CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 2,559,106	$ 1,534,339
Available-for-sale investments at fair value (cost of $182,325 and $247,607, respectively)	176,245	244,088
Loans held for investment (net of allowance for losses of $341,121 and $251,475, respectively)	22,270,919	18,567,641
Restricted cash	122,789	101,836
Other interest-earning assets	27,157	21,586
Accrued interest receivable	1,191,981	967,482
Premises and equipment, net	105,504	89,748
Income taxes receivable, net	41,570	0
Tax indemnification receivable	39,207	168,011
Other assets	103,695	84,853
Total assets	26,638,173	21,779,584
Liabilities
Deposits	18,943,158	15,505,383
Long-term borrowings	4,284,304	3,275,270
Income taxes payable, net	0	102,285
Upromise member accounts	213,104	243,080
Other liabilities	224,951	179,310
Total liabilities	23,665,517	19,305,328
Commitments and contingencies
Preferred stock, par value $0.20 per share, 20 million shares authorized:
Common stock, par value $0.20 per share, 1.125 billion shares authorized: 449.9 million and 443.5 million shares issued, respectively	89,972	88,693
Additional paid-in capital	1,274,635	1,222,277
Accumulated other comprehensive income (net of tax expense of $3,436 and $1,696, respectively)	10,623	2,748
Retained earnings	1,340,017	868,182
Total SLM Corporation stockholders’ equity before treasury stock	3,115,247	2,581,900
Less: Common stock held in treasury at cost: 14.2 million and 11.1 million shares, respectively	(142,591)	(107,644)
Total equity	2,972,656	2,474,256
Total liabilities and equity	26,638,173	21,779,584
Series B Preferred Stock
Preferred stock, par value $0.20 per share, 20 million shares authorized:
Series B: 4 million and 4 million shares issued, respectively, at stated value of $100 per share	$ 400,000	$ 400,000