Borrowings

Outstanding borrowings consist of unsecured debt and secured borrowings issued through our term ABS program and our ABCP Facility. The following table summarizes our secured borrowings at December 31, 2017 and 2016.



	December 31, 2017						December 31, 2016
	Short-Term		Long-Term		Total		Short-Term		Long-Term		Total
Unsecured borrowings:
Unsecured debt	$	—	$	196,539	$	196,539	$	—	$	—	$	—
Total unsecured borrowings	—		196,539		196,539		—		—		—

Secured borrowings:
Private Education Loan term securitizations	—		3,078,731		3,078,731		—		2,167,979		2,167,979
ABCP Facility	—		—		—		—		—		—
Total secured borrowings	—		3,078,731		3,078,731		—		2,167,979		2,167,979

Total	$	—	$	3,275,270	$	3,275,270	$	—	$	2,167,979	$	2,167,979

Short-term Borrowings

Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Funding Facility

On February 22, 2017 and February 21, 2018, we amended and extended the maturity of our $750 million ABCP Facility. We hold 100 percent of the residual interest in the ABCP Facility trust. Under the amended ABCP Facility, we incur financing costs of between 0.35 percent and 0.45 percent on unused borrowing capacity and approximately 3-month LIBOR plus 0.85 percent on outstandings. The amended ABCP Facility extends the revolving period, during which we may borrow, repay and reborrow funds, until February 20, 2019. The scheduled amortization period, during which amounts outstanding under the ABCP Facility must be repaid, ends on February 20, 2020 (or earlier, if certain material adverse events occur). For additional information, see Note 24, “Subsequent Events.” At December 31, 2017, there were no borrowings outstanding under the ABCP Facility.

Short-term borrowings have a remaining term to maturity of one year or less. The following table summarizes the outstanding short-term borrowings, the weighted average interest rates at the end of the period and the related average balance and weighted average interest rates during the period. The ABCP Facility’s contractual maturity is two years from the date of inception or renewal (one-year revolving period plus a one-year amortization period); however, we classify advances under our ABCP Facility as short-term borrowings because it is our intention to repay those advances within one year. Rates reflect stated interest of borrowings and related discounts and premiums.



	December 31, 2017				Year Ended December 31, 2017
	Ending Balance		Weighted Average Interest Rate		Average Balance		Weighted Average Interest Rate
Short-term borrowings:
ABCP Facility	$	—	—	%	$	81,370	6.09	%
Maximum outstanding at any month end	$	300,000



	December 31, 2016				Year Ended December 31, 2016
	Ending Balance		Weighted Average Interest Rate		Average Balance		Weighted Average Interest Rate
Short-term borrowings:
ABCP Facility	$	—	—	%	$	229,719	2.61	%
Maximum outstanding at any month end	$	526,500

Long-term Borrowings

Unsecured Debt

On April 5, 2017, we issued an unsecured debt offering of $200 million of 5.125 percent Senior Notes due April 5, 2022 at par. At December 31, 2017, the outstanding balance was $197 million.

Secured Financings

2017 Transactions

On February 8, 2017, we executed our $772 million SMB Private Education Loan Trust 2017-A term ABS transaction, which was accounted for as a secured financing. We sold $772 million of notes to third parties and retained a 100 percent interest in the residual certificates issued in the securitization, raising approximately $768 million of gross proceeds. The Class A and Class B notes had a weighted average life of 4.27 years and priced at a weighted average LIBOR equivalent cost of 1-month LIBOR plus 0.93 percent. At December 31, 2017, $733 million of our Private Education Loans were encumbered as a result of this transaction.

On November 8, 2017, we executed our $676 million SMB Private Education Loan Trust 2017-B term ABS transaction, which was accounted for as a secured financing. We sold $676 million of notes to third parties and retained a 100 percent interest in the residual certificates issued in the securitization, raising approximately $674 million of gross proceeds. The Class A and Class B notes had a weighted average life of 4.07 years and priced at a weighted average LIBOR equivalent cost of 1-month LIBOR plus 0.80 percent. At December 31, 2017, $698 million of our Private Education Loans were encumbered as a result of this transaction.

2016 Transactions

On May 26, 2016, we executed our SMB Private Education Loan Trust 2016-A term ABS transaction, which was accounted for as a secured financing. A total of $551 million of notes were issued in connection with the transaction. We retained a 100 percent or $50 million interest in the Class B notes and 100 percent of the residual certificates issued in the securitization. $501 million of Class A notes from the securitization were sold to third parties, raising $501 million of gross proceeds. The Class A notes had a weighted average life of 4.01 years and priced at a weighted average LIBOR equivalent cost of 1-month LIBOR plus 1.38 percent. At December 31, 2017, $501 million of our Private Education Loans were encumbered as a result of this transaction.

On July 21, 2016, we executed our SMB Private Education Loan Trust 2016-B term ABS transaction, which was accounted for as a secured financing. A total of $657 million of notes were issued in connection with the transaction. We retained a 100 percent or $50 million interest in the Class B notes and 100 percent of the residual certificates issued in the securitization. $607 million of Class A notes from the securitization were sold to third parties, raising $607 million of gross proceeds. The Class A notes had a weighted average life of 4.01 and priced at a weighted average LIBOR equivalent cost of 1-month LIBOR plus 1.36 percent. At December 31, 2017, $605 million of our Private Education Loans were encumbered as a result of this transaction.

On October 12, 2016, we executed our SMB Private Education Loan Trust 2016-C term ABS transaction, which was accounted for as a secured financing. A total of $674 million of notes were issued in connection with the transaction. We retained a 100 percent interest in the residual certificates issued in the securitization. $674 million of notes from the securitization were sold to third-parties, raising $673 million of gross proceeds. The Class A and Class B notes had a weighted average life of 4.27 years and priced at a weighted average LIBOR equivalent cost of 1-month LIBOR plus 1.15 percent. At December 31, 2017, $612 million of our Private Education Loans were encumbered as a result of this transaction.

The following table summarizes the outstanding long-term borrowings, the weighted average interest rates at the end of the period and the related average balance during the period. Rates reflect stated interest of borrowings and related discounts and premiums. The long-term borrowings amortize over time and mature serially from 2023 to 2040.



	December 31, 2017				Year Ended December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016				Year Ended December 31, 2016
	Ending Balance		Weighted Average Interest Rate		Average Balance		Ending Balance		Weighted Average Interest Rate		Average Balance
Floating rate borrowings	$	1,512,970	2.32	%	$	1,422,856	$	1,175,819	1.71	%	$	687,580
Fixed rate borrowings	1,762,300		3.04		1,420,737		992,160		2.68		548,465
Total long-term borrowings	$	3,275,270	2.71	%	$	2,843,593	$	2,167,979	2.15	%	$	1,236,045

Secured Financings



Issue	Date Issued	Total Issued		Weighted Average Cost of Funds⁽¹⁾	Weighted Average Life (in years)

Private Education:
2016-A	May 2016	$	501,000	1 month LIBOR plus 1.38%	4.01
2016-B	July 2016	607,000		1 month LIBOR plus 1.36%	4.01
2016-C	October 2016	674,000		1 month LIBOR plus 1.15%	4.27
Total notes issued in 2016		$	1,782,000

Total loans and accrued interest amount securitized at inception in 2016		$	2,107,042

2017-A	February 2017	$	772,000	1 month LIBOR plus 0.93%	4.27
2017-B	November 2017	676,000		I month LIBOR plus 0.80%	4.07
		—
Total notes issued in 2017		$	1,448,000

Total loans and accrued interest amount securitized at inception in 2017		$	1,606,804

____________

⁽¹⁾ Represents LIBOR equivalent cost of funds for floating and fixed rate bonds, excluding issuance costs.

Consolidated Funding Vehicles

We consolidate our financing entities that are VIEs as a result of our being the entities’ primary beneficiary. As a result, these financing VIEs are accounted for as secured borrowings.



	December 31, 2017
	Debt Outstanding						Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding
	Short-Term		Long-Term		Total		Loans		Restricted Cash		Other Assets⁽¹⁾		Total
Secured borrowings:
Private Education Loan term securitizations	$	—	$	3,078,731	$	3,078,731	$	3,691,024	$	95,966	$	240,208	$	4,027,198
ABCP Facility	—		—		—		—		1,017		161		1,178
Total	$	—	$	3,078,731	$	3,078,731	$	3,691,024	$	96,983	$	240,369	$	4,028,376



	December 31, 2016
	Debt Outstanding						Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding
	Short-Term		Long-Term		Total		Loans		Restricted Cash		Other Assets⁽¹⁾		Total
Secured borrowings:
Private Education Loan term securitizations	$	—	$	2,167,979	$	2,167,979	$	2,562,156	$	44,617	$	160,783	$	2,767,556
ABCP Facility	—		—		—		—		—		—		—
Total	$	—	$	2,167,979	$	2,167,979	$	2,562,156	$	44,617	$	160,783	$	2,767,556

________

⁽¹⁾Other assets primarily represent accrued interest receivable.

Other Borrowing Sources

We maintain discretionary uncommitted Federal Funds lines of credit with various correspondent banks, which totaled $125 million at December 31, 2017. The interest rate we are charged on these lines of credit is priced at Fed Funds plus a spread at the time of borrowing, and is payable daily. We did not utilize these lines of credit in the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

We established an account at the FRB to meet eligibility requirements for access to the Primary Credit borrowing facility at the FRB’s Discount Window (the “Window”). The Primary Credit borrowing facility is a lending program available to depository institutions that are in generally sound financial condition. All borrowings at the Window must be fully collateralized. We can pledge asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, as well as FFELP Loans and Private Education Loans, to the FRB as collateral for borrowings at the Window. Generally, collateral value is assigned based on the estimated fair value of the pledged assets. At December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the value of our pledged collateral at the FRB was $2.6 billion, respectively. The interest rate charged to us is the discount rate set by the FRB. We did not utilize this facility in the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.