[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 191 (Monday, October 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68000-68002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-23766]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Annual Notice of Variable Interest Rates of Federal Student Loans 
Made Under the Federal Family Education Loan Program Prior to July 1, 
2010

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.032.

SUMMARY: In accordance with section 427A of the Higher Education Act of 
1965, as amended, (HEA), 20 U.S.C. 1077a, the Chief Operating Officer 
for Federal Student Aid announces the variable interest rates for the 
period July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017, for certain loans made 
under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. The Chief 
Operating Officer takes this action to give notice of FFEL Program loan 
variable interest rates to the public.

DATES: This notice is effective October 3, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rene Tiongquico, U.S. Department of 
Education, 830 First Street NE., 11th Floor, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 377-4270 or by email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an 
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact 
disc) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 427A of the HEA, provides formulas 
for determining the interest rates charged to borrowers on loans made 
under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, including 
Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, 
and Federal Consolidation Loans.
    The FFEL Program includes loans with variable interest rates and 
loans with fixed interest rates. Most loans made under the FFEL Program 
before July 1, 2006, have variable interest rates that change each 
year. In most cases, the variable interest rate formula that applies to 
a particular loan depends on the date of the first disbursement of the 
loan. The variable rates are determined annually and are effective for 
each 12-month period beginning July 1 of one year and ending June 30 of 
the following year.
    Under section 427A(l) of the HEA, FFEL Program loans first 
disbursed on or after July 1, 2006, and before July 1, 2010, have a 
fixed interest rate. The Chief Operating Officer is discontinuing 
providing the fixed interest rates for FFEL Program loans first 
disbursed on or after July 1, 2006 and before July 1, 2010. Interest 
rates for these loans may be found in a Federal Register notice 
published on September 15, 2015 (80 FR 55342).
    Federal Consolidation Loans made prior to November 13, 1997, and on 
or after October 1, 1998, have a fixed interest rate that is based on 
the weighted average of the loans that are consolidated.
    Interest rates for Federal Consolidation Loans made between 
November 13, 1997 and September 30, 1998 are provided in Chart 3.
    FFEL variable interest rates are based on formulas that use the 
bond equivalent rate of the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned at the 
final auction held before June 1 of each year plus a statutorily 
established add-on. These formulas apply to: All Federal Subsidized and 
Unsubsidized Stafford Loans first disbursed before October 1, 1992, 
that have been converted to variable rate loans; all Federal Subsidized 
and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans first disbursed on or after October 1, 
1992, and before July 1, 2006; Federal PLUS Loans first disbursed on or 
after July 1, 1998, and before July 1, 2006; and Federal Consolidation 
Loans for which the Federal Consolidation Loan application was received 
on or after November 13, 1997, and before October 1, 1998. In each 
case, the calculated rate is capped by a maximum interest rate. The 
bond equivalent rate of the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned on May 31, 
2016, which is used to calculate the interest rates on these loans, is 
0.345 rounded up to 0.35 percent.
    For Federal PLUS loans first disbursed before July 1, 1998, the 
interest rate is based on the weekly average of the one-year constant 
maturity Treasury yield, as published by the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System on the last day of the calendar week ending on 
or before June 26 of each year, plus a statutory add-on percentage. The 
calculated rate is capped by a maximum interest rate. The weekly 
average of the one-year constant maturity Treasury yield published on 
June 27, 2016, which is used to calculate the interest rate on these 
loans, is 0.55 percent.
    This notice includes three charts containing specific information 
on the calculation of variable interest rates for loans made under the 
FFEL Program:
    Chart 1 contains information on the interest rates for Federal 
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans that were made as fixed-rate 
loans, but were subsequently converted to variable-rate loans.
    Chart 2 contains information on the interest rates for variable-
rate Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans.
    Chart 3 contains information on the interest rates for variable-
rate Federal PLUS Loans, certain Federal Consolidation Loans, and 
Consolidation Loans that include loans made by the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services under subpart I of part A of title VII of the 
Public Health Service Act.

 Chart 1--``Converted'' Variable-Rate Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans Interest Rates in Effect for the Period 7/1/2016 Through 6/30/
                                                                          2017
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                         Cohort
--------------------------------------------------------
                                              First        Original fixed interest rate    Max. rate (%)   91-Day T-bill    Margin (%)    Total rate (%)
      First disbursed on or after           disbursed                                                        rate (%)
                                             before
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7/1/1988...............................       7/23/1992  8.00%, increasing to 10.00%....           10.00            0.35            3.25            3.60
7/23/1992..............................       10/1/1992  8.00%, increasing to 10.00%....           10.00            0.35            3.25            3.60
7/23/1992..............................        7/1/1994  7.00%..........................            7.00            0.35            3.10            3.45
7/23/1992..............................        7/1/1994  8.00%..........................            8.00            0.35            3.10            3.45
7/23/1992..............................        7/1/1994  9.00%..........................            9.00            0.35            3.10            3.45

[[Page 68001]]

 
7/23/1992..............................        7/1/1994  8.00%, increasing to 10.00%....           10.00            0.35            3.10            3.45
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Note: The FFEL Program loans represented by the second row of the chart were only made to ``new borrowers'' on or after July 23, 1992. Whether the FFEL
  Program loans represented by the third through sixth rows of the chart were made to a specific borrower depends on the interest rate on the borrower's
  existing loans (see the `Original Fixed Interest Rate' column in Chart 1) at the time the borrower received the loan(s) on or after July 23, 1992 and
  prior to July 1, 1994.

    In Charts 2 and 3, a dagger following a date in a cohort field 
indicates that the trigger for the rate to apply is a period of 
enrollment for which the loan was intended either ``ending before'' or 
``beginning on or after'' the date in the cohort field.

      Chart 2--Variable-Rate Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans Interest Rates in Effect for the Period 7/1/2016 Through 6/30/2017
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                         Cohort                                                                       Margin                        Total rate
---------------------------------------------------------                                ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                               First       Max. rate (%)   91-Day T-bill    In-school,                      In-school,
       First disbursed on or after           disbursed                       rate (%)         grace,         All other        grace,         All other
                                              before                                       deferment (%)    periods (%)    deferment (%)    periods (%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/1/1992...............................        7/1/1994            9.00            0.35            3.10            3.10            3.45            3.45
7/1/1994................................        7/1/1994            9.00            0.35            3.10            3.10            3.45            3.45
                                                [dagger]
7/1/1994................................        7/1/1995            8.25            0.35            3.10            3.10            3.45            3.45
7/1/1995................................        7/1/1998            8.25            0.35            2.50            3.10            2.85            3.45
7/1/1998................................        7/1/2006            8.25            0.35            1.70            2.30            2.05            2.65
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: The FFEL Program loans represented in the first row in Chart 2 were only made to ``new borrowers'' on or after October 1, 1992. The FFEL Program
  loans represented in the second row in Chart 2 were only made to ``new borrowers'' on or after July 1, 1994. The FFEL Program loans represented in the
  third row in Chart 2 must--in addition to having been first disbursed on or after July 1, 1994, and before July 1, 1995--have been made for a period
  of enrollment that began on or included July 1, 1994.


          Chart 3--Variable-Rate Federal PLUS, SLS, and Consolidation Loans Interest Rates in Effect for the Period 7/1/2016 Through 6/30/2017
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                                                      Cohort                                        Index rate
                                         --------------------------------                --------------------------------
                                                                                                              1-Year
                Loan type                      First           First       Max. rate (%)   91-Day T-bill     constant       Margin (%)    Total rate (%)
                                           disbursed on      disbursed                       rate (%)        treasury
                                             or after         before                                         maturity
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLUS and SLS............................  ..............       10/1/1992           12.00  ..............            0.55            3.25            3.80
SLS.....................................       10/1/1992   [dagger] 7/1/           11.00  ..............            0.55            3.10            3.65
                                                                    1994
PLUS....................................       10/1/1992        7/1/1994           10.00  ..............            0.55            3.10            3.65
PLUS....................................        7/1/1994        7/1/1998            9.00  ..............            0.55            3.10            3.65
PLUS....................................        7/1/1998        7/1/2006            9.00            0.35  ..............            3.10            3.45


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                                                                                                          Average of the
                                                                                                               bond
                                                                                                            equivalent
                                            Application     Application                    91-Day T-bill   rates of the
                Loan type                 received on or     received      Max. rate (%)     rate (%)      91-Day T-bill    Margin (%)    Total rate (%)
                                               after          before                                          for the
                                                                                                           quarter prior
                                                                                                             to July 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consolidation...........................      11/13/1997       10/1/1998            8.25            0.35  ..............            3.10            3.45
HHS Portion of Consolidation............      11/13/1997  ..............  ..............  ..............            0.27            3.00            3.27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The last row in Chart 3 refers to portions of Federal Consolidation 
Loans attributable to loans made by the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services under subpart I of part A of title VII of the Public 
Health Service Act.
    Note: No new loans have been made under the FFEL Program since June 
30, 2010.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free 
Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the 
Code of Federal Regulations is

[[Page 68002]]

available via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this 
site you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this 
Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable 
Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, 
which is available free at the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.

    Dated: September 27, 2016.
James W. Runcie,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2016-23766 Filed 9-30-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P