RESTON, Va., March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae and the nation’s leading provider of education funding, today announced that it has received a “perfect” score of 10 for corporate governance according to the latest ratings issued by GovernanceMetrics International (GMI), the corporate governance research and ratings agency. SLM Corporation was one of only 34 companies globally — and one of only 27 American companies — to receive a 10, GMI’s highest rating. The average rating for reviewed companies in the United States was 7.03.
GMI’s rating system incorporates hundreds of data points across six broad categories of analysis: board accountability, financial disclosure and internal controls, executive compensation, shareholder rights, ownership base and takeover provisions, and corporate behavior and social responsibility.
“We are proud to be among this select group that values the importance of solid corporate governance,” said Marianne Keler, executive vice president, Sallie Mae. “We take our responsibility to our shareholders very seriously and are pleased that our performance has been recognized by GMI once again.”
For a full listing of GMI’s ratings, visit its Web site at www.gmiratings.com.
SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation’s No. 1 paying-for-college company, managing more than $107 billion in student loans for more than 7 million borrowers. Sallie Mae was originally created in 1972 as a government-sponsored entity (GSE) and terminated all ties to the federal government in 2004. The company remains the country’s largest originator of federally insured student loans. Through its specialized subsidiaries and divisions, Sallie Mae also provides debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including colleges, universities and loan guarantors.
