SLM Sanlorenzo Spa

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

SLM Corp. (SLM) swung to a second-quarter loss as the lender continued to suffer from dislocations in the credit markets.

Sallie Mae, as the company is commonly known, has been grappling with surging defaults because of a weak job market. The lender is also leading a fight against an Obama administration plan that would end all private origination of student loans, though the loss from that proposed measure would be blunted by the company's win of a key loan-servicing contract from the U.S. Department of Education.

The company Tuesday reported a loss of $122.7 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with year-earlier earnings of $265.7 million, or 50 cents a share. The latest quarter included $325 million of gains on debt repurchases, a $362 million provision for private credit losses and a $105 million reduction of net interest income caused by commercial paper market dislocation. Also excluded from core earnings is $141 million of floor income.

On a core basis, earnings rose to 31 cents a share from 27 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected per-share earnings of 6 cents.

Total interest income dropped a third to $1.2 billion, while total noninterest income plummeted 92% to $45 million.

Sallie Mae originated $3.7 billion in loans, up 53% from a year ago. Originations of private education loans, which aren't backed by the federal government, totaled $387 million as the company implemented the new Smart Option Student Loan product and raised credit standards.

The lender charged off $355 million of managed private education loans during the second quarter, up from $202 million in the first quarter.

The company's loan-loss provision was $278.1 million, essentially double a year earlier and up 11% from the first quarter.

Shares of SLM fell 2.9% to $9.23 in after-hours trading. The stock has nearly doubled in the past three months, but it is still well off levels seen before the financial crisis hit last year.

-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2355; jay.miller@dowjones.com