Student Debt Is More Subprime Than Ever
To the litany of disastrous news about our nation's huge student debt burden, we can add this: more and more of that debt is being held by the borrowers least able to pay it back.
A new report says that subprime student loans—the least likely to be repaid—are rising. From the WSJ:
In all, 33% of all subprime student loans in repayment were 90 days or more past due in March 2012, up from 24% in 2007, according to a Wednesday report by TransUnion LLC.
Meanwhile, the Chicago-based credit bureau found that 33% of the almost $900 billion in outstanding student loans was held by subprime, or the riskiest, borrowers as of March 2012, up from 31% in 2007.
Student loan delinquency in general has been rising. Greater amounts of subprime student loans will no doubt magnify the problem. Not to worry, though: only slightly less than half of Americans are "one emergency away from financial ruin."
And hey, when has America ever been burned by subprime loans?
