, 1993, a guaranty agency shall pay to the Secretary during each fiscal year in quarterly installments a reinsurance fee equal to—

(i) 0.25 percent of the total principal amount of the Stafford, SLS, and PLUS loans on which guarantees were issued by that agency during that fiscal year; or

(ii) 0.5 percent of the total principal amount of the Stafford, SLS, and PLUS loans on which guarantees were issued by that agency during that fiscal year if the agency's reinsurance claims paid reach the amount described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section at any time during that fiscal year.

(2) The agency that is the original guarantor of a loan shall pay the reinsurance fee to the Secretary even if the guaranty agency transfers its guarantee obligation on the loan to another guaranty agency.

(3) The guaranty agency shall pay the reinsurance fee required by paragraph (d)(1) of this section due the Secretary for each calendar quarter ending March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31, within 90 days after the end of the applicable quarter or within 30 days after receiving written notice from the Secretary that the fees are due, whichever is earlier.

(e) Initiation or extension of agreements. In deciding whether to enter into or extend a reinsurance agreement, or, if an agreement has been terminated, whether to enter into a new agreement, the Secretary considers the adequacy of—

(1) Efforts by the guaranty agency and the lenders to which it provides guarantees to collect outstanding loans as required by § 682.410(b) (6) or (7), and § 682.411;

(2) Efforts by the guaranty agency to make FFEL loans available to all eligible borrowers; and

(3) Other relevant aspects of the guaranty agency's program operations.

(f) Application of borrower payments. A payment made to a guaranty agency by a borrower on a defaulted loan must be applied first to the collection costs incurred to collect that amount and then to other incidental charges, such as late charges, then to accrued interest and then to principal.

(g) Share of borrower payments returned to the Secretary. (1) After an agency pays a default claim to a holder using assets of the Federal Fund, the agency must pay to the Secretary the portion of payments received on those defaulted loans remaining after—

(i) The agency deposits into the Federal Fund the amount of those payments equal to the applicable complement of the reinsurance percentage that was in effect at the time the claim was paid; and

(ii) The agency has deducted an amount equal to—

(A) 30 percent of borrower payments received before October 1, 1993;

(B) 27 percent of borrower payments received on or after October 1, 1993, and before October 1, 1998;

(C) 24 percent of borrower payments received on or after October 1, 1998, and before October 1, 2003; and

(D) 23 percent of borrower payments received on or after October 1, 2003.

(E) 16 percent of borrower payments received on or after October 1, 2007.

(2) Unless the Secretary approves otherwise, the guaranty agency must pay to the Secretary the Secretary's share of borrower payments within 45 days of its receipt of the payments.

(h) Account maintenance fee. A guaranty agency is paid an account maintenance fee based on the original principal amount of outstanding FFEL Program loans insured by the agency. For fiscal years 1999 and 2000, the fee is 0.12 percent of the original principal amount of outstanding loans. For fiscal years 2000 through 2007, the fee is 0.10 percent of the original principal amount of outstanding loans. After fiscal year 2007, the fee is 0.06 percent of the original principal amount of outstanding loans.

(i) Loan processing and issuance fee. A guaranty agency is paid a loan processing and issuance fee based on the principal amount of FFEL Program loans originated during a fiscal year that are insured by the agency. The fee is paid quarterly. No payment is made for loans for which the disbursement checks have not been cashed or for which electronic funds transfers have not been completed. For fiscal years 1999 through 2003, the fee is 0.65 percent of the principal amount of loans originated. Beginning October 1, 2003, the fee is 0.40 percent.

(j) Default aversion fee—(1) General. If a guaranty agency performs default aversion activities on a delinquent loan in response to a lender's request for default aversion assistance on that loan, the agency receives a default aversion fee. The fee may not be paid more than once on any loan. The lender's request for assistance must be submitted to the guaranty agency no earlier than the 60th day and no later than the 120th day of the borrower's delinquency. A guaranty agency may not restrict a lender's choice of the date during this period on which the lender submits a request for default aversion assistance.

(2) Amount of fees transferred. No more frequently than monthly, a guaranty agency may transfer default aversion fees from the Federal Fund to its Operating Fund. The amount of the fees that may be transferred is equal to—

(i) One percent of the unpaid principal and accrued interest owed on loans that were submitted by lenders to the agency for default aversion assistance; minus

(ii) One percent of the unpaid principal and accrued interest owed by borrowers on default claims that—

(A) Were paid by the agency for the same time period for which the agency transferred default aversion fees from its Federal Fund; and

(B) For which default aversion fees have been received by the agency.

(3) Calculation of fee. (i) For purposes of calculating the one percent default aversion fee described in paragraph (j)(2)(i) of this section, the agency must use the total unpaid principal and accrued interest owed by the borrower as of the date the default aversion assistance request is submitted by the lender.

(ii) For purposes of paragraph (j)(2)(ii) of this section, the agency must use the total unpaid principal and accrued interest owed by the borrower as of the date the agency paid the default claim.

(4) Prohibition against conflicts. If a guaranty agency contracts with an outside entity to perform any default aversion activities, that outside entity may not—

(i) Hold or service the loan; or

(ii) Perform collection activities on the loan in the event of default within 3 years of the claim payment date.

(k) Other terms. The reinsurance agreement contains other terms and conditions that the Secretary finds necessary to—

(1) Promote the purposes of the FFEL programs and to protect the United States from unreasonable risks of loss;

(2) Ensure proper and efficient administration of the loan guarantee program; and

(3) Ensure that due diligence will be exercised in the collection of loans.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1845-0020) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1078,1078,1078,1078,1082,Dec. 18, 1992, as amended at 58 FR 9119, Feb. 19, 1993; 59 FR 25746, May 17, 1994; 59 FR 61429, Nov. 30, 1994; 60 FR 31411, June 15, 1995; 61 FR 60486, Nov. 27, 1996; 64 FR 18980, Apr. 16, 1999; 64 FR 58628, Oct. 29, 1999; 71 FR 45707, Aug. 9, 2006; 72 FR 62006, Nov. 1, 2007; 78 FR 65815, Nov. 1, 2013]