Sallie Mae Soars in Q3 2026: Record-Breaking Loan Originations and Strategic Partnerships Fuel Growth
The third quarter of 2026 was a remarkable period for Sallie Mae, as reflected in its recent earnings call. The company's CEO, Jon Witter, highlighted the strong operating performance and continued execution against their strategy, resulting in record-breaking loan originations and strategic partnerships that have further validated their business model.
One of the key highlights of the quarter was the launch of a new strategic partnership with Sixth Street, which adds another funding channel to Sallie Mae's diversified and flexible funding model. This partnership enables growth by expanding origination capacity, reducing dependence on short-term capital market conditions, and generating recurring and predictable program management and servicing fees.
The company also announced that it has completed a strategic partnership with Sixth Street for an initial three-year term, with the partner committed to purchasing a minimum of $1.5 billion in newly originated private education loans annually. This transaction is substantially similar to their first strategic partnership with KKR, which further validates Sallie Mae's strategic partnerships model.
Loan originations for the third quarter were $3.4 billion, representing 15% growth over the year-ago quarter and the highest quarterly origination volume in Sallie Mae's history. Graduate loan originations were up a significant 119% year over year, with an average FICO score 9 points higher than the overall average of new originations in the portfolio.
The company also highlighted that peak season activity has continued well into October and is arguably still underway today, resulting in a 35% increase in disbursements year over year for the month. Sallie Mae believes that stronger than normal volume will continue into the fourth quarter, and that by year-end, their full-year originations will be in line with their guidance of 12%-14% growth.
As Jon Witter noted, this first peak season has provided an important learning opportunity for Sallie Mae. The company now has a more complete view of federal rulemaking, firsthand experience about how both schools and students will respond to the updated federal program, and more insight into the actual mix of student loans demanded.
Sallie Mae is currently in the early stages of processing and analyzing this data, and plans to share their insights with investors later this fall. The company remains confident in its long-term trajectory and excited about the potential for future originations growth."
