Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the largest provider of educational loans in the United States. The company was founded in May 1973 as a government-sponsored enterprise called The Student Loan Marketing Association. A government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) is a company that is created and directed by the government, but owned by public investors. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Student Loan Marketing Association Reorganization Act, which authorized the privatization of the company. This meant that the U.S. government no longer provided guarantees on defaulted loans, and was intended to increase fair competition between Sallie Mae and other loan providers. After its privatization was complete in early 1998, the company became known as SLM Corporation, although it is most often referred to as Sallie Mae. As of 2003, SLM Corporation manages over $81 billion in student loans, ranks at number 473 in the 2003 Fortune 500 list, and is ranked in the top 60 largest U.S. corporations, in terms of assets. External References Official website Sallie Mae Sallies Forth, Slate magazine See also Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.