Better Business Bureau Recognizes Sallie Mae for Marketplace Ethics

Business Wire

Torch Award Recognizes Company’s Commitment to Promoting Responsible Personal Finance

NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sallie Mae — the nation’s saving, planning, and paying for college company — has earned a 2018 Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics from the Better Business Bureau for its commitment to providing products, services, and resources that promote responsible personal finance. Sallie Mae also has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

“The Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics illuminates the importance of corporate conscience and the responsibility to conduct business fairly and honestly,” said Christine R. Sauers, president, Better Business Bureau Serving Delaware. “Recipients of this award are leaders in integrity and ethics in not just their industries but also their communities, and Sallie Mae certainly exemplifies those characteristics.”

Sallie Mae has invested millions of dollars in customer service since spinning off from its legacy student loan servicing company and operation in 2014. As a consumer bank providing credit-based products — including private student loans — Sallie Mae transferred all customer service activities to employees based in the U.S. In addition, the company modernized and upgraded technology and systems, and strengthened employee training. An independent Office of the Customer Advocate was established to review, respond to, and resolve customer concerns. To make it easier and more convenient for customers to interact with Sallie Mae, the company revamped SallieMae.com, launched mobile apps, enabled customers to make payments with Apple Watch, and instituted online chats.

“The Better Business Bureau has the highest standards for integrity, trustworthiness, and service, and receiving the Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics is gratifying because it validates our customer-centric business model and the major culture shift we’ve achieved over the past four years,” said Raymond J. Quinlan, Chairman and CEO, Sallie Mae. “At Sallie Mae, it is everyone’s job to make the customer’s experience exceptional. Our success depends on consumers choosing to do business with us, and as a result, we have reoriented our culture and priorities around serving them and serving them well.”

Sallie Mae provides a variety of free tips, tools, and resources to help families plan for college and make responsible decisions when it comes to paying for college, including the College Planning Calculator and scholarship search tools. In communities where its 1,500 employees live and work, Sallie Mae actively organizes and participates in volunteer activities, supports nonprofit organizations with charitable contributions, and awards scholarships to deserving students.

For more information about saving, planning, and paying for college, visit SallieMae.com.

Sallie Mae (Nasdaq: SLM) is the nation’s saving, planning, and paying for college company. Whether college is a long way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae offers products that promote responsible personal finance, including private education loans, free scholarship search tools, free college financial planning tools, and online retail banking. Learn more at SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.