SLM (SLM) 10-Q 23 Oct 19 2019 Q3 Quarterly report Financial data

Cover page

Cover page	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019shares
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Quarterly Report	true
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2019
Document Transition Report	false
Entity File Number	001-13251
Entity Registrant Name	SLM Corp
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	52-2013874
Entity Address, Address Line One	300 Continental Drive
Entity Address, City or Town	Newark,
Entity Address, State or Province	DE
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	19713
City Area Code	302
Local Phone Number	451-0200
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Smaller Reporting Company	false
Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	422,168,926
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Entity Central Index Key	0001032033
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Common Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	Common stock, par value $.20 per share
Trading Symbol	SLM
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Noncumulative Preferred Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series B, par value $.20 per share
Trading Symbol	SLMBP
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 3,851,608	$ 2,559,106
Investments [Abstract]
Available-for-sale investments	455,968	176,245
Other investments	85,500	55,554
Total investments	541,468	231,799
Loans held for investment (net of allowance for losses of $414,406 and $341,121, respectively)	24,716,664	22,270,919
Restricted cash	142,846	122,789
Other interest-earning assets	74,670	27,157
Accrued interest receivable	1,510,458	1,191,981
Premises and equipment, net	135,208	105,504
Income taxes receivable, net	108,743	41,570
Tax indemnification receivable	38,226	39,207
Other assets	40,324	48,141
Total assets	31,160,215	26,638,173
Liabilities
Deposits	22,628,677	18,943,158
Short-term borrowings	297,800	0
Long-term borrowings	4,601,888	4,284,304
Upromise member accounts	192,708	213,104
Other liabilities	256,010	224,951
Total liabilities	27,977,083	23,665,517
Commitments and contingencies
Equity
Series B: 4 million and 4 million shares issued, respectively, at stated value of $100 per share	400,000	400,000
Common stock, par value $0.20 per share, 1.125 billion shares authorized: 453.5 million and 449.9 million shares issued, respectively	90,707	89,972
Additional paid-in capital	1,301,628	1,274,635
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (net of tax expense (benefit) of $(6,525) and $3,436, respectively)	(20,183)	10,623
Retained earnings	1,725,674	1,340,017
Total SLM Corporation stockholders’ equity before treasury stock	3,497,826	3,115,247
Less: Common stock held in treasury at cost: 31.3 million and 14.2 million shares, respectively	(314,694)	(142,591)
Total equity	3,183,132	2,972,656
Total liabilities and equity	$ 31,160,215	$ 26,638,173

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Pa

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Available-for-sale investments, cost	$ 454,603	$ 182,325
Loans held for investment, allowance	$ 414,406	$ 341,121
Preferred stock, stated value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.20	$ 0.20
Preferred stock, shares authorized (in shares)	20,000,000	20,000,000
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.20	$ 0.20
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	1,125,000,000	1,125,000,000
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	453,500,000	449,900,000
Accumulated other comprehensive income, tax	$ (6,525)	$ 3,436
Common stock held in treasury (in shares)	31,300,000	14,200,000
Series B Preferred Stock
Preferred stock, stated value (in dollars per share)	$ 100	$ 100
Preferred stock, shares issued (in shares)	4,000,000	4,000,000

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCO

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Interest income:
Loans	$ 564,698	$ 485,997	$ 1,672,082	$ 1,370,090
Investments	2,145	1,340	5,272	4,981
Cash and cash equivalents	23,548	10,260	53,212	22,068
Total interest income	590,391	497,597	1,730,566	1,397,139
Interest expense:
Deposits	143,393	105,093	405,977	273,154
Interest expense on short-term borrowings	1,400	1,156	3,700	4,677
Interest expense on long-term borrowings	40,533	34,715	116,675	89,111
Total interest expense	185,326	140,964	526,352	366,942
Net interest income	405,065	356,633	1,204,214	1,030,197
Less: provisions for credit losses	99,526	70,047	256,691	187,245
Net interest income after provisions for credit losses	305,539	286,586	947,523	842,952
Non-interest income (loss):
Gains on sales of loans, net	0	0	0	2,060
Losses on sales of securities, net	0	0	0	(1,549)
Gains (losses) on derivatives and hedging activities, net	1,961	(4,949)	21,460	(6,325)
Other income (loss)	15,280	(80,702)	31,313	(58,765)
Total non-interest income (loss)	17,241	(85,651)	52,773	(64,579)
Non-interest expenses:
Compensation and benefits	64,980	62,260	210,213	190,822
FDIC assessment fees	8,814	9,136	23,788	25,933
Other operating expenses	79,827	79,328	198,573	194,250
Total non-interest expenses	153,621	150,724	432,574	411,005
Income before income tax expense (benefit)	169,159	50,211	567,722	367,368
Income tax expense (benefit)	40,701	(53,667)	130,798	27,404
Net income	128,458	103,878	436,924	339,964
Preferred stock dividends	4,153	4,124	12,952	11,441
Net income attributable to SLM Corporation common stock	$ 124,305	$ 99,754	$ 423,972	$ 328,523
Basic earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation (in dollars per share)	$ 0.29	$ 0.23	$ 0.99	$ 0.76
Average common shares outstanding (in shares)	424,149,000	435,468,000	429,295,000	434,875,000
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation (in dollars per share)	$ 0.29	$ 0.23	$ 0.98	$ 0.75
Average common and common equivalent shares outstanding (in shares)	427,336,000	440,019,000	432,572,000	439,484,000
Declared dividends per common share attributable to SLM Corporation (in dollars per share)	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0.09	$ 0

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMP

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net income	$ 128,458	$ 103,878	$ 436,924	$ 339,964
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments	1,344	(1,811)	7,446	(5,896)
Unrealized gains (losses) on cash flow hedges	(10,083)	6,556	(48,213)	36,860
Total unrealized gains (losses)	(8,739)	4,745	(40,767)	30,964
Income tax benefit (expense)	2,135	(1,219)	9,961	(7,562)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax benefit (expense)	(6,604)	3,526	(30,806)	23,402
Total comprehensive income	$ 121,854	$ 107,404	$ 406,118	$ 363,366

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHAN

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Series B Preferred Stock	Preferred Stock	Common Stock	Treasury Stock	Additional Paid-In Capital	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Retained Earnings	Retained EarningsSeries B Preferred Stock
Beginning Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2017			4,000,000	432,376,250	(11,087,337)
Beginning Balance, issued (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2017				443,463,587
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2017	$ 2,474,256		$ 400,000	$ 88,693	$ (107,644)	$ 1,222,277	$ 2,748	$ 868,182
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	339,964							339,964
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	23,402						23,402
Total comprehensive income	$ 363,366
Reclassification resulting from the adoption of ASU No. 2018-02							592	(592)
Cash dividends:
Preferred Stock		$ (11,441)							$ (11,441)
Issuance of common shares (in shares)	6,341,950			6,341,950
Issuance of common shares	$ 21,927			$ 1,269		20,658
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 25,828					25,828
Common stock repurchased (in shares)	0
Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans (in shares)	(3,056,746)			(3,056,746)	3,056,746
Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans	$ (34,653)				$ (34,653)
Ending Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2018			4,000,000	435,661,454	(14,144,083)
Ending Balance, issued (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2018				449,805,537
Ending Balance at Sep. 30, 2018	2,840,335		$ 400,000	$ 89,962	$ (142,297)	1,268,763	27,012	1,196,895
Beginning Balance (in shares) at Jun. 30, 2018			4,000,000	435,380,601	(14,027,932)
Beginning Balance, issued (in shares) at Jun. 30, 2018				449,408,533
Beginning Balance at Jun. 30, 2018	2,728,702		$ 400,000	$ 89,882	$ (140,956)	1,260,201	23,216	1,096,359
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	103,878							103,878
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	3,526						3,526
Total comprehensive income	107,404
Reclassification resulting from the adoption of ASU No. 2018-02	$ 1,052						270	782
Cash dividends:
Preferred Stock		(4,124)							(4,124)
Issuance of common shares (in shares)	397,004			397,004
Issuance of common shares	$ 3,075			$ 80		2,995
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 5,567					5,567
Common stock repurchased (in shares)	0
Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans (in shares)	(116,151)			(116,151)	116,151
Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans	$ (1,341)				$ (1,341)
Ending Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2018			4,000,000	435,661,454	(14,144,083)
Ending Balance, issued (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2018				449,805,537
Ending Balance at Sep. 30, 2018	2,840,335		$ 400,000	$ 89,962	$ (142,297)	1,268,763	27,012	1,196,895
Beginning Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2018			4,000,000	435,681,488	(14,174,733)
Beginning Balance, issued (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2018				449,856,221
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2018	2,972,656		$ 400,000	$ 89,972	$ (142,591)	1,274,635	10,623	1,340,017
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	436,924							436,924
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	(30,806)						(30,806)
Total comprehensive income	406,118
Cash dividends:
Common Stock	$ (38,485)							(38,485)
Preferred Stock		(12,952)							(12,952)
Dividend equivalent units related to employee stock-based compensation plans						5		(5)
Issuance of common shares (in shares)	3,677,821			3,677,821
Issuance of common shares	$ 3,119			$ 735		2,384
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 24,779					24,604		175
Common stock repurchased (in shares)	(15,861,718)			(15,861,718)	15,861,718
Common stock repurchased	$ (157,597)				$ (157,597)
Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans (in shares)	(1,328,665)			(1,328,665)	1,328,665
Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans	$ (14,506)				$ (14,506)
Ending Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2019			4,000,000	422,168,926	(31,365,116)
Ending Balance, issued (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2019				453,534,042
Ending Balance at Sep. 30, 2019	3,183,132		$ 400,000	$ 90,707	$ (314,694)	1,301,628	(20,183)	1,725,674
Beginning Balance (in shares) at Jun. 30, 2019			4,000,000	426,594,990	(26,912,915)
Beginning Balance, issued (in shares) at Jun. 30, 2019				453,507,905
Beginning Balance at Jun. 30, 2019	3,097,316		$ 400,000	$ 90,702	$ (277,071)	1,296,409	(13,579)	1,600,855
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	128,458							128,458
Other comprehensive income, net of tax	(6,604)						(6,604)
Total comprehensive income	121,854
Cash dividends:
Preferred Stock		$ (4,153)							$ (4,153)
Common stock dividend accrual adjustment	$ 339							339
Issuance of common shares (in shares)	26,137			26,137
Issuance of common shares	$ 92			$ 5		87
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 5,307					5,132		175
Common stock repurchased (in shares)	(4,436,963)			(4,436,963)	4,436,963
Common stock repurchased	$ (37,477)				$ (37,477)
Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans (in shares)	(15,238)			(15,238)	15,238
Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans	$ (146)				$ (146)
Ending Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2019			4,000,000	422,168,926	(31,365,116)
Ending Balance, issued (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2019				453,534,042
Ending Balance at Sep. 30, 2019	$ 3,183,132		$ 400,000	$ 90,707	$ (314,694)	$ 1,301,628	$ (20,183)	$ 1,725,674

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CH_2

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Common stock dividend (in dollars per share)	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0.09	$ 0
Series B Preferred Stock
Preferred stock dividend (in dollars per share)	$ 1.04	$ 1.03	$ 3.24	$ 2.86

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Operating activities
Net income	$ 436,924	$ 339,964
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Provisions for credit losses	256,691	187,245
Income tax expense	130,798	27,404
Amortization of brokered deposit placement fee	12,292	9,378
Amortization of Secured Borrowing Facility upfront fee	838	851
Amortization of deferred loan origination costs and loan premium/(discounts), net	9,750	8,039
Net amortization of discount on investments	1,312	1,344
Increase in tax indemnification receivable	981	86,079
Depreciation of premises and equipment	10,850	9,977
Stock-based compensation expense	24,841	25,828
Unrealized (losses) gains on derivatives and hedging activities, net	(24,957)	6,065
Gains on sales of loans, net	0	(2,060)
Losses on sales of securities, net	0	1,549
Other adjustments to net income, net	(2,447)	5,704
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Increase in accrued interest receivable	(719,555)	(628,959)
Increase in non-marketable securities	(10,700)	(5,000)
Increase in other interest-earning assets	(47,513)	(10,485)
Decrease in tax indemnification receivable	0	26,991
Increase in other assets	(10,274)	(56,659)
Decrease in income taxes payable, net	(184,991)	(156,502)
Increase in accrued interest payable	21,831	27,265
Increase in other liabilities	15,928	3,582
Total adjustments	(514,325)	(432,364)
Total net cash used in operating activities	(77,401)	(92,400)
Investing activities
Loans acquired and originated	(5,335,986)	(5,570,195)
Net proceeds from sales of loans held for investment	0	44,832
Proceeds from claim payments	31,474	38,492
Net decrease in loans held for investment	2,992,844	2,208,681
Purchases of available-for-sale securities	(305,872)	(7,914)
Proceeds from sales and maturities of available-for-sale securities	32,282	70,843
Total net cash used in investing activities	(2,585,258)	(3,215,261)
Financing activities
Brokered deposit placement fee	(19,799)	(25,104)
Net increase in certificates of deposit	2,682,850	1,953,644
Net increase in other deposits	911,985	458,472
Borrowings collateralized by loans in securitization trusts - issued	1,105,594	1,890,912
Borrowings collateralized by loans in securitization trusts - repaid	(793,062)	(639,190)
Borrowings under Secured Borrowing Facility	297,800	300,000
Repayment of borrowings under Secured Borrowing Facility	0	(300,000)
Fees paid on Secured Borrowing Facility	(1,116)	(1,095)
Common stock dividends paid	(38,485)	0
Preferred stock dividends paid	(12,952)	(11,441)
Common stock repurchased	(157,597)	0
Net cash provided by financing activities	3,975,218	3,626,198
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	1,312,559	318,537
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period	2,681,895	1,636,175
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period	3,994,454	1,954,712
Cash disbursements made for:
Interest	489,599	327,798
Income taxes paid	185,138	161,248
Income taxes refunded	(853)	(5,174)
Reconciliation of the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows to the Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$ 2,681,895	$ 1,636,175

Significant Accounting Policies

Significant Accounting Policies	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Significant Accounting Policies	Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited, consolidated financial statements of SLM Corporation (“Sallie Mae,” “SLM,” the “Company,” “we,” or “us”) have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of SLM Corporation and its majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries after eliminating the effects of intercompany accounts and transactions. In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods have been included. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the year ending December 31, 2019 or for any other period. These unaudited financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (the “2018 Form 10-K”). Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries after eliminating the effects of intercompany accounts and transactions. We consolidate any variable interest entity (“VIE”) where we have determined we are the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary is the entity which has both: (1) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance and (2) the obligation to absorb losses or receive benefits of the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE. Reclassifications Certain reclassifications have been made to the balances for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, to be consistent with classifications adopted in 2019, which had no effect on net income, total assets or total liabilities. Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Pronouncements ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases” In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, “Leases,” a comprehensive new lease standard which supersedes previous lease guidance. The standard requires a lessee to recognize in its balance sheet assets and liabilities related to long-term leases that were classified as operating leases under previous guidance. An asset will be recognized related to the right to use the underlying asset and a liability will be recognized related to the obligation to make lease payments over the term of the lease. The standard also requires expanded disclosures surrounding leases. The standard is effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and requires modified retrospective adoption, with early adoption permitted. We adopted this guidance on January 1, 2019. In doing so, we identified and evaluated the related lease contracts and revised our controls and processes to address the lease standard. The adoption of this guidance resulted in the recognition of less than $34 million of right of use asset and lease liability, which did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. Recently Issued but Not Yet Adopted Accounting Pronouncements ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which will become effective for us on January 1, 2020. This ASU eliminates the current accounting guidance for the recognition of credit impairment. Under the new guidance, for all loans carried at amortized cost, upon loan origination we will be required to measure our allowance for loan losses based on our estimate of all current expected credit losses (“CECL”) over the remaining contractual term of the assets. Updates to that estimate each period will be recorded through provision expense. The estimate of loan losses must be based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The ASU does not mandate the use of any specific method for estimating credit loss, permitting companies to use judgment in selecting the approach that is most appropriate in their circumstances. Upon adoption, a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings will be recorded as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective in an amount necessary to adjust the allowance for loan losses to equal the current estimate of expected losses on financial assets held at that date. We have evaluated the standard and initiated implementation efforts. We have identified the loss forecasting approach and have built the loss models for our Private Education Loans (as hereinafter defined), our Personal Loans (as hereinafter defined) acquired from third-parties and those originated organically, and prepayments. For our Private Education Loan and Personal Loan portfolios, we will be using the discounted cash flow approach to calculate our current expected credit losses. We will estimate the CECL allowance using relevant available information, from internal and external sources, relating to past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. We have determined that, for modeling current expected credit losses, we can reasonably estimate expected losses that incorporate the current and forecasted economic conditions over a two-year period, after which the model will immediately revert to our long-term historic loss rates. During the third quarter of 2019, we performed monthly dry runs of our CECL solution to test the end-to-end implementation of the new solution. The loss and other models that will be used in our CECL solution are currently either undergoing validation or we are remediating findings from already completed validations. In addition, the calculation engine that is determining the present value of the discounted cash flows is currently being reviewed and tested. As we approach the implementation date, we will continue to perform dry runs of the CECL solution, finalize and implement the required governance and internal controls, complete our loss models for both Personal Loans we originate and credit card receivables, and complete the testing and validation for all the models to be used to implement CECL. Adoption of the standard will have a material impact on how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations, and on regulatory capital. The extent of the impact upon adoption at January 1, 2020 will likely depend on the characteristics of our loan portfolio and economic conditions at that date, as well as forecasted conditions thereafter.

Investments

Investments	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]
Investments	Investments Available-for-Sale Investments The amortized cost and fair value of securities available for sale are as follows: September 30, 2019 Amortized Cost Gross Unrealized Gains Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value Available for sale: Mortgage-backed securities $ 219,531 $ 1,807 $ (723 ) $ 220,615 Utah Housing Corporation bonds 19,474 149 (261 ) 19,362 U.S. government-sponsored enterprises 215,598 473 (80 ) 215,991 Total $ 454,603 $ 2,429 $ (1,064 ) $ 455,968 December 31, 2018 Amortized Cost Gross Unrealized Gains Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value Available for sale: Mortgage-backed securities $ 159,937 $ 155 $ (5,517 ) $ 154,575 Utah Housing Corporation bonds 22,388 23 (741 ) 21,670 Total $ 182,325 $ 178 $ (6,258 ) $ 176,245 The following table summarizes the amount of gross unrealized losses for our available for sale securities and the estimated fair value for securities having gross unrealized loss positions, categorized by length of time the securities have been in an unrealized loss position: Less than 12 months 12 months or more Total Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value As of September 30, 2019: Mortgage-backed securities $ (126 ) $ 6,920 $ (597 ) $ 73,337 $ (723 ) $ 80,257 Utah Housing Corporation bonds — — (261 ) 10,919 (261 ) 10,919 U.S. government-sponsored enterprises (80 ) 34,917 — — (80 ) 34,917 Total $ (206 ) $ 41,837 $ (858 ) $ 84,256 $ (1,064 ) $ 126,093 As of December 31, 2018: Mortgage-backed securities $ (228 ) $ 16,948 $ (5,289 ) $ 125,537 $ (5,517 ) $ 142,485 Utah Housing Corporation bonds — — (741 ) 16,647 (741 ) 16,647 Total $ (228 ) $ 16,948 $ (6,030 ) $ 142,184 $ (6,258 ) $ 159,132 Our investment portfolio is comprised primarily of mortgage-backed securities issued by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with amortized costs of $56 million , $103 million , and $60 million , respectively, at September 30, 2019 . We own these securities to meet our requirements under the Community Reinvestment Act. As of September 30, 2019 , 35 of the 103 separate mortgage-backed securities in our investment portfolio had unrealized losses, and 16 of the 35 securities in a net loss position were issued under Ginnie Mae programs that carry a full faith and credit guarantee from the U.S. Government. The remaining securities in a net loss position carry a principal and interest guarantee by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, respectively. We have the ability and the intent to hold each of these securities for a period of time sufficient for the market price to recover to at least the adjusted amortized cost of the security. As of December 31, 2018 , 74 of the 86 separate mortgage-backed securities in our investment portfolio had unrealized losses, and 34 of the 74 securities in a net loss position were issued under Ginnie Mae programs that carry a full faith and credit guarantee from the U.S. Government. The remainder carried a principal and interest guarantee by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, respectively. We also invest in Utah Housing Corporation bonds for the purpose of complying with the Community Reinvestment Act. These bonds are rated Aa3 by Moody’s Investors Service. As of September 30, 2019 , one of the three separate bonds was in a net loss position. We have the intent and ability to hold each of these bonds for a period of time sufficient for the market price to recover to at least the adjusted amortized cost of the security. In the second quarter of 2018, we elected to sell nine securities totaling $41 million to better align the portfolio with the Community Reinvestment Act requirements, and we recognized a $2 million loss upon the sale of those securities. Beginning in the second quarter of 2019, we began investing in U.S. government-sponsored enterprise securities issued by the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”), Freddie Mac and the Federal Farm Credit Bank (“FFCB”). These bonds are rated AA+ by Moody’s Investors Services. As of September 30, 2019, 2 of the 11 securities had unrealized losses. As of September 30, 2019 , the amortized cost and fair value of securities, by contractual maturities, are summarized below. Contractual maturities versus actual maturities may differ due to the effect of prepayments. Year of Maturity Amortized Cost Estimated Fair Value 2020 $ 77,265 $ 77,377 2021 103,336 103,698 2022 34,997 34,917 2038 260 284 2039 2,880 3,071 2042 7,558 7,388 2043 12,274 12,420 2044 18,838 18,994 2045 20,227 20,259 2046 32,152 32,028 2047 48,145 47,816 2048 13,205 13,548 2049 83,466 84,168 Total $ 454,603 $ 455,968 The mortgage-backed securities have been pledged to the Federal Reserve Bank (the “FRB”) as collateral against any advances and accrued interest under the Primary Credit lending program sponsored by the FRB. We had $214 million and $147 million par value of mortgage-backed securities pledged to this borrowing facility at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , respectively, as discussed further in Note 6, “Borrowings.” Other Investments Investments in Non-Marketable Securities We hold investments in non-marketable securities and account for these investments at cost, less impairment, plus or minus observable price changes of identical or similar securities of the same issuer. In the third quarter of 2019, we funded an additional investment in an issuer whose equity securities we purchased in the past. We used the valuation associated with the more recent securities investment to adjust the valuation of our previous investments and, as a result, recorded a gain of $8 million on our earlier equity securities investments. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, our total investment in the securities of this issuer was $26 million and $8 million , respectively. Low Income Housing Tax Credit Investments We invest in affordable housing projects that qualify for the low income housing tax credit (“LIHTC”), which is designed to promote private development of low income housing. These investments generate a return mostly through realization of federal tax credits. Total carrying value of the LIHTC investments was $59 million at September 30, 2019 and $48 million at December 31, 2018. We are periodically required to provide additional financial support during the investment period. Our liability for these unfunded commitments was $33 million at September 30, 2019 and $37 million at December 31, 2018. Related to these investments, we recognized tax credits and other tax benefits through tax expense of $ 0.8 million at September 30, 2019 and $ 0.9 million at December 31, 2018. Tax credits and other tax benefits are recognized as part of our annual effective tax rate used to determine tax expense in a given quarter. Accordingly, the portion of a year’s expected tax benefits recognized in any given quarter may differ from 25 percent .

Loans Held for Investment

Loans Held for Investment	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Receivables [Abstract]
Loans Held for Investment	Loans Held for Investment Loans held for investment consist of Private Education Loans, FFELP Loans and Personal Loans. We use “Private Education Loans” to mean education loans to students or their families that are not made, insured or guaranteed by any state or federal government. Private Education Loans do not include loans insured or guaranteed under the previously existing Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”). We use “Personal Loans” to mean those unsecured loans to individuals that may be used for non-educational purposes. Our Private Education Loans are made largely to bridge the gap between the cost of higher education and the amount funded through financial aid, government loans and customers’ resources. Private Education Loans bear the full credit risk of the customer. We manage this risk through risk-performance underwriting strategies and qualified cosigners. Private Education Loans may be fixed-rate or may carry a variable interest rate indexed to LIBOR. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, 59 percent and 67 percent , respectively, of all of our Private Education Loans were indexed to LIBOR. We provide incentives for customers to include a cosigner on the loan, and the vast majority of Private Education Loans in our portfolio are cosigned. We also encourage customers to make payments while in school. FFELP Loans are insured as to their principal and accrued interest in the event of default, subject to a risk-sharing level based on the date of loan disbursement. These insurance obligations are supported by contractual rights against the United States. For loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2006, we receive 97 percent reimbursement on all qualifying claims. For loans disbursed after October 1, 1993, and before July 1, 2006, we receive 98 percent reimbursement on all qualifying claims. For loans disbursed prior to October 1, 1993, we receive 100 percent reimbursement on all qualifying claims. Prior to July 2018, we acquired Personal Loans from a marketplace lender. In 2018, we began to originate and service Personal Loans. Loans held for investment are summarized as follows: September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Private Education Loans: Fixed-rate $ 9,551,114 $ 6,759,019 Variable-rate 13,569,055 13,745,446 Total Private Education Loans, gross 23,120,169 20,504,465 Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 78,103 68,321 Allowance for loan losses (342,544 ) (277,943 ) Total Private Education Loans, net 22,855,728 20,294,843 FFELP Loans 798,168 846,487 Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 2,203 2,379 Allowance for loan losses (1,689 ) (977 ) Total FFELP Loans, net 798,682 847,889 Personal Loans (fixed-rate) 1,131,833 1,190,091 Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 594 297 Allowance for loan losses (70,173 ) (62,201 ) Total Personal Loans, net 1,062,254 1,128,187 Loans held for investment, net $ 24,716,664 $ 22,270,919 The estimated weighted average life of education loans in our portfolio was approximately 5.4 years at both September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , respectively. The average balance and the respective weighted average interest rates of loans in our portfolio are summarized as follows: Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Private Education Loans $ 22,202,420 9.30 % $ 19,295,318 9.16 % FFELP Loans 806,865 4.54 877,279 4.65 Personal Loans 1,132,185 12.16 1,082,177 11.03 Total portfolio $ 24,141,470 $ 21,254,774 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Private Education Loans $ 21,896,218 9.40 % $ 18,908,929 9.01 % FFELP Loans 821,870 4.83 898,208 4.47 Personal Loans 1,152,471 11.99 810,753 10.82 Total portfolio $ 23,870,559 $ 20,617,890 Certain Collection Tools - Private Education Loans We adjust the terms of loans for certain borrowers when we believe such changes will help our customers manage their student loan obligations, achieve better student outcomes, and increase the collectability of the loan. These changes generally take the form of a temporary forbearance of payments, a temporary interest rate reduction, a temporary interest rate reduction with a permanent extension of the loan term, and/or a short-term extended repayment alternative. Forbearance is granted prospectively for borrowers who are current in their payments and may be granted retroactively for certain delinquent borrowers. Of our loans that are considered TDRs (as hereinafter defined) at September 30, 2019, approximately one-half involve a temporary forbearance of payments and do not change the contractual interest rate of the loan, and the other half involve a temporary contractual interest rate reduction and permanent extension of the loan term. Forbearance also allows a borrower to temporarily not make scheduled payments or to make smaller than scheduled payments, in each case for a specified period of time. Using forbearance extends the original term of the loan. Forbearance does not grant any reduction in the total principal or interest repayment obligation. While a loan is in forbearance status, interest continues to accrue and is capitalized to principal when the loan re-enters repayment status. We also offer rate and term modifications to customers experiencing more severe hardship. Currently, we temporarily reduce the contractual interest rate on a loan to 4.0 percent (previously, to 2.0 percent ) for a two-year period and, in the vast majority of cases, permanently extend the final maturity date of the loan. As part of demonstrating the ability and willingness to pay, the customer must make three consecutive monthly payments at the reduced payment to qualify for the program. The combination of the rate reduction and maturity extension helps reduce the monthly payment due from the borrower and increases the likelihood the borrower will remain current during the interest rate modification period as well as when the loan returns to its original contractual interest rate.

Allowance for Loan Losses

Allowance for Loan Losses	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Receivables [Abstract]
Allowance for Loan Losses	Allowance for Loan Losses Our provision for credit losses represents the periodic expense of maintaining an allowance sufficient to absorb incurred probable losses in the held-for-investment loan portfolios. The evaluation of the allowance for loan losses is inherently subjective, as it requires material estimates that may be susceptible to significant changes. We believe the allowance for loan losses is appropriate to cover probable losses incurred in the loan portfolios. See Note 2, “Significant Accounting Policies — Allowance for Loan Losses — Allowance for Private Education Loan Losses, — Allowance for Personal Loans, and — Allowance for FFELP Loan Losses” in our 2018 Form 10-K for additional details. Allowance for Loan Losses Metrics Allowance for Loan Losses Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 FFELP Loans Private Education Loans Personal Loans Total Allowance for Loan Losses Beginning balance $ 1,734 $ 307,968 $ 74,295 $ 383,997 Total provision 158 84,110 14,046 98,314 Net charge-offs: Charge-offs (203 ) (56,398 ) (19,626 ) (76,227 ) Recoveries — 6,864 1,458 8,322 Net charge-offs (203 ) (49,534 ) (18,168 ) (67,905 ) Ending Balance $ 1,689 $ 342,544 $ 70,173 $ 414,406 Allowance: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 171,884 $ — $ 171,884 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 1,689 $ 170,660 $ 70,173 $ 242,522 Loans: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 1,474,819 $ — $ 1,474,819 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 798,168 $ 21,645,350 $ 1,131,833 $ 23,575,351 Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized) (1) 0.13 % 1.27 % 6.42 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance 0.21 % 1.48 % 6.20 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment (1) 0.27 % 2.13 % 6.20 % Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized) 2.08 1.73 0.97 Ending total loans, gross $ 798,168 $ 23,120,169 $ 1,131,833 Average loans in repayment (1) $ 621,706 $ 15,632,028 $ 1,131,965 Ending loans in repayment (1) $ 631,626 $ 16,072,979 $ 1,131,833 ____________ (1) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. Allowance for Loan Losses Three Months Ended September 30, 2018 FFELP Loans Private Education Loans Personal Loans Total Allowance for Loan Losses Beginning balance $ 1,073 $ 261,695 $ 32,509 $ 295,277 Total provision 259 42,482 26,155 68,896 Net charge-offs: Charge-offs (252 ) (34,229 ) (5,740 ) (40,221 ) Recoveries — 4,736 286 5,022 Net charge-offs (252 ) (29,493 ) (5,454 ) (35,199 ) Ending Balance $ 1,080 $ 274,684 $ 53,210 $ 328,974 Allowance: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 119,643 $ — $ 119,643 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 1,080 $ 155,041 $ 53,210 $ 209,331 Loans: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 1,199,493 $ — $ 1,199,493 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 866,786 $ 19,040,498 $ 1,133,005 $ 21,040,289 Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized) (1) 0.15 % 0.88 % 2.03 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance 0.12 % 1.36 % 4.70 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment (1) 0.16 % 1.99 % 4.70 % Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized) 1.07 2.33 2.44 Ending total loans, gross $ 866,786 $ 20,239,991 $ 1,133,005 Average loans in repayment (1) $ 681,131 $ 13,351,517 $ 1,072,624 Ending loans in repayment (1) $ 679,110 $ 13,815,415 $ 1,133,005 ____________ (1) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. Allowance for Loan Losses Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 FFELP Loans Private Education Loans Personal Loans Total Allowance for Loan Losses Beginning balance $ 977 $ 277,943 $ 62,201 $ 341,121 Total provision 1,320 197,289 58,280 256,889 Net charge-offs: Charge-offs (608 ) (151,357 ) (53,951 ) (205,916 ) Recoveries — 18,669 3,643 22,312 Net charge-offs (608 ) (132,688 ) (50,308 ) (183,604 ) Ending Balance $ 1,689 $ 342,544 $ 70,173 $ 414,406 Allowance: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 171,884 $ — $ 171,884 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 1,689 $ 170,660 $ 70,173 $ 242,522 Loans: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 1,474,819 $ — $ 1,474,819 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 798,168 $ 21,645,350 $ 1,131,833 $ 23,575,351 Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized) (1) 0.13 % 1.15 % 5.82 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance 0.21 % 1.48 % 6.20 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment (1) 0.27 % 2.13 % 6.20 % Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized) 2.08 1.94 1.05 Ending total loans, gross $ 798,168 $ 23,120,169 $ 1,131,833 Average loans in repayment (1) $ 636,538 $ 15,351,188 $ 1,152,555 Ending loans in repayment (1) $ 631,626 $ 16,072,979 $ 1,131,833 ____________ (1) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. Allowance for Loan Losses Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 FFELP Loans Private Education Loans Personal Loans Total Allowance for Loan Losses Beginning balance $ 1,132 $ 243,715 $ 6,628 $ 251,475 Total provision 742 130,616 55,981 187,339 Net charge-offs: Charge-offs (794 ) (113,852 ) (9,812 ) (124,458 ) Recoveries — 15,421 413 15,834 Net charge-offs (794 ) (98,431 ) (9,399 ) (108,624 ) Loan sales (1) — (1,216 ) — (1,216 ) Ending Balance $ 1,080 $ 274,684 $ 53,210 $ 328,974 Allowance: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 119,643 $ — $ 119,643 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 1,080 $ 155,041 $ 53,210 $ 209,331 Loans: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 1,199,493 $ — $ 1,199,493 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 866,786 $ 19,040,498 $ 1,133,005 $ 21,040,289 Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized) (2) 0.15 % 1.01 % 1.56 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance 0.12 % 1.36 % 4.70 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment (2) 0.16 % 1.99 % 4.70 % Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized) 1.02 2.09 4.25 Ending total loans, gross $ 866,786 $ 20,239,991 $ 1,133,005 Average loans in repayment (2) $ 700,679 $ 13,009,704 $ 803,928 Ending loans in repayment (2) $ 679,110 $ 13,815,415 $ 1,133,005 ____________ (1) Represents fair value adjustments on loans sold. (2) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. Troubled Debt Restructurings (“TDRs”) All of our loans are collectively assessed for impairment, except for loans classified as TDRs (where we conduct individual assessments of impairment). We adjust the terms of loans for certain borrowers when we believe such changes will help our customers manage their student loan obligations, achieve better student outcomes, and increase the collectability of the loan. These changes generally take the form of a temporary forbearance of payments, a temporary interest rate reduction, a temporary interest rate reduction with a permanent extension of the loan term, and/or a short-term extended repayment alternative. When we give a borrower facing financial difficulty an interest rate reduction, we temporarily reduce the contractual interest rate on a loan to 4.0 percent (previously, to 2.0 percent ) for a two-year period and, in the vast majority of cases, permanently extend the final maturity date of the loan. The combination of these two loan term changes helps reduce the monthly payment due from the borrower and increases the likelihood the borrower will remain current during the interest rate modification period as well as when the loan returns to its original contractual interest rate. At September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018 , 8.0 percent and 7.4 percent , respectively, of our loans then currently in full principal and interest repayment status were subject to interest rate reductions made under our rate modification program. Once a loan qualifies for TDR status, it remains a TDR for allowance purposes for the remainder of its life. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , approximately 52 percent and 57 percent , respectively, of TDRs were classified as such due to their forbearance status. For additional information, see Note 2, “Significant Accounting Policies —Allowance for Loan Losses,” and Note 6, “Allowance for Loan Losses” in our 2018 Form 10-K. Within the Private Education Loan portfolio, loans greater than 90 days past due are nonperforming. FFELP Loans are at least 97 percent guaranteed as to their principal and accrued interest by the federal government in the event of default and, therefore, we do not deem FFELP Loans as nonperforming from a credit risk perspective at any point in their life cycle prior to claim payment and continue to accrue interest on those loans through the date of claim. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , all of our TDR loans had a related allowance recorded. The following table provides the recorded investment, unpaid principal balance and related allowance for our TDR loans. Recorded Investment Unpaid Principal Balance Allowance September 30, 2019 TDR Loans $ 1,503,740 $ 1,474,819 $ 171,884 December 31, 2018 TDR Loans $ 1,280,713 $ 1,257,856 $ 120,110 The following table provides the average recorded investment and interest income recognized for our TDR loans. Three Months Ended 2019 2018 Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized TDR Loans $ 1,467,098 $ 24,639 $ 1,180,206 $ 19,943 Nine Months Ended 2019 2018 Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized TDR Loans $ 1,391,167 $ 69,159 $ 1,106,946 $ 56,509 The following table provides information regarding the loan status and aging of TDR loans. September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Balance % Balance % TDR loans in in-school/grace/deferment (1) $ 89,046 $ 69,212 TDR loans in forbearance (2) 97,175 69,796 TDR loans in repayment (3) and percentage of each status: Loans current 1,137,771 88.3 % 994,411 88.9 % Loans delinquent 31-60 days (4) 74,243 5.7 63,074 5.6 Loans delinquent 61-90 days (4) 47,500 3.7 36,804 3.3 Loans delinquent greater than 90 days (4) 29,084 2.3 24,559 2.2 Total TDR loans in repayment 1,288,598 100.0 % 1,118,848 100.0 % Total TDR loans, gross $ 1,474,819 $ 1,257,856 _____ (1) Deferment includes customers who have returned to school or are engaged in other permitted educational activities and are not yet required to make payments on the loans (e.g., residency periods for medical students or a grace period for bar exam preparation). (2) Loans for customers who have requested extension of grace period generally during employment transition or who have temporarily ceased making full payments due to hardship or other factors, consistent with established loan program servicing policies and procedures. (3) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. (4) The period of delinquency is based on the number of days scheduled payments are contractually past due. The following table provides the amount of modified loans (which include forbearance and reductions in interest rates) that became TDRs in the periods presented. Additionally, for the periods presented, the table summarizes charge-offs occurring in the TDR portfolio, as well as TDRs for which a payment default occurred in the relevant period presented and within 12 months of the loan first being designated as a TDR. We define payment default as 60 days past due for this disclosure. Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Modified Loans (1) Charge-offs Payment- Default Modified Loans (1) Charge-offs Payment- Default TDR Loans $ 115,195 $ 21,092 $ 29,258 $ 101,117 $ 11,090 $ 20,595 Nine Months Ended Nine Months Ended Modified Loans (1) Charge-offs Payment- Default Modified Loans (1) Charge-offs Payment- Default TDR Loans $ 357,676 $ 54,173 $ 84,409 $ 301,769 $ 39,315 $ 68,430 _____ (1) Represents the principal balance of loans that have been modified during the period and resulted in a TDR. Private Education Loan Key Credit Quality Indicators FFELP Loans are at least 97 percent insured and guaranteed as to their principal and accrued interest in the event of default; therefore, there are no key credit quality indicators associated with FFELP Loans. For Private Education Loans, the key credit quality indicators are FICO scores, the existence of a cosigner, the loan status, and loan seasoning. The FICO scores are assessed at original approval and periodically refreshed/updated through the loan’s term. The following table highlights the gross principal balance of our Private Education Loan portfolio stratified by key credit quality indicators. Private Education Loans Credit Quality Indicators September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Credit Quality Indicators: Balance (1) % of Balance Balance (1) % of Balance Cosigners: With cosigner $ 20,663,133 89 % $ 18,378,398 90 % Without cosigner 2,457,036 11 2,126,067 10 Total $ 23,120,169 100 % $ 20,504,465 100 % FICO at Original Approval (2) : Less than 670 $ 1,635,201 7 % $ 1,409,789 7 % 670-699 3,528,152 15 3,106,983 15 700-749 7,632,035 33 6,759,721 33 Greater than or equal to 750 10,324,781 45 9,227,972 45 Total $ 23,120,169 100 % $ 20,504,465 100 % FICO-Refreshed (2)(3) : Less than 670 $ 2,819,600 12 % $ 2,416,979 12 % 670-699 2,843,463 12 2,504,467 12 700-749 6,830,464 30 6,144,489 30 Greater than or equal to 750 10,626,642 46 9,438,530 46 Total $ 23,120,169 100 % $ 20,504,465 100 % Seasoning (4) : 1-12 payments $ 5,970,773 26 % $ 4,969,334 24 % 13-24 payments 3,652,078 16 3,481,235 17 25-36 payments 2,684,175 11 2,741,954 13 37-48 payments 2,031,488 9 1,990,049 10 More than 48 payments 2,337,745 10 2,061,448 10 Not yet in repayment 6,443,910 28 5,260,445 26 Total $ 23,120,169 100 % $ 20,504,465 100 % ______ (1) Balance represents gross Private Education Loans. (2) Represents the higher credit score of the cosigner or the borrower. (3) Represents the FICO score updated as of the third-quarter 2019. (4) Number of months in active repayment (whether interest only payment, fixed payment, or full principal and interest payment status) for which a scheduled payment was due. Private Education Loan Delinquencies The following table provides information regarding the loan status of our Private Education Loans. Loans in repayment include loans making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. Private Education Loans September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Balance % Balance % Loans in-school/grace/deferment (1) $ 6,443,910 $ 5,260,445 Loans in forbearance (2) 603,280 577,164 Loans in repayment and percentage of each status: Loans current 15,627,722 97.2 % 14,289,705 97.4 % Loans delinquent 31-60 days (3) 263,331 1.6 231,216 1.6 Loans delinquent 61-90 days (3) 120,007 0.8 95,105 0.7 Loans delinquent greater than 90 days (3) 61,919 0.4 50,830 0.3 Total Private Education Loans in repayment 16,072,979 100.0 % 14,666,856 100.0 % Total Private Education Loans, gross 23,120,169 20,504,465 Private Education Loans deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 78,103 68,321 Total Private Education Loans 23,198,272 20,572,786 Private Education Loans allowance for losses (342,544 ) (277,943 ) Private Education Loans, net $ 22,855,728 $ 20,294,843 Percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment 69.5 % 71.5 % Delinquencies as a percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment 2.8 % 2.6 % Loans in forbearance as a percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment and forbearance 3.6 % 3.8 % _______ (1) Deferment includes customers who have returned to school or are engaged in other permitted educational activities and are not yet required to make payments on the loans (e.g., residency periods for medical students or a grace period for bar exam preparation). (2) Loans for customers who have requested extension of grace period generally during employment transition or who have temporarily ceased making full payments due to hardship or other factors, consistent with established loan program servicing policies and procedures. (3) The period of delinquency is based on the number of days scheduled payments are contractually past due. Personal Loan Key Credit Quality Indicators For Personal Loans, the key credit quality indicators are FICO scores, loan seasoning, and loan delinquency status. The FICO scores are assessed at original approval and periodically refreshed/updated through the loan’s term. The following table highlights the gross principal balance of our Personal Loan portfolio stratified by key credit quality indicators. Personal Loans Credit Quality Indicators September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Credit Quality Indicators: Balance (1) % of Balance Balance (1) % of Balance FICO at Original Approval: Less than 670 $ 55,467 5 % $ 77,702 7 % 670-699 286,460 25 339,053 28 700-749 557,828 49 554,700 47 Greater than or equal to 750 232,078 21 218,636 18 Total $ 1,131,833 100 % $ 1,190,091 100 % Seasoning (2) : 0-12 payments $ 561,102 50 % $ 1,008,758 85 % 13-24 payments 552,313 49 181,333 15 25-36 payments 18,418 1 — — 37-48 payments — — — — More than 48 payments — — — — Total $ 1,131,833 100 % $ 1,190,091 100 % ______ (1) Balance represents gross Personal Loans. (2) Number of months in active repayment for which a scheduled payment was due. Personal Loan Delinquencies The following table provides information regarding the loan status of our Personal Loans. Personal Loans September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Balance % Balance % Loans in repayment and percentage of each status: Loans current $ 1,109,512 98.0 % $ 1,172,776 98.5 % Loans delinquent 31-60 days (1) 6,341 0.6 6,722 0.6 Loans delinquent 61-90 days (1) 8,382 0.7 5,416 0.5 Loans delinquent greater than 90 days (1) 7,598 0.7 5,177 0.4 Total Personal Loans in repayment 1,131,833 100.0 % 1,190,091 100.0 % Total Personal Loans, gross 1,131,833 1,190,091 Personal Loans deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 594 297 Total Personal Loans 1,132,427 1,190,388 Personal Loans allowance for losses (70,173 ) (62,201 ) Personal Loans, net $ 1,062,254 $ 1,128,187 Delinquencies as a percentage of Personal Loans in repayment 2.0 % 1.5 % _______ (1) The period of delinquency is based on the number of days scheduled payments are contractually past due. Accrued Interest Receivable The following table provides information regarding accrued interest receivable on our Private Education Loans. The table also discloses the amount of accrued interest on loans greater than 90 days past due as compared to our allowance for uncollectible interest. The allowance for uncollectible interest exceeds the amount of accrued interest on our 90 days past due Private Education Loan portfolio for all periods presented. Private Education Loans Accrued Interest Receivable Total Interest Receivable Greater Than 90 Days Past Due Allowance for Uncollectible Interest September 30, 2019 $ 1,488,628 $ 2,348 $ 7,505 December 31, 2018 $ 1,168,823 $ 1,920 $ 6,322

Deposits

Deposits	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Banking and Thrift [Abstract]
Deposits	Deposits The following table summarizes total deposits at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 . September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Deposits - interest bearing $ 22,628,139 $ 18,942,082 Deposits - non-interest bearing 538 1,076 Total deposits $ 22,628,677 $ 18,943,158 Our total deposits of $ 22.6 billion were comprised of $ 12.5 billion in brokered deposits and $ 10.1 billion in retail and other deposits at September 30, 2019 , compared to total deposits of $18.9 billion , which were comprised of $10.3 billion in brokered deposits and $8.6 billion in retail and other deposits, at December 31, 2018. Interest bearing deposits as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 consisted of retail and brokered non-maturity savings deposits, retail and brokered non-maturity money market deposits (“MMDAs”) and retail and brokered certificates of deposit (“CDs”). Interest bearing deposits include deposits from Educational 529 and Health Savings plans that diversify our funding sources and additional deposits we consider to be core. These and other large omnibus accounts, aggregating the deposits of many individual depositors, represented $6.8 billion of our deposit total as of September 30, 2019 , compared with $5.9 billion at December 31, 2018. Some of our deposit products are serviced by third-party providers. Placement fees associated with the brokered CDs are amortized into interest expense using the effective interest rate method. We recognized placement fee expense of $ 4 million and $4 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and placement fee expense of $ 12 million and $9 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Fees paid to third-party brokers related to brokered CDs were $ 5 million and $6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and fees paid to third-party brokers related to brokered CDs were $ 20 million and $25 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Interest bearing deposits at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 are summarized as follows: September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Amount Qtr.-End Weighted Average Stated Rate (1) Amount Year-End Weighted Average Stated Rate (1) Money market $ 9,620,876 2.29 % $ 8,687,766 2.46 % Savings 707,546 1.87 702,342 2.00 Certificates of deposit 12,299,717 2.60 9,551,974 2.74 Deposits - interest bearing $ 22,628,139 $ 18,942,082 ____________ (1) Includes the effect of interest rate swaps in effective hedge relationships. As of September 30, 2019 , and December 31, 2018 , there were $ 557 million and $523 million, respectively, of deposits exceeding Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. Accrued interest on deposits was $72 million and $53 million at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018

Borrowings

Borrowings	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Borrowings	Borrowings Outstanding borrowings consist of unsecured debt and secured borrowings issued through our term asset-backed securitization (“ABS”) program and our Private Education Loan multi-lender secured borrowing facility (the “Secured Borrowing Facility,” which was previously called the asset-backed commercial paper facility or ABCP Facility). The following table summarizes our borrowings at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 . September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Short-Term Long-Term Total Short-Term Long-Term Total Unsecured borrowings: Unsecured debt (fixed-rate) $ — $ 197,956 $ 197,956 $ — $ 197,348 $ 197,348 Total unsecured borrowings — 197,956 197,956 — 197,348 197,348 Secured borrowings: Private Education Loan term securitizations: Fixed-rate — 2,699,378 2,699,378 — 2,284,347 2,284,347 Variable-rate — 1,704,554 1,704,554 — 1,802,609 1,802,609 Total Private Education Loan term securitizations — 4,403,932 4,403,932 — 4,086,956 4,086,956 Secured Borrowing Facility 297,800 — 297,800 — — — Total secured borrowings 297,800 4,403,932 4,701,732 — 4,086,956 4,086,956 Total $ 297,800 $ 4,601,888 $ 4,899,688 $ — $ 4,284,304 $ 4,284,304 Short-term Borrowings Secured Borrowing Facility On February 20, 2019, we amended and extended the maturity of our $750 million Secured Borrowing Facility. We hold 100 percent of the residual interest in the Secured Borrowing Facility trust. Under the amended Secured Borrowing Facility, we incur financing costs on unused borrowing capacity and on outstandings. The amended Secured Borrowing Facility extends the revolving period, during which we may borrow, repay and reborrow funds, until February 19, 2020. The scheduled amortization period, during which amounts outstanding under the Secured Borrowing Facility must be repaid, ends on February 19, 2021 (or earlier, if certain material adverse events occur). At September 30, 2019 , there were $298 million borrowings outstanding under the Secured Borrowing Facility and at December 31, 2018, there were no borrowings outstanding under the Secured Borrowing Facility. Long-term Borrowings Unsecured Debt On April 5, 2017, we issued an unsecured debt offering of $200 million of 5.125 percent Senior Notes due April 5, 2022 at par. At September 30, 2019 , the outstanding balance was $198 million . Secured Financings On March 13, 2019, we executed our $453 million SMB Private Education Loan Trust 2019-A term ABS transaction, which was accounted for as a secured financing. We sold $453 million of notes to third parties and retained a 100 percent interest in the residual certificates issued in the securitization, raising approximately $451 million of gross proceeds. The Class A and Class B notes had a weighted average life of 4.26 years and priced at a weighted average LIBOR equivalent cost of 1-month LIBOR plus 0.92 percent . At September 30, 2019 , $464 million of our Private Education Loans, including $430 million of principal and $34 million in capitalized interest, were encumbered because of this transaction. On June 12, 2019, we executed our $657 million SMB Private Education Loan Trust 2019-B term ABS transaction, which was accounted for as a secured financing. We sold $657 million of notes to third parties and retained a 100 percent interest in the residual certificates issued in the securitization, raising approximately $655 million of gross proceeds. The Class A and Class B notes had a weighted average life of 4.41 years and priced at a weighted average LIBOR equivalent cost of 1-month LIBOR plus 1.01 percent . At September 30, 2019 , $688 million of our Private Education Loans, including $641 million of principal and $47 million in capitalized interest, were encumbered because of this transaction. Secured Financings at Issuance Issue Date Issued Total Issued Weighted Average Cost of Funds (1) Weighted Average Life (in years) Private Education: 2017-A February 2017 $ 772,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.93% 4.27 2017-B November 2017 676,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.80% 4.07 Total notes issued in 2017 $ 1,448,000 Total loan and accrued interest amount securitized at inception in 2017 $ 1,606,804 2018-A March 2018 $ 670,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.78% 4.43 2018-B June 2018 686,500 1-month LIBOR plus 0.76% 4.40 2018-C September 2018 544,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.77% 4.32 Total notes issued in 2018 $ 1,900,500 Total loan and accrued interest amount securitized at inception in 2018 $ 2,101,644 2019-A March 2019 453,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.92% 4.26 2019-B June 2019 657,000 1-month LIBOR plus 1.01% 4.41 Total notes issued in 2019 $ 1,110,000 Total loan and accrued interest amount securitized at inception in 2019 $ 1,208,963 ____________ (1) Represents LIBOR equivalent cost of funds for floating and fixed-rate bonds, excluding issuance costs. Consolidated Funding Vehicles We consolidate our financing entities that are VIEs as a result of our being the entities’ primary beneficiary. As a result, these financing VIEs are accounted for as secured borrowings. We consolidate the following financing VIEs as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , respectively: September 30, 2019 Debt Outstanding Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding Short-Term Long-Term Total Loans Restricted Cash Other Assets (1) Total Secured borrowings: Private Education Loan term securitizations $ — $ 4,403,932 $ 4,403,932 $ 5,446,885 $ 127,043 $ 400,574 $ 5,974,502 Secured Borrowing Facility 297,800 — 297,800 339,290 8,902 27,159 375,351 Total $ 297,800 $ 4,403,932 $ 4,701,732 $ 5,786,175 $ 135,945 $ 427,733 $ 6,349,853 December 31, 2018 Debt Outstanding Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding Short-Term Long-Term Total Loans Restricted Cash Other Assets (1) Total Secured borrowings: Private Education Loan term securitizations $ — $ 4,086,956 $ 4,086,956 $ 5,030,837 $ 113,431 $ 326,570 $ 5,470,838 Secured Borrowing Facility — — — — — 157 157 Total $ — $ 4,086,956 $ 4,086,956 $ 5,030,837 $ 113,431 $ 326,727 $ 5,470,995 ____ (1) Other assets primarily represent accrued interest receivable. Other Borrowing Sources We maintain discretionary uncommitted Federal Funds lines of credit with various correspondent banks, which totaled $125 million at September 30, 2019 . The interest rate we are charged on these lines of credit is priced at Fed Funds plus a spread at the time of borrowing and is payable daily. We did not utilize these lines of credit in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 or in the year ended December 31, 2018 . We established an account at the FRB to meet eligibility requirements for access to the Primary Credit borrowing facility at the FRB’s Discount Window (the “Window”). The Primary Credit borrowing facility is a lending program available to depository institutions that are in generally sound financial condition. All borrowings at the Window must be fully collateralized. We can pledge asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, as well as FFELP Loans and Private Education Loans, to the FRB as collateral for borrowings at the Window. Generally, collateral value is assigned based on the estimated fair value of the pledged assets. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , the value of our pledged collateral at the FRB totaled $3.2 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively. The interest rate charged to us is the discount rate set by the FRB. We did not utilize this facility in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 or in the year ended December 31, 2018 .

Derivative Financial Instrument

Derivative Financial Instruments	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]
Derivative Financial Instruments	Derivative Financial Instruments Risk Management Strategy We maintain an overall interest rate risk management strategy that incorporates the use of derivative instruments to reduce the economic effect of interest rate changes. Our goal is to manage interest rate sensitivity by modifying the repricing frequency and underlying index characteristics of certain balance sheet assets or liabilities, so any adverse impacts related to movements in interest rates are managed within low to moderate limits. As a result of interest rate fluctuations, hedged balance sheet positions will appreciate or depreciate in market value or create variability in cash flows. Income or loss on the derivative instruments linked to the hedged item will generally offset the effect of this unrealized appreciation or depreciation or volatility in cash flows for the period the item is being hedged. We view this strategy as a prudent management of interest rate risk. Please refer to Note 10, “Derivative Financial Instruments” in our 2018 Form 10-K for a full discussion of our risk management strategy. Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) requires all standardized derivatives, including most interest rate swaps, to be submitted for clearing to central counterparties to reduce counterparty risk. Two of the central counterparties we use are the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”) and the London Clearing House (“LCH”). All variation margin payments on derivatives cleared through the CME and LCH are accounted for as legal settlement. As of September 30, 2019 , $9.0 billion notional of our derivative contracts were cleared on the CME and $0.5 billion were cleared on the LCH. The derivative contracts cleared through the CME and LCH represent 94.5 percent and 5.5 percent respectively, of our total notional derivative contracts of $9.5 billion at September 30, 2019 . For derivatives cleared through the CME and LCH, the net gain (loss) position includes the variation margin amounts as settlement of the derivative and not collateral against the fair value of the derivative. The amount of variation margin included as settlement as of September 30, 2019 was $(133.6) million and $11.5 million for the CME and LCH, respectively. Changes in fair value for derivatives not designated as hedging instruments will be presented as realized gains (losses). Our exposure is limited to the value of the derivative contracts in a gain position less any collateral held and plus any collateral posted. When there is a net negative exposure, we consider our exposure to the counterparty to be zero. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we had a net positive exposure (derivative gain positions to us, less collateral held by us and plus collateral posted with counterparties) related to derivatives of $73 million and $27 million, respectively. Summary of Derivative Financial Statement Impact The following tables summarize the fair values and notional amounts of all derivative instruments at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , and their impact on earnings and other comprehensive income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. Please refer to Note 10, “Derivative Financial Instruments” in our 2018 Form 10-K for a full discussion of cash flow hedges, fair value hedges, and trading activities. Impact of Derivatives on the Consolidated Balance Sheets Cash Flow Hedges Fair Value Hedges Trading Total September 30, December 31, September 30, December September 30, December September 30, December 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 Fair Values (1) Hedged Risk Exposure Derivative Assets: (2) Interest rate swaps Interest rate $ 275 $ — $ — $ 2,000 $ — $ 90 $ 275 $ 2,090 Derivative Liabilities: (2) Interest rate swaps Interest rate — (2,032 ) (815 ) — (423 ) — (1,238 ) (2,032 ) Total net derivatives $ 275 $ (2,032 ) $ (815 ) $ 2,000 $ (423 ) $ 90 $ (963 ) $ 58 ___________ (1) Fair values reported include variation margin as legal settlement of the derivative contract. Assets and liabilities are presented without consideration of master netting agreements. Derivatives are carried on the balance sheet based on net position by counterparty under master netting agreements and classified in other assets or other liabilities depending on whether in a net positive or negative position. (2) The following table reconciles gross positions with the impact of master netting agreements to the balance sheet classification: Other Assets Other Liabilities September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Gross position (1) $ 275 $ 2,090 $ (1,238 ) $ (2,032 ) Impact of master netting agreement (142 ) (1,389 ) 142 1,389 Derivative values with impact of master netting agreements (as carried on balance sheet) 133 701 (1,096 ) (643 ) Cash collateral pledged (2) 73,527 27,151 — — Net position $ 73,660 $ 27,852 $ (1,096 ) $ (643 ) __________ (1) Gross position amounts include accrued interest and variation margin as legal settlement of the derivative contract. (2) Cash collateral pledged excludes amounts that represent legal settlement of the derivative contracts. Cash Flow Fair Value Trading Total September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 Notional Values Interest rate swaps $ 1,183,176 $ 1,280,367 $ 4,831,038 $ 3,137,965 $ 3,471,271 $ 1,577,978 $ 9,485,485 $ 5,996,310 As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , the following amounts were recorded on the consolidated balance sheet related to cumulative basis adjustments for fair value hedges: Line Item in the Balance Sheet in Which the Hedged Item is Included: Carrying Amount of the Hedged Assets/(Liabilities) Cumulative Amount of Fair Value Hedging Adjustment Included in the Carrying Amount of the Hedged Assets/(Liabilities) September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Deposits $ (4,903,568 ) $ (3,114,304 ) $ (83,892 ) $ 14,202 Impact of Derivatives on the Consolidated Statements of Income Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 2019 2018 2019 2018 Fair Value Hedges Interest rate swaps: Interest recognized on derivatives $ (2,924 ) $ (3,977 ) $ (10,812 ) $ (7,303 ) Hedged items recorded in interest expense (16,391 ) 4,809 (98,094 ) 27,526 Derivatives recorded in interest expense 16,610 (4,896 ) 97,947 (27,774 ) Total $ (2,705 ) $ (4,064 ) $ (10,959 ) $ (7,551 ) Cash Flow Hedges Interest rate swaps: Amount of gain (loss) reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income into interest expense $ 517 $ (21 ) $ 3,002 $ (2,142 ) Total $ 517 $ (21 ) $ 3,002 $ (2,142 ) Trading Interest rate swaps: Change in fair value of future interest payments recorded in earnings $ 2,844 $ (1,557 ) $ 25,288 $ (8,492 ) Total 2,844 (1,557 ) 25,288 (8,492 ) Total $ 656 $ (5,642 ) $ 17,331 $ (18,185 ) Impact of Derivatives on the Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Amount of gain recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) $ (9,566 ) $ 6,453 $ (45,211 ) $ 34,718 Less: amount of loss reclassified in interest expense 517 (21 ) 3,002 (2,142 ) Total change in other comprehensive income (loss) for unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives, before income tax (expense) benefit $ (10,083 ) $ 6,474 $ (48,213 ) $ 36,860 Amounts reported in accumulated other comprehensive income related to derivatives will be reclassified to interest expense as interest payments are made on our variable-rate deposits. During the next 12 months, we estimate that $4.7 million will be reclassified as a decrease to interest expense. Cash Collateral As of September 30, 2019 , cash collateral held and pledged excludes amounts that represent legal settlement of the derivative contracts held with the CME and LCH. There was no cash collateral held related to derivative exposure between us and our derivatives counterparties at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , respectively. Cash collateral pledged related to derivative exposure between us and our derivatives counterparties was $74 million and $27 million at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , respectively. Collateral pledged is recorded in “Other interest-earning assets” on the consolidated balance sheets.

Stockholders' Equity

Stockholders' Equity	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Equity [Abstract]
Stockholders' Equity	Stockholders’ Equity The following table summarizes our common share repurchases and issuances. Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended (Shares and per share amounts in actuals) 2019 2018 2019 2018 Common stock repurchased under repurchase program (1) 4,436,963 — 15,861,718 — Average purchase price per share (2) $ 8.45 $ — $ 9.94 $ — Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans (3) 15,238 116,151 1,328,665 3,056,746 Average purchase price per share $ 9.54 $ 11.54 $ 10.92 $ 11.34 Common shares issued (4) 26,137 397,004 3,677,821 6,341,950 __________________ (1) Common shares purchased under our share repurchase program. $ 43 million of capacity under the program remained available as of September 30, 2019 . (2) Average purchase price per share includes purchase commission costs. (3) Comprised of shares withheld from stock option exercises and vesting of restricted stock for employees’ tax withholding obligations and shares tendered by employees to satisfy option exercise costs. (4) Common shares issued under our various compensation and benefit plans. The closing price of our common stock on September 30, 2019 was $8.83 . Dividend and Share Repurchases In September 2019, we paid a common stock dividend of $0.03 per common share. In the nine months ended September 30, 2019, we paid a total common stock dividend of $0.09 per common share. Under our share repurchase program, we repurchased 4 million shares of common stock for $ 37 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 16 million shares of common stock for $157 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 . Our share repurchase program permits us to repurchase from time to time shares of our common stock up to an aggregate repurchase price not to exceed $200 million and expires on January 22, 2021. In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018

Earnings per Common Share

Earnings per Common Share	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Earnings per Common Share	Earnings per Common Share Basic earnings per common share (“EPS”) are calculated using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period. A reconciliation of the numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted EPS calculations follows. Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, (In thousands, except per share data) 2019 2018 2019 2018 Numerator: Net income $ 128,458 $ 103,878 $ 436,924 $ 339,964 Preferred stock dividends 4,153 4,124 12,952 11,441 Net income attributable to SLM Corporation common stock $ 124,305 $ 99,754 $ 423,972 $ 328,523 Denominator: Weighted average shares used to compute basic EPS 424,149 435,468 429,295 434,875 Effect of dilutive securities: Dilutive effect of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance stock units and Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) (1)(2) 3,187 4,551 3,277 4,609 Weighted average shares used to compute diluted EPS 427,336 440,019 432,572 439,484 Basic earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation $ 0.29 $ 0.23 $ 0.99 $ 0.76 Diluted earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation $ 0.29 $ 0.23 $ 0.98 $ 0.75 ________________ (1) Includes the potential dilutive effect of additional common shares that are issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance stock units and the outstanding commitment to issue shares under the ESPP, determined by the treasury stock method. (2) For the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, securities covering no shares and approximately 0 shares, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, securities covering no shares and approximately 0

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Fair Value Measurements	Fair Value Measurements We use estimates of fair value in applying various accounting standards for our consolidated financial statements. We categorize our fair value estimates based on a hierarchical framework associated with three levels of price transparency utilized in measuring financial instruments at fair value. For additional information regarding our policies for determining fair value and the hierarchical framework, see Note 2, “Significant Accounting Policies - Fair Value Measurement” in our 2018 Form 10-K. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 , there were no significant transfers of financial instruments between levels or changes in our methodology or assumptions used to value our financial instruments. The following table summarizes the valuation of our financial instruments that are marked to fair value on a recurring basis. Fair Value Measurements on a Recurring Basis September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Assets Available-for-sale investments $ — $ 455,968 $ — $ 455,968 $ — $ 176,245 $ — $ 176,245 Derivative instruments — 275 — 275 — 2,090 — 2,090 Total $ — $ 456,243 $ — $ 456,243 $ — $ 178,335 $ — $ 178,335 Liabilities Derivative instruments $ — $ (1,238 ) $ — $ (1,238 ) $ — $ (2,032 ) $ — $ (2,032 ) Total $ — $ (1,238 ) $ — $ (1,238 ) $ — $ (2,032 ) $ — $ (2,032 ) The following table summarizes the fair values of our financial assets and liabilities, including derivative financial instruments. September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Fair Value Carrying Value Difference Fair Value Carrying Value Difference Earning assets: Loans held for investment, net: Private Education Loans $ 25,402,823 $ 22,855,728 $ 2,547,095 $ 22,313,419 $ 20,294,843 $ 2,018,576 FFELP Loans 810,141 798,682 11,459 859,185 847,889 11,296 Personal Loans 1,126,514 1,062,254 64,260 1,156,531 1,128,187 28,344 Cash and cash equivalents 3,851,608 3,851,608 — 2,559,106 2,559,106 — Available-for-sale investments 455,968 455,968 — 176,245 176,245 — Accrued interest receivable 1,638,821 1,510,458 128,363 1,285,842 1,191,981 93,861 Tax indemnification receivable 38,226 38,226 — 39,207 39,207 — Derivative instruments 275 275 — 2,090 2,090 — Total earning assets $ 33,324,376 $ 30,573,199 $ 2,751,177 $ 28,391,625 $ 26,239,548 $ 2,152,077 Interest-bearing liabilities: Money-market and savings accounts $ 10,356,228 $ 10,328,422 $ (27,806 ) $ 9,370,957 $ 9,390,108 $ 19,151 Certificates of deposit 12,397,103 12,299,717 (97,386 ) 9,513,194 9,551,974 38,780 Short-term borrowings 297,800 297,800 — — — — Long-term borrowings 4,725,251 4,601,888 (123,363 ) 4,278,931 4,284,304 5,373 Accrued interest payable 83,172 83,172 — 61,341 61,341 — Derivative instruments 1,238 1,238 — 2,032 2,032 — Total interest-bearing liabilities $ 27,860,792 $ 27,612,237 $ (248,555 ) $ 23,226,455 $ 23,289,759 $ 63,304 Excess of net asset fair value over carrying value $ 2,502,622 $ 2,215,381 Please refer to Note 14, “Fair Value Measurements” in our 2018 Form 10-K for a full discussion of the methods and assumptions used to estimate the fair value of each class of financial instruments.

Regulatory Capital

Regulatory Capital	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Banking and Thrift [Abstract]
Regulatory Capital	Regulatory Capital Sallie Mae Bank (the “Bank”) is subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by the FDIC and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions (the “UDFI”). Failure to meet minimum capital requirements and any applicable buffers can initiate certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. Under the FDIC’s regulations implementing the Basel III capital framework (“U.S. Basel III”) and the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action, the Bank must meet specific capital standards that involve quantitative measures of its assets, liabilities and certain off-balance sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The Bank’s regulatory capital amounts and its classification under the prompt corrective action framework are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components of capital, risk weightings and other factors. Under U.S. Basel III, the Bank is required to maintain the following minimum regulatory capital ratios: a Common Equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 4.5 percent, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6.0 percent, a Total risk-based capital ratio of 8.0 percent, and a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 4.0 percent. In addition, as of January 1, 2019, the Bank is subject to a fully phased-in Common Equity Tier 1 capital conservation buffer of greater than 2.5 percent. (As of December 31, 2018, the Bank was subject to a Common Equity Tier 1 capital conservation buffer of greater than 1.875 percent.) Failure to maintain the buffer will result in restrictions on the Bank’s ability to make capital distributions, including the payment of dividends, and to pay discretionary bonuses to executive officers. The Bank’s required and actual regulatory capital amounts and ratios under U.S. Basel III are shown in the following table. Actual U.S. Basel III Regulatory Requirements (1) Amount Ratio Amount Ratio As of September 30, 2019: Common Equity Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 3,123,262 11.5 % $ 1,893,808 > 7.0 % Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 3,123,262 11.5 % $ 2,299,624 > 8.5 % Total Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 3,462,407 12.8 % $ 2,840,712 > 10.5 % Tier 1 Capital (to Average Assets) $ 3,123,262 10.3 % (2) $ 1,209,790 > 4.0 % As of December 31, 2018: Common Equity Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 2,896,091 12.1 % $ 1,528,209 > 6.375 % Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 2,896,091 12.1 % $ 1,887,787 > 7.875 % Total Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 3,196,279 13.3 % $ 2,367,226 > 9.875 % Tier 1 Capital (to Average Assets) $ 2,896,091 11.1 % $ 1,039,226 > 4.0 % ________________ (1) Required risk-based capital ratios include the capital conservation buffer. (2) The Bank’s Tier 1 leverage ratio exceeds the 5 percent well-capitalized standard for the Tier 1 leverage ratio under the prompt corrective action framework. Bank Dividends The Bank is chartered under the laws of the State of Utah and its deposits are insured by the FDIC. The Bank’s ability to pay dividends is subject to the laws of Utah and the regulations of the FDIC. Generally, under Utah’s industrial bank laws and regulations as well as FDIC regulations, the Bank may pay dividends from its net profits without regulatory approval if, following the payment of the dividend, the Bank’s capital and surplus would not be impaired. The Bank declared $20 million and $241 million in dividends to the Company for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 , respectively, and no dividends for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018

Commitments, Contingencies and

Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees	Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees Commitments When we approve a Private Education Loan at the beginning of an academic year, that approval may cover the borrowing for the entire academic year. As such, we do not always disburse the full amount of the loan at the time of such approval, but instead have a commitment to fund a portion of the loan at a later date (usually at the start of the second semester or subsequent trimesters). At September 30, 2019 , we had $ 2.2 billion of outstanding contractual loan commitments which we expect to fund during the remainder of the 2019/2020 academic year. At September 30, 2019 , we had a $ 2 million reserve recorded in “Other Liabilities” to cover expected losses that may occur during the one-year loss emergence period on these unfunded commitments. Legal Proceedings On July 17, 2018, the Mississippi Attorney General filed a lawsuit in Mississippi state court against Navient, Navient Solutions, LLC, and the Bank arising out of the Multi-State Investigation. The complaint alleges unfair and deceptive trade practices against all three defendants as to private loan origination practices from 2000 to 2009, and against the two Navient defendants as to servicing practices between 2010 and the present. The complaint further alleges that Navient assumed responsibility for these matters under the Separation and Distribution Agreement for alleged conduct that pre-dated the Spin-Off. On September 27, 2018, the Mississippi Attorney General filed an amended complaint. On October 8, 2018, the Bank moved to dismiss the Mississippi Attorney General’s action as to the Bank, arguing, among other things, that the complaint failed to allege with sufficient particularity or specificity how the Bank was responsible for any of the alleged conduct, most of which predated the Bank’s existence. On November 20, 2018, the Mississippi Attorney General filed an opposition brief and the Bank filed a reply on December 21, 2018. The court heard oral argument on the Bank’s motion to dismiss on April 11, 2019. On August 15, 2019, the court entered an order denying the Bank’s motion to dismiss. On September 5, 2019, the Bank filed with the Supreme Court of Mississippi a petition for interlocutory appeal. The Mississippi Attorney General filed an opposition to the petition for interlocutory appeal on September 19, 2019. On October 16, 2019, the Supreme Court of Mississippi granted the Bank’s petition for interlocutory appeal and stayed the trial court proceedings. Contingencies In the ordinary course of business, we and our subsidiaries are routinely defendants in or parties to pending and threatened legal actions and proceedings, including actions brought on behalf of various classes of claimants. These actions and proceedings may be based on alleged violations of consumer protection, securities, employment and other laws. In certain of these actions and proceedings, claims for substantial monetary damages may be asserted against us and our subsidiaries. It is common for the Company, our subsidiaries and affiliates to receive information and document requests and investigative demands from state attorneys general, legislative committees, and administrative agencies. These requests may be for informational or regulatory purposes and may relate to our business practices, the industries in which we operate, or other companies with whom we conduct business. Our practice has been and continues to be to cooperate with these bodies and be responsive to any such requests. We are required to establish reserves for litigation and regulatory matters where those matters present loss contingencies that are both probable and estimable. When loss contingencies are not both probable and estimable, we do not establish reserves. Based on current knowledge, management does not believe there are loss contingencies, if any, arising from pending investigations, litigation or regulatory matters for which reserves should be established.

Significant Accounting Polici_2

Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited, consolidated financial statements of SLM Corporation (“Sallie Mae,” “SLM,” the “Company,” “we,” or “us”) have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of SLM Corporation and its majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries after eliminating the effects of intercompany accounts and transactions. In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods have been included. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the year ending December 31, 2019 or for any other period. These unaudited financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (the “2018 Form 10-K”).
Consolidation	Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries after eliminating the effects of intercompany accounts and transactions.
Reclassifications	Reclassifications Certain reclassifications have been made to the balances for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, to be consistent with classifications adopted in 2019, which had no effect on net income, total assets or total liabilities.
Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Pronouncements	Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Pronouncements ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases” In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, “Leases,” a comprehensive new lease standard which supersedes previous lease guidance. The standard requires a lessee to recognize in its balance sheet assets and liabilities related to long-term leases that were classified as operating leases under previous guidance. An asset will be recognized related to the right to use the underlying asset and a liability will be recognized related to the obligation to make lease payments over the term of the lease. The standard also requires expanded disclosures surrounding leases. The standard is effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and requires modified retrospective adoption, with early adoption permitted. We adopted this guidance on January 1, 2019. In doing so, we identified and evaluated the related lease contracts and revised our controls and processes to address the lease standard. The adoption of this guidance resulted in the recognition of less than $34 million of right of use asset and lease liability, which did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. Recently Issued but Not Yet Adopted Accounting Pronouncements ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which will become effective for us on January 1, 2020. This ASU eliminates the current accounting guidance for the recognition of credit impairment. Under the new guidance, for all loans carried at amortized cost, upon loan origination we will be required to measure our allowance for loan losses based on our estimate of all current expected credit losses (“CECL”) over the remaining contractual term of the assets. Updates to that estimate each period will be recorded through provision expense. The estimate of loan losses must be based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The ASU does not mandate the use of any specific method for estimating credit loss, permitting companies to use judgment in selecting the approach that is most appropriate in their circumstances. Upon adoption, a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings will be recorded as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective in an amount necessary to adjust the allowance for loan losses to equal the current estimate of expected losses on financial assets held at that date. We have evaluated the standard and initiated implementation efforts. We have identified the loss forecasting approach and have built the loss models for our Private Education Loans (as hereinafter defined), our Personal Loans (as hereinafter defined) acquired from third-parties and those originated organically, and prepayments. For our Private Education Loan and Personal Loan portfolios, we will be using the discounted cash flow approach to calculate our current expected credit losses. We will estimate the CECL allowance using relevant available information, from internal and external sources, relating to past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. We have determined that, for modeling current expected credit losses, we can reasonably estimate expected losses that incorporate the current and forecasted economic conditions over a two-year period, after which the model will immediately revert to our long-term historic loss rates. During the third quarter of 2019, we performed monthly dry runs of our CECL solution to test the end-to-end implementation of the new solution. The loss and other models that will be used in our CECL solution are currently either undergoing validation or we are remediating findings from already completed validations. In addition, the calculation engine that is determining the present value of the discounted cash flows is currently being reviewed and tested. As we approach the implementation date, we will continue to perform dry runs of the CECL solution, finalize and implement the required governance and internal controls, complete our loss models for both Personal Loans we originate and credit card receivables, and complete the testing and validation for all the models to be used to implement CECL. Adoption of the standard will have a material impact on how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations, and on regulatory capital. The extent of the impact upon adoption at January 1, 2020 will likely depend on the characteristics of our loan portfolio and economic conditions at that date, as well as forecasted conditions thereafter.

Investments (Tables)

Investments (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]
Schedule of amortized cost and fair value of securities available-for-sale	The amortized cost and fair value of securities available for sale are as follows: September 30, 2019 Amortized Cost Gross Unrealized Gains Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value Available for sale: Mortgage-backed securities $ 219,531 $ 1,807 $ (723 ) $ 220,615 Utah Housing Corporation bonds 19,474 149 (261 ) 19,362 U.S. government-sponsored enterprises 215,598 473 (80 ) 215,991 Total $ 454,603 $ 2,429 $ (1,064 ) $ 455,968 December 31, 2018 Amortized Cost Gross Unrealized Gains Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value Available for sale: Mortgage-backed securities $ 159,937 $ 155 $ (5,517 ) $ 154,575 Utah Housing Corporation bonds 22,388 23 (741 ) 21,670 Total $ 182,325 $ 178 $ (6,258 ) $ 176,245
Available-for-sale securities, continuous unrealized loss position, fair value	The following table summarizes the amount of gross unrealized losses for our available for sale securities and the estimated fair value for securities having gross unrealized loss positions, categorized by length of time the securities have been in an unrealized loss position: Less than 12 months 12 months or more Total Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value Gross Unrealized Losses Estimated Fair Value As of September 30, 2019: Mortgage-backed securities $ (126 ) $ 6,920 $ (597 ) $ 73,337 $ (723 ) $ 80,257 Utah Housing Corporation bonds — — (261 ) 10,919 (261 ) 10,919 U.S. government-sponsored enterprises (80 ) 34,917 — — (80 ) 34,917 Total $ (206 ) $ 41,837 $ (858 ) $ 84,256 $ (1,064 ) $ 126,093 As of December 31, 2018: Mortgage-backed securities $ (228 ) $ 16,948 $ (5,289 ) $ 125,537 $ (5,517 ) $ 142,485 Utah Housing Corporation bonds — — (741 ) 16,647 (741 ) 16,647 Total $ (228 ) $ 16,948 $ (6,030 ) $ 142,184 $ (6,258 ) $ 159,132
Amortized cost and fair value of securities by contractual maturities	As of September 30, 2019 , the amortized cost and fair value of securities, by contractual maturities, are summarized below. Contractual maturities versus actual maturities may differ due to the effect of prepayments. Year of Maturity Amortized Cost Estimated Fair Value 2020 $ 77,265 $ 77,377 2021 103,336 103,698 2022 34,997 34,917 2038 260 284 2039 2,880 3,071 2042 7,558 7,388 2043 12,274 12,420 2044 18,838 18,994 2045 20,227 20,259 2046 32,152 32,028 2047 48,145 47,816 2048 13,205 13,548 2049 83,466 84,168 Total $ 454,603 $ 455,968

Loans Held for Investment (Tabl

Loans Held for Investment (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Receivables [Abstract]
Schedule of Loans Held for Investment	The average balance and the respective weighted average interest rates of loans in our portfolio are summarized as follows: Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Private Education Loans $ 22,202,420 9.30 % $ 19,295,318 9.16 % FFELP Loans 806,865 4.54 877,279 4.65 Personal Loans 1,132,185 12.16 1,082,177 11.03 Total portfolio $ 24,141,470 $ 21,254,774 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Private Education Loans $ 21,896,218 9.40 % $ 18,908,929 9.01 % FFELP Loans 821,870 4.83 898,208 4.47 Personal Loans 1,152,471 11.99 810,753 10.82 Total portfolio $ 23,870,559 $ 20,617,890 Loans held for investment are summarized as follows: September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Private Education Loans: Fixed-rate $ 9,551,114 $ 6,759,019 Variable-rate 13,569,055 13,745,446 Total Private Education Loans, gross 23,120,169 20,504,465 Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 78,103 68,321 Allowance for loan losses (342,544 ) (277,943 ) Total Private Education Loans, net 22,855,728 20,294,843 FFELP Loans 798,168 846,487 Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 2,203 2,379 Allowance for loan losses (1,689 ) (977 ) Total FFELP Loans, net 798,682 847,889 Personal Loans (fixed-rate) 1,131,833 1,190,091 Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 594 297 Allowance for loan losses (70,173 ) (62,201 ) Total Personal Loans, net 1,062,254 1,128,187 Loans held for investment, net $ 24,716,664 $ 22,270,919 The following table provides the average recorded investment and interest income recognized for our TDR loans. Three Months Ended 2019 2018 Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized TDR Loans $ 1,467,098 $ 24,639 $ 1,180,206 $ 19,943 Nine Months Ended 2019 2018 Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized TDR Loans $ 1,391,167 $ 69,159 $ 1,106,946 $ 56,509

Allowance for Loan Losses (Tabl

Allowance for Loan Losses (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Receivables [Abstract]
Allowance for credit losses and recorded investments in loans	Allowance for Loan Losses Metrics Allowance for Loan Losses Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 FFELP Loans Private Education Loans Personal Loans Total Allowance for Loan Losses Beginning balance $ 1,734 $ 307,968 $ 74,295 $ 383,997 Total provision 158 84,110 14,046 98,314 Net charge-offs: Charge-offs (203 ) (56,398 ) (19,626 ) (76,227 ) Recoveries — 6,864 1,458 8,322 Net charge-offs (203 ) (49,534 ) (18,168 ) (67,905 ) Ending Balance $ 1,689 $ 342,544 $ 70,173 $ 414,406 Allowance: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 171,884 $ — $ 171,884 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 1,689 $ 170,660 $ 70,173 $ 242,522 Loans: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 1,474,819 $ — $ 1,474,819 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 798,168 $ 21,645,350 $ 1,131,833 $ 23,575,351 Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized) (1) 0.13 % 1.27 % 6.42 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance 0.21 % 1.48 % 6.20 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment (1) 0.27 % 2.13 % 6.20 % Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized) 2.08 1.73 0.97 Ending total loans, gross $ 798,168 $ 23,120,169 $ 1,131,833 Average loans in repayment (1) $ 621,706 $ 15,632,028 $ 1,131,965 Ending loans in repayment (1) $ 631,626 $ 16,072,979 $ 1,131,833 ____________ (1) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. Allowance for Loan Losses Three Months Ended September 30, 2018 FFELP Loans Private Education Loans Personal Loans Total Allowance for Loan Losses Beginning balance $ 1,073 $ 261,695 $ 32,509 $ 295,277 Total provision 259 42,482 26,155 68,896 Net charge-offs: Charge-offs (252 ) (34,229 ) (5,740 ) (40,221 ) Recoveries — 4,736 286 5,022 Net charge-offs (252 ) (29,493 ) (5,454 ) (35,199 ) Ending Balance $ 1,080 $ 274,684 $ 53,210 $ 328,974 Allowance: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 119,643 $ — $ 119,643 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 1,080 $ 155,041 $ 53,210 $ 209,331 Loans: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 1,199,493 $ — $ 1,199,493 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 866,786 $ 19,040,498 $ 1,133,005 $ 21,040,289 Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized) (1) 0.15 % 0.88 % 2.03 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance 0.12 % 1.36 % 4.70 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment (1) 0.16 % 1.99 % 4.70 % Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized) 1.07 2.33 2.44 Ending total loans, gross $ 866,786 $ 20,239,991 $ 1,133,005 Average loans in repayment (1) $ 681,131 $ 13,351,517 $ 1,072,624 Ending loans in repayment (1) $ 679,110 $ 13,815,415 $ 1,133,005 ____________ (1) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. Allowance for Loan Losses Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 FFELP Loans Private Education Loans Personal Loans Total Allowance for Loan Losses Beginning balance $ 977 $ 277,943 $ 62,201 $ 341,121 Total provision 1,320 197,289 58,280 256,889 Net charge-offs: Charge-offs (608 ) (151,357 ) (53,951 ) (205,916 ) Recoveries — 18,669 3,643 22,312 Net charge-offs (608 ) (132,688 ) (50,308 ) (183,604 ) Ending Balance $ 1,689 $ 342,544 $ 70,173 $ 414,406 Allowance: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 171,884 $ — $ 171,884 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 1,689 $ 170,660 $ 70,173 $ 242,522 Loans: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 1,474,819 $ — $ 1,474,819 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 798,168 $ 21,645,350 $ 1,131,833 $ 23,575,351 Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized) (1) 0.13 % 1.15 % 5.82 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance 0.21 % 1.48 % 6.20 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment (1) 0.27 % 2.13 % 6.20 % Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized) 2.08 1.94 1.05 Ending total loans, gross $ 798,168 $ 23,120,169 $ 1,131,833 Average loans in repayment (1) $ 636,538 $ 15,351,188 $ 1,152,555 Ending loans in repayment (1) $ 631,626 $ 16,072,979 $ 1,131,833 ____________ (1) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. Allowance for Loan Losses Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 FFELP Loans Private Education Loans Personal Loans Total Allowance for Loan Losses Beginning balance $ 1,132 $ 243,715 $ 6,628 $ 251,475 Total provision 742 130,616 55,981 187,339 Net charge-offs: Charge-offs (794 ) (113,852 ) (9,812 ) (124,458 ) Recoveries — 15,421 413 15,834 Net charge-offs (794 ) (98,431 ) (9,399 ) (108,624 ) Loan sales (1) — (1,216 ) — (1,216 ) Ending Balance $ 1,080 $ 274,684 $ 53,210 $ 328,974 Allowance: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 119,643 $ — $ 119,643 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 1,080 $ 155,041 $ 53,210 $ 209,331 Loans: Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment $ — $ 1,199,493 $ — $ 1,199,493 Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $ 866,786 $ 19,040,498 $ 1,133,005 $ 21,040,289 Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized) (2) 0.15 % 1.01 % 1.56 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance 0.12 % 1.36 % 4.70 % Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment (2) 0.16 % 1.99 % 4.70 % Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized) 1.02 2.09 4.25 Ending total loans, gross $ 866,786 $ 20,239,991 $ 1,133,005 Average loans in repayment (2) $ 700,679 $ 13,009,704 $ 803,928 Ending loans in repayment (2) $ 679,110 $ 13,815,415 $ 1,133,005 ____________ (1) Represents fair value adjustments on loans sold. (2) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period.
Impaired financing receivables	The following table provides the recorded investment, unpaid principal balance and related allowance for our TDR loans. Recorded Investment Unpaid Principal Balance Allowance September 30, 2019 TDR Loans $ 1,503,740 $ 1,474,819 $ 171,884 December 31, 2018 TDR Loans $ 1,280,713 $ 1,257,856 $ 120,110
Average recorded investment and interest income recognized for troubled debt restructuring loans	The average balance and the respective weighted average interest rates of loans in our portfolio are summarized as follows: Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Private Education Loans $ 22,202,420 9.30 % $ 19,295,318 9.16 % FFELP Loans 806,865 4.54 877,279 4.65 Personal Loans 1,132,185 12.16 1,082,177 11.03 Total portfolio $ 24,141,470 $ 21,254,774 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Average Balance Weighted Average Interest Rate Private Education Loans $ 21,896,218 9.40 % $ 18,908,929 9.01 % FFELP Loans 821,870 4.83 898,208 4.47 Personal Loans 1,152,471 11.99 810,753 10.82 Total portfolio $ 23,870,559 $ 20,617,890 Loans held for investment are summarized as follows: September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Private Education Loans: Fixed-rate $ 9,551,114 $ 6,759,019 Variable-rate 13,569,055 13,745,446 Total Private Education Loans, gross 23,120,169 20,504,465 Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 78,103 68,321 Allowance for loan losses (342,544 ) (277,943 ) Total Private Education Loans, net 22,855,728 20,294,843 FFELP Loans 798,168 846,487 Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 2,203 2,379 Allowance for loan losses (1,689 ) (977 ) Total FFELP Loans, net 798,682 847,889 Personal Loans (fixed-rate) 1,131,833 1,190,091 Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 594 297 Allowance for loan losses (70,173 ) (62,201 ) Total Personal Loans, net 1,062,254 1,128,187 Loans held for investment, net $ 24,716,664 $ 22,270,919 The following table provides the average recorded investment and interest income recognized for our TDR loans. Three Months Ended 2019 2018 Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized TDR Loans $ 1,467,098 $ 24,639 $ 1,180,206 $ 19,943 Nine Months Ended 2019 2018 Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized Average Recorded Investment Interest Income Recognized TDR Loans $ 1,391,167 $ 69,159 $ 1,106,946 $ 56,509
Age analysis of past due loans delinquencies	The following table provides information regarding the loan status and aging of TDR loans. September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Balance % Balance % TDR loans in in-school/grace/deferment (1) $ 89,046 $ 69,212 TDR loans in forbearance (2) 97,175 69,796 TDR loans in repayment (3) and percentage of each status: Loans current 1,137,771 88.3 % 994,411 88.9 % Loans delinquent 31-60 days (4) 74,243 5.7 63,074 5.6 Loans delinquent 61-90 days (4) 47,500 3.7 36,804 3.3 Loans delinquent greater than 90 days (4) 29,084 2.3 24,559 2.2 Total TDR loans in repayment 1,288,598 100.0 % 1,118,848 100.0 % Total TDR loans, gross $ 1,474,819 $ 1,257,856 _____ (1) Deferment includes customers who have returned to school or are engaged in other permitted educational activities and are not yet required to make payments on the loans (e.g., residency periods for medical students or a grace period for bar exam preparation). (2) Loans for customers who have requested extension of grace period generally during employment transition or who have temporarily ceased making full payments due to hardship or other factors, consistent with established loan program servicing policies and procedures. (3) Loans in repayment include loans on which borrowers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. (4) The period of delinquency is based on the number of days scheduled payments are contractually past due. The following table provides information regarding the loan status of our Private Education Loans. Loans in repayment include loans making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period. Private Education Loans September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Balance % Balance % Loans in-school/grace/deferment (1) $ 6,443,910 $ 5,260,445 Loans in forbearance (2) 603,280 577,164 Loans in repayment and percentage of each status: Loans current 15,627,722 97.2 % 14,289,705 97.4 % Loans delinquent 31-60 days (3) 263,331 1.6 231,216 1.6 Loans delinquent 61-90 days (3) 120,007 0.8 95,105 0.7 Loans delinquent greater than 90 days (3) 61,919 0.4 50,830 0.3 Total Private Education Loans in repayment 16,072,979 100.0 % 14,666,856 100.0 % Total Private Education Loans, gross 23,120,169 20,504,465 Private Education Loans deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 78,103 68,321 Total Private Education Loans 23,198,272 20,572,786 Private Education Loans allowance for losses (342,544 ) (277,943 ) Private Education Loans, net $ 22,855,728 $ 20,294,843 Percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment 69.5 % 71.5 % Delinquencies as a percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment 2.8 % 2.6 % Loans in forbearance as a percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment and forbearance 3.6 % 3.8 % _______ (1) Deferment includes customers who have returned to school or are engaged in other permitted educational activities and are not yet required to make payments on the loans (e.g., residency periods for medical students or a grace period for bar exam preparation). (2) Loans for customers who have requested extension of grace period generally during employment transition or who have temporarily ceased making full payments due to hardship or other factors, consistent with established loan program servicing policies and procedures. (3) The period of delinquency is based on the number of days scheduled payments are contractually past due.
Modified loans accounts for troubled debt restructuring	The following table provides the amount of modified loans (which include forbearance and reductions in interest rates) that became TDRs in the periods presented. Additionally, for the periods presented, the table summarizes charge-offs occurring in the TDR portfolio, as well as TDRs for which a payment default occurred in the relevant period presented and within 12 months of the loan first being designated as a TDR. We define payment default as 60 days past due for this disclosure. Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Modified Loans (1) Charge-offs Payment- Default Modified Loans (1) Charge-offs Payment- Default TDR Loans $ 115,195 $ 21,092 $ 29,258 $ 101,117 $ 11,090 $ 20,595 Nine Months Ended Nine Months Ended Modified Loans (1) Charge-offs Payment- Default Modified Loans (1) Charge-offs Payment- Default TDR Loans $ 357,676 $ 54,173 $ 84,409 $ 301,769 $ 39,315 $ 68,430 _____ (1) Represents the principal balance of loans that have been modified during the period and resulted in a TDR.
Private education loan portfolio stratified by key credit quality indicators	The following table highlights the gross principal balance of our Private Education Loan portfolio stratified by key credit quality indicators. Private Education Loans Credit Quality Indicators September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Credit Quality Indicators: Balance (1) % of Balance Balance (1) % of Balance Cosigners: With cosigner $ 20,663,133 89 % $ 18,378,398 90 % Without cosigner 2,457,036 11 2,126,067 10 Total $ 23,120,169 100 % $ 20,504,465 100 % FICO at Original Approval (2) : Less than 670 $ 1,635,201 7 % $ 1,409,789 7 % 670-699 3,528,152 15 3,106,983 15 700-749 7,632,035 33 6,759,721 33 Greater than or equal to 750 10,324,781 45 9,227,972 45 Total $ 23,120,169 100 % $ 20,504,465 100 % FICO-Refreshed (2)(3) : Less than 670 $ 2,819,600 12 % $ 2,416,979 12 % 670-699 2,843,463 12 2,504,467 12 700-749 6,830,464 30 6,144,489 30 Greater than or equal to 750 10,626,642 46 9,438,530 46 Total $ 23,120,169 100 % $ 20,504,465 100 % Seasoning (4) : 1-12 payments $ 5,970,773 26 % $ 4,969,334 24 % 13-24 payments 3,652,078 16 3,481,235 17 25-36 payments 2,684,175 11 2,741,954 13 37-48 payments 2,031,488 9 1,990,049 10 More than 48 payments 2,337,745 10 2,061,448 10 Not yet in repayment 6,443,910 28 5,260,445 26 Total $ 23,120,169 100 % $ 20,504,465 100 % ______ (1) Balance represents gross Private Education Loans. (2) Represents the higher credit score of the cosigner or the borrower. (3) Represents the FICO score updated as of the third-quarter 2019. (4) Number of months in active repayment (whether interest only payment, fixed payment, or full principal and interest payment status) for which a scheduled payment was due. Personal Loans Credit Quality Indicators September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Credit Quality Indicators: Balance (1) % of Balance Balance (1) % of Balance FICO at Original Approval: Less than 670 $ 55,467 5 % $ 77,702 7 % 670-699 286,460 25 339,053 28 700-749 557,828 49 554,700 47 Greater than or equal to 750 232,078 21 218,636 18 Total $ 1,131,833 100 % $ 1,190,091 100 % Seasoning (2) : 0-12 payments $ 561,102 50 % $ 1,008,758 85 % 13-24 payments 552,313 49 181,333 15 25-36 payments 18,418 1 — — 37-48 payments — — — — More than 48 payments — — — — Total $ 1,131,833 100 % $ 1,190,091 100 % ______ (1) Balance represents gross Personal Loans. (2) Number of months in active repayment for which a scheduled payment was due. The following table provides information regarding the loan status of our Personal Loans. Personal Loans September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Balance % Balance % Loans in repayment and percentage of each status: Loans current $ 1,109,512 98.0 % $ 1,172,776 98.5 % Loans delinquent 31-60 days (1) 6,341 0.6 6,722 0.6 Loans delinquent 61-90 days (1) 8,382 0.7 5,416 0.5 Loans delinquent greater than 90 days (1) 7,598 0.7 5,177 0.4 Total Personal Loans in repayment 1,131,833 100.0 % 1,190,091 100.0 % Total Personal Loans, gross 1,131,833 1,190,091 Personal Loans deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount) 594 297 Total Personal Loans 1,132,427 1,190,388 Personal Loans allowance for losses (70,173 ) (62,201 ) Personal Loans, net $ 1,062,254 $ 1,128,187 Delinquencies as a percentage of Personal Loans in repayment 2.0 % 1.5 % _______ (1) The period of delinquency is based on the number of days scheduled payments are contractually past due.
Accrued interest receivable	The following table provides information regarding accrued interest receivable on our Private Education Loans. The table also discloses the amount of accrued interest on loans greater than 90 days past due as compared to our allowance for uncollectible interest. The allowance for uncollectible interest exceeds the amount of accrued interest on our 90 days past due Private Education Loan portfolio for all periods presented. Private Education Loans Accrued Interest Receivable Total Interest Receivable Greater Than 90 Days Past Due Allowance for Uncollectible Interest September 30, 2019 $ 1,488,628 $ 2,348 $ 7,505 December 31, 2018 $ 1,168,823 $ 1,920 $ 6,322

Deposits (Tables)

Deposits (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Banking and Thrift [Abstract]
Schedule of deposits	The following table summarizes total deposits at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 . September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 Deposits - interest bearing $ 22,628,139 $ 18,942,082 Deposits - non-interest bearing 538 1,076 Total deposits $ 22,628,677 $ 18,943,158
Interest bearing deposits	Interest bearing deposits at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 are summarized as follows: September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Amount Qtr.-End Weighted Average Stated Rate (1) Amount Year-End Weighted Average Stated Rate (1) Money market $ 9,620,876 2.29 % $ 8,687,766 2.46 % Savings 707,546 1.87 702,342 2.00 Certificates of deposit 12,299,717 2.60 9,551,974 2.74 Deposits - interest bearing $ 22,628,139 $ 18,942,082 ____________ (1) Includes the effect of interest rate swaps in effective hedge relationships.

Borrowings (Tables)

Borrowings (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of debt	The following table summarizes our borrowings at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 . September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Short-Term Long-Term Total Short-Term Long-Term Total Unsecured borrowings: Unsecured debt (fixed-rate) $ — $ 197,956 $ 197,956 $ — $ 197,348 $ 197,348 Total unsecured borrowings — 197,956 197,956 — 197,348 197,348 Secured borrowings: Private Education Loan term securitizations: Fixed-rate — 2,699,378 2,699,378 — 2,284,347 2,284,347 Variable-rate — 1,704,554 1,704,554 — 1,802,609 1,802,609 Total Private Education Loan term securitizations — 4,403,932 4,403,932 — 4,086,956 4,086,956 Secured Borrowing Facility 297,800 — 297,800 — — — Total secured borrowings 297,800 4,403,932 4,701,732 — 4,086,956 4,086,956 Total $ 297,800 $ 4,601,888 $ 4,899,688 $ — $ 4,284,304 $ 4,284,304
Schedule of securities financing transactions	Secured Financings at Issuance Issue Date Issued Total Issued Weighted Average Cost of Funds (1) Weighted Average Life (in years) Private Education: 2017-A February 2017 $ 772,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.93% 4.27 2017-B November 2017 676,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.80% 4.07 Total notes issued in 2017 $ 1,448,000 Total loan and accrued interest amount securitized at inception in 2017 $ 1,606,804 2018-A March 2018 $ 670,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.78% 4.43 2018-B June 2018 686,500 1-month LIBOR plus 0.76% 4.40 2018-C September 2018 544,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.77% 4.32 Total notes issued in 2018 $ 1,900,500 Total loan and accrued interest amount securitized at inception in 2018 $ 2,101,644 2019-A March 2019 453,000 1-month LIBOR plus 0.92% 4.26 2019-B June 2019 657,000 1-month LIBOR plus 1.01% 4.41 Total notes issued in 2019 $ 1,110,000 Total loan and accrued interest amount securitized at inception in 2019 $ 1,208,963 ____________ (1) Represents LIBOR equivalent cost of funds for floating and fixed-rate bonds, excluding issuance costs.
Schedule of variable interest entities	We consolidate the following financing VIEs as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , respectively: September 30, 2019 Debt Outstanding Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding Short-Term Long-Term Total Loans Restricted Cash Other Assets (1) Total Secured borrowings: Private Education Loan term securitizations $ — $ 4,403,932 $ 4,403,932 $ 5,446,885 $ 127,043 $ 400,574 $ 5,974,502 Secured Borrowing Facility 297,800 — 297,800 339,290 8,902 27,159 375,351 Total $ 297,800 $ 4,403,932 $ 4,701,732 $ 5,786,175 $ 135,945 $ 427,733 $ 6,349,853 December 31, 2018 Debt Outstanding Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding Short-Term Long-Term Total Loans Restricted Cash Other Assets (1) Total Secured borrowings: Private Education Loan term securitizations $ — $ 4,086,956 $ 4,086,956 $ 5,030,837 $ 113,431 $ 326,570 $ 5,470,838 Secured Borrowing Facility — — — — — 157 157 Total $ — $ 4,086,956 $ 4,086,956 $ 5,030,837 $ 113,431 $ 326,727 $ 5,470,995 ____ (1) Other assets primarily represent accrued interest receivable.

Derivative Financial Instrume_2

Derivative Financial Instruments (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]
Impact of derivatives on the consolidated balance sheet	The following tables summarize the fair values and notional amounts of all derivative instruments at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , and their impact on earnings and other comprehensive income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. Please refer to Note 10, “Derivative Financial Instruments” in our 2018 Form 10-K for a full discussion of cash flow hedges, fair value hedges, and trading activities. Impact of Derivatives on the Consolidated Balance Sheets Cash Flow Hedges Fair Value Hedges Trading Total September 30, December 31, September 30, December September 30, December September 30, December 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 Fair Values (1) Hedged Risk Exposure Derivative Assets: (2) Interest rate swaps Interest rate $ 275 $ — $ — $ 2,000 $ — $ 90 $ 275 $ 2,090 Derivative Liabilities: (2) Interest rate swaps Interest rate — (2,032 ) (815 ) — (423 ) — (1,238 ) (2,032 ) Total net derivatives $ 275 $ (2,032 ) $ (815 ) $ 2,000 $ (423 ) $ 90 $ (963 ) $ 58 ___________ (1) Fair values reported include variation margin as legal settlement of the derivative contract. Assets and liabilities are presented without consideration of master netting agreements. Derivatives are carried on the balance sheet based on net position by counterparty under master netting agreements and classified in other assets or other liabilities depending on whether in a net positive or negative position. (2) The following table reconciles gross positions with the impact of master netting agreements to the balance sheet classification: Other Assets Other Liabilities September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Gross position (1) $ 275 $ 2,090 $ (1,238 ) $ (2,032 ) Impact of master netting agreement (142 ) (1,389 ) 142 1,389 Derivative values with impact of master netting agreements (as carried on balance sheet) 133 701 (1,096 ) (643 ) Cash collateral pledged (2) 73,527 27,151 — — Net position $ 73,660 $ 27,852 $ (1,096 ) $ (643 ) __________ (1) Gross position amounts include accrued interest and variation margin as legal settlement of the derivative contract. (2) Cash collateral pledged excludes amounts that represent legal settlement of the derivative contracts.
Offsetting assets	The following table reconciles gross positions with the impact of master netting agreements to the balance sheet classification: Other Assets Other Liabilities September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Gross position (1) $ 275 $ 2,090 $ (1,238 ) $ (2,032 ) Impact of master netting agreement (142 ) (1,389 ) 142 1,389 Derivative values with impact of master netting agreements (as carried on balance sheet) 133 701 (1,096 ) (643 ) Cash collateral pledged (2) 73,527 27,151 — — Net position $ 73,660 $ 27,852 $ (1,096 ) $ (643 ) __________ (1) Gross position amounts include accrued interest and variation margin as legal settlement of the derivative contract. (2) Cash collateral pledged excludes amounts that represent legal settlement of the derivative contracts.
Offsetting liabilities	The following table reconciles gross positions with the impact of master netting agreements to the balance sheet classification: Other Assets Other Liabilities September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Gross position (1) $ 275 $ 2,090 $ (1,238 ) $ (2,032 ) Impact of master netting agreement (142 ) (1,389 ) 142 1,389 Derivative values with impact of master netting agreements (as carried on balance sheet) 133 701 (1,096 ) (643 ) Cash collateral pledged (2) 73,527 27,151 — — Net position $ 73,660 $ 27,852 $ (1,096 ) $ (643 ) __________ (1) Gross position amounts include accrued interest and variation margin as legal settlement of the derivative contract. (2) Cash collateral pledged excludes amounts that represent legal settlement of the derivative contracts.
Schedule of notional amounts of outstanding derivative positions	Cash Flow Fair Value Trading Total September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 Notional Values Interest rate swaps $ 1,183,176 $ 1,280,367 $ 4,831,038 $ 3,137,965 $ 3,471,271 $ 1,577,978 $ 9,485,485 $ 5,996,310
Schedule of cumulative basis adjustments for fair value hedges	As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , the following amounts were recorded on the consolidated balance sheet related to cumulative basis adjustments for fair value hedges: Line Item in the Balance Sheet in Which the Hedged Item is Included: Carrying Amount of the Hedged Assets/(Liabilities) Cumulative Amount of Fair Value Hedging Adjustment Included in the Carrying Amount of the Hedged Assets/(Liabilities) September 30, December 31, September 30, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Deposits $ (4,903,568 ) $ (3,114,304 ) $ (83,892 ) $ 14,202
Derivative instruments, gain (loss)	Impact of Derivatives on the Consolidated Statements of Income Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 2019 2018 2019 2018 Fair Value Hedges Interest rate swaps: Interest recognized on derivatives $ (2,924 ) $ (3,977 ) $ (10,812 ) $ (7,303 ) Hedged items recorded in interest expense (16,391 ) 4,809 (98,094 ) 27,526 Derivatives recorded in interest expense 16,610 (4,896 ) 97,947 (27,774 ) Total $ (2,705 ) $ (4,064 ) $ (10,959 ) $ (7,551 ) Cash Flow Hedges Interest rate swaps: Amount of gain (loss) reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income into interest expense $ 517 $ (21 ) $ 3,002 $ (2,142 ) Total $ 517 $ (21 ) $ 3,002 $ (2,142 ) Trading Interest rate swaps: Change in fair value of future interest payments recorded in earnings $ 2,844 $ (1,557 ) $ 25,288 $ (8,492 ) Total 2,844 (1,557 ) 25,288 (8,492 ) Total $ 656 $ (5,642 ) $ 17,331 $ (18,185 )
Schedule of derivative instruments, effect on other comprehensive income (loss)	Impact of Derivatives on the Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Amount of gain recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) $ (9,566 ) $ 6,453 $ (45,211 ) $ 34,718 Less: amount of loss reclassified in interest expense 517 (21 ) 3,002 (2,142 ) Total change in other comprehensive income (loss) for unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives, before income tax (expense) benefit $ (10,083 ) $ 6,474 $ (48,213 ) $ 36,860

Stockholders' Equity (Tables)

Stockholders' Equity (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Equity [Abstract]
Schedule of common share repurchases	The following table summarizes our common share repurchases and issuances. Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended (Shares and per share amounts in actuals) 2019 2018 2019 2018 Common stock repurchased under repurchase program (1) 4,436,963 — 15,861,718 — Average purchase price per share (2) $ 8.45 $ — $ 9.94 $ — Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans (3) 15,238 116,151 1,328,665 3,056,746 Average purchase price per share $ 9.54 $ 11.54 $ 10.92 $ 11.34 Common shares issued (4) 26,137 397,004 3,677,821 6,341,950 __________________ (1) Common shares purchased under our share repurchase program. $ 43 million of capacity under the program remained available as of September 30, 2019 . (2) Average purchase price per share includes purchase commission costs. (3) Comprised of shares withheld from stock option exercises and vesting of restricted stock for employees’ tax withholding obligations and shares tendered by employees to satisfy option exercise costs. (4) Common shares issued under our various compensation and benefit plans.

Earnings per Common Share (Tabl

Earnings per Common Share (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Schedule of earnings per share, basic and diluted	A reconciliation of the numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted EPS calculations follows. Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, (In thousands, except per share data) 2019 2018 2019 2018 Numerator: Net income $ 128,458 $ 103,878 $ 436,924 $ 339,964 Preferred stock dividends 4,153 4,124 12,952 11,441 Net income attributable to SLM Corporation common stock $ 124,305 $ 99,754 $ 423,972 $ 328,523 Denominator: Weighted average shares used to compute basic EPS 424,149 435,468 429,295 434,875 Effect of dilutive securities: Dilutive effect of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance stock units and Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) (1)(2) 3,187 4,551 3,277 4,609 Weighted average shares used to compute diluted EPS 427,336 440,019 432,572 439,484 Basic earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation $ 0.29 $ 0.23 $ 0.99 $ 0.76 Diluted earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation $ 0.29 $ 0.23 $ 0.98 $ 0.75 ________________ (1) Includes the potential dilutive effect of additional common shares that are issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance stock units and the outstanding commitment to issue shares under the ESPP, determined by the treasury stock method. (2) For the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, securities covering no shares and approximately 0 shares, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, securities covering no shares and approximately 0

Fair Value Measurements (Tables

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Valuation of financial instruments that are marked-to-market on recurring basis	The following table summarizes the valuation of our financial instruments that are marked to fair value on a recurring basis. Fair Value Measurements on a Recurring Basis September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Assets Available-for-sale investments $ — $ 455,968 $ — $ 455,968 $ — $ 176,245 $ — $ 176,245 Derivative instruments — 275 — 275 — 2,090 — 2,090 Total $ — $ 456,243 $ — $ 456,243 $ — $ 178,335 $ — $ 178,335 Liabilities Derivative instruments $ — $ (1,238 ) $ — $ (1,238 ) $ — $ (2,032 ) $ — $ (2,032 ) Total $ — $ (1,238 ) $ — $ (1,238 ) $ — $ (2,032 ) $ — $ (2,032 )
Fair values of financial assets and liabilities, including derivative financial instruments	The following table summarizes the fair values of our financial assets and liabilities, including derivative financial instruments. September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Fair Value Carrying Value Difference Fair Value Carrying Value Difference Earning assets: Loans held for investment, net: Private Education Loans $ 25,402,823 $ 22,855,728 $ 2,547,095 $ 22,313,419 $ 20,294,843 $ 2,018,576 FFELP Loans 810,141 798,682 11,459 859,185 847,889 11,296 Personal Loans 1,126,514 1,062,254 64,260 1,156,531 1,128,187 28,344 Cash and cash equivalents 3,851,608 3,851,608 — 2,559,106 2,559,106 — Available-for-sale investments 455,968 455,968 — 176,245 176,245 — Accrued interest receivable 1,638,821 1,510,458 128,363 1,285,842 1,191,981 93,861 Tax indemnification receivable 38,226 38,226 — 39,207 39,207 — Derivative instruments 275 275 — 2,090 2,090 — Total earning assets $ 33,324,376 $ 30,573,199 $ 2,751,177 $ 28,391,625 $ 26,239,548 $ 2,152,077 Interest-bearing liabilities: Money-market and savings accounts $ 10,356,228 $ 10,328,422 $ (27,806 ) $ 9,370,957 $ 9,390,108 $ 19,151 Certificates of deposit 12,397,103 12,299,717 (97,386 ) 9,513,194 9,551,974 38,780 Short-term borrowings 297,800 297,800 — — — — Long-term borrowings 4,725,251 4,601,888 (123,363 ) 4,278,931 4,284,304 5,373 Accrued interest payable 83,172 83,172 — 61,341 61,341 — Derivative instruments 1,238 1,238 — 2,032 2,032 — Total interest-bearing liabilities $ 27,860,792 $ 27,612,237 $ (248,555 ) $ 23,226,455 $ 23,289,759 $ 63,304 Excess of net asset fair value over carrying value $ 2,502,622 $ 2,215,381

Regulatory Capital (Tables)

Regulatory Capital (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Banking and Thrift [Abstract]
Schedule of compliance with regulatory capital requirements under banking regulations	The Bank’s required and actual regulatory capital amounts and ratios under U.S. Basel III are shown in the following table. Actual U.S. Basel III Regulatory Requirements (1) Amount Ratio Amount Ratio As of September 30, 2019: Common Equity Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 3,123,262 11.5 % $ 1,893,808 > 7.0 % Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 3,123,262 11.5 % $ 2,299,624 > 8.5 % Total Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 3,462,407 12.8 % $ 2,840,712 > 10.5 % Tier 1 Capital (to Average Assets) $ 3,123,262 10.3 % (2) $ 1,209,790 > 4.0 % As of December 31, 2018: Common Equity Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 2,896,091 12.1 % $ 1,528,209 > 6.375 % Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 2,896,091 12.1 % $ 1,887,787 > 7.875 % Total Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets) $ 3,196,279 13.3 % $ 2,367,226 > 9.875 % Tier 1 Capital (to Average Assets) $ 2,896,091 11.1 % $ 1,039,226 > 4.0 % ________________ (1) Required risk-based capital ratios include the capital conservation buffer. (2) The Bank’s Tier 1 leverage ratio exceeds the 5 percent well-capitalized standard for the Tier 1 leverage ratio under the prompt corrective action framework.

Significant Accounting Polici_3

Significant Accounting Policies (Details) - Accounting Standards Update 2016-02 $ in Millions	Jan. 01, 2019USD ($)
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Right-of-use asset (less than)	$ 34
Lease liability (less than)	$ 34

Investments - Amortized Cost a

Investments - Amortized Cost and Fair Value of Securities Available for Sale (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	$ 454,603	$ 182,325
Gross Unrealized Gains	2,429	178
Gross Unrealized Losses	(1,064)	(6,258)
Available-for-sale investments	455,968	176,245
Mortgage-backed securities
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	219,531	159,937
Gross Unrealized Gains	1,807	155
Gross Unrealized Losses	(723)	(5,517)
Available-for-sale investments	220,615	154,575
Utah Housing Corporation bonds
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	19,474	22,388
Gross Unrealized Gains	149	23
Gross Unrealized Losses	(261)	(741)
Available-for-sale investments	19,362	$ 21,670
U.S. government-sponsored enterprises
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	215,598
Gross Unrealized Gains	473
Gross Unrealized Losses	(80)
Available-for-sale investments	$ 215,991

Investments - Gross Unrealized

Investments - Gross Unrealized Losses and Fair Value for Mortgage-Backed in Unrealized Loss Position (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Less than 12 months
Gross Unrealized Losses	$ (206)	$ (228)
Estimated Fair Value	41,837	16,948
12 months or more
Gross Unrealized Losses	(858)	(6,030)
Estimated Fair Value	84,256	142,184
Total
Gross Unrealized Losses	(1,064)	(6,258)
Estimated Fair Value	126,093	159,132
Mortgage-backed securities
Less than 12 months
Gross Unrealized Losses	(126)	(228)
Estimated Fair Value	6,920	16,948
12 months or more
Gross Unrealized Losses	(597)	(5,289)
Estimated Fair Value	73,337	125,537
Total
Gross Unrealized Losses	(723)	(5,517)
Estimated Fair Value	80,257	142,485
Utah Housing Corporation bonds
Less than 12 months
Gross Unrealized Losses	0	0
Estimated Fair Value	0	0
12 months or more
Gross Unrealized Losses	(261)	(741)
Estimated Fair Value	10,919	16,647
Total
Gross Unrealized Losses	(261)	(741)
Estimated Fair Value	10,919	$ 16,647
U.S. government-sponsored enterprises
Less than 12 months
Gross Unrealized Losses	(80)
Estimated Fair Value	34,917
12 months or more
Gross Unrealized Losses	0
Estimated Fair Value	0
Total
Gross Unrealized Losses	(80)
Estimated Fair Value	$ 34,917

Investments - Additional Infor

Investments - Additional Information (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)security	Jun. 30, 2018USD ($)security	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)security	Dec. 31, 2018USD ($)security
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Available-for-sale investments, cost	$ 454,603		$ 454,603	$ 182,325
Par value of mortgage-backed securities pledged to FRB	214,000		214,000	147,000
Gain on equity securities investment	8,000
Non-marketable securities investment	26,000		26,000	8,000
Low income housing tax credit investments	59,000		59,000	48,000
Low income housing tax credit investments, liability for unfunded commitments	33,000		33,000	37,000
Low income housing tax credit investments, tax credits and benefits			$ 800	900
Low income housing tax credit investments, expected tax benefits recognized			25.00%
Mortgage-backed securities
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Available-for-sale investments, cost	$ 219,531		$ 219,531	$ 159,937
Number of securities in net loss position | security	35		35	74
Number of mortgage-backed securities | security	103		103	86
Number of mortgage backed securities sold | security		9
Proceeds from sale of securities		$ 41,000
Recognized loss from sale of securities		$ 2,000
Utah Housing Corporation bonds
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Available-for-sale investments, cost	$ 19,474		$ 19,474	$ 22,388
Number of securities in net loss position | security	1		1
Number of mortgage-backed securities | security	3		3
U.S. government-sponsored enterprises
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Available-for-sale investments, cost	$ 215,598		$ 215,598
Number of securities in net loss position | security	2		2
Number of government sponsored securities | security	11		11
Ginnie Mae | Mortgage-backed securities
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Available-for-sale investments, cost	$ 56,000		$ 56,000
Number of securities in net loss position | security	16		16	34
Number of mortgage-backed securities | security	35		35	74
Fannie Mae | Mortgage-backed securities
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Available-for-sale investments, cost	$ 103,000		$ 103,000
Freddie Mac | Mortgage-backed securities
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Available-for-sale investments, cost	$ 60,000		$ 60,000

Investments - Maturity Table (

Investments - Maturity Table (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	$ 454,603	$ 182,325
Estimated Fair Value	455,968	$ 176,245
2020
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	77,265
Estimated Fair Value	77,377
2021
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	103,336
Estimated Fair Value	103,698
2022
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	34,997
Estimated Fair Value	34,917
2038
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	260
Estimated Fair Value	284
2039
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	2,880
Estimated Fair Value	3,071
2042
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	7,558
Estimated Fair Value	7,388
2043
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	12,274
Estimated Fair Value	12,420
2044
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	18,838
Estimated Fair Value	18,994
2045
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	20,227
Estimated Fair Value	20,259
2046
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	32,152
Estimated Fair Value	32,028
2047
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	48,145
Estimated Fair Value	47,816
2048
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	13,205
Estimated Fair Value	13,548
2049
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	83,466
Estimated Fair Value	$ 84,168

Loans Held for Investment - Ad

Loans Held for Investment - Additional Information (Details)	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Jul. 01, 2006	Jun. 30, 2006	Sep. 30, 1993
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Percent of private loans indexed to LIBOR	59.00%	67.00%
Tier 1 of government guarantee	97.00%		97.00%
Tier 2 of government guarantee				98.00%
Tier 3 of government guarantee					100.00%
Estimated weighted average life of student loans	5 years 4 months 24 days	5 years 4 months 24 days
Interest rate offered to borrowers facing financial difficulty	4.00%
Interest rate offered to borrowers facing financial difficulty, period	2 years
Minimum
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest rate offered to borrowers facing financial difficulty	2.00%
Maximum
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest rate offered to borrowers facing financial difficulty	4.00%

Loans Held for Investment - St

Loans Held for Investment - Student Loan Portfolio by Program (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Allowance for loan losses	$ (414,406)	$ (383,997)	$ (341,121)	$ (328,974)	$ (295,277)	$ (251,475)
Loans held for investment, net	24,716,664		22,270,919
Private Education Loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total Private Education Loans, gross	23,120,169		20,504,465
Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount)	78,103		68,321
Allowance for loan losses	(342,544)		(277,943)
Loans held for investment, net	22,855,728		20,294,843
Private Education Loans | Fixed-rate
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total Private Education Loans, gross	9,551,114		6,759,019
Private Education Loans | Variable-rate
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total Private Education Loans, gross	13,569,055		13,745,446
FFELP Loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total Private Education Loans, gross	798,168		846,487
Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount)	2,203		2,379
Allowance for loan losses	(1,689)		(977)
Loans held for investment, net	798,682		847,889
Personal Loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total Private Education Loans, gross	1,131,833		1,190,091
Deferred origination costs and unamortized premium/(discount)	594		297
Allowance for loan losses	(70,173)		(62,201)
Loans held for investment, net	$ 1,062,254		$ 1,128,187

Loans Held for Investment - _2

Loans Held for Investment - Student Loan Portfolio Average Balances (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Average Balance	$ 24,141,470	$ 21,254,774	$ 23,870,559	$ 20,617,890
Private Education Loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Average Balance	$ 22,202,420	$ 19,295,318	$ 21,896,218	$ 18,908,929
Weighted Average Interest Rate	9.30%	9.16%	9.40%	9.01%
FFELP Loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Average Balance	$ 806,865	$ 877,279	$ 821,870	$ 898,208
Weighted Average Interest Rate	4.54%	4.65%	4.83%	4.47%
Personal Loans
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Average Balance	$ 1,132,185	$ 1,082,177	$ 1,152,471	$ 810,753
Weighted Average Interest Rate	12.16%	11.03%	11.99%	10.82%

Allowance for Loan Losses - Al

Allowance for Loan Losses - Allowance and Recorded Investments in Loans (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Allowance for Loan Losses
Allowance at beginning of period	$ 383,997	$ 295,277	$ 341,121	$ 251,475
Total provision	98,314	68,896	256,889	187,339
Net charge-offs:
Charge-offs	(76,227)	(40,221)	(205,916)	(124,458)
Recoveries	8,322	5,022	22,312	15,834
Net charge-offs	(67,905)	(35,199)	(183,604)	(108,624)
Loan sales				(1,216)
Allowance at end of period	414,406	328,974	414,406	328,974
Allowance:
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment	171,884	119,643	171,884	119,643
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment	242,522	209,331	242,522	209,331
Loans:
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment	1,474,819	1,199,493	1,474,819	1,199,493
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment	23,575,351	21,040,289	23,575,351	21,040,289
FFELP Loans
Allowance for Loan Losses
Allowance at beginning of period	1,734	1,073	977	1,132
Total provision	158	259	1,320	742
Net charge-offs:
Charge-offs	(203)	(252)	(608)	(794)
Recoveries	0	0	0	0
Net charge-offs	(203)	(252)	(608)	(794)
Loan sales				0
Allowance at end of period	1,689	1,080	1,689	1,080
Allowance:
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment	0	0	0	0
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment	1,689	1,080	1,689	1,080
Loans:
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment	0	0	0	0
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment	$ 798,168	$ 866,786	$ 798,168	$ 866,786
Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized)	0.13%	0.15%	0.13%	0.15%
Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance	0.21%	0.12%	0.21%	0.12%
Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment	0.27%	0.16%	0.27%	0.16%
Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized)	2.08	1.07	2.08	1.02
Ending total loans, gross	$ 798,168	$ 866,786	$ 798,168	$ 866,786
Average loans in repayment	621,706	681,131	636,538	700,679
Ending loans in repayment	631,626	679,110	631,626	679,110
Private Education Loans
Allowance for Loan Losses
Allowance at beginning of period	307,968	261,695	277,943	243,715
Total provision	84,110	42,482	197,289	130,616
Net charge-offs:
Charge-offs	(56,398)	(34,229)	(151,357)	(113,852)
Recoveries	6,864	4,736	18,669	15,421
Net charge-offs	(49,534)	(29,493)	(132,688)	(98,431)
Loan sales				(1,216)
Allowance at end of period	342,544	274,684	342,544	274,684
Allowance:
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment	171,884	119,643	171,884	119,643
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment	170,660	155,041	170,660	155,041
Loans:
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment	1,474,819	1,199,493	1,474,819	1,199,493
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment	$ 21,645,350	$ 19,040,498	$ 21,645,350	$ 19,040,498
Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized)	1.27%	0.88%	1.15%	1.01%
Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance	1.48%	1.36%	1.48%	1.36%
Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment	2.13%	1.99%	2.13%	1.99%
Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized)	1.73	2.33	1.94	2.09
Ending total loans, gross	$ 23,120,169	$ 20,239,991	$ 23,120,169	$ 20,239,991
Average loans in repayment	15,632,028	13,351,517	15,351,188	13,009,704
Ending loans in repayment	16,072,979	13,815,415	16,072,979	13,815,415
Personal Loans
Allowance for Loan Losses
Allowance at beginning of period	74,295	32,509	62,201	6,628
Total provision	14,046	26,155	58,280	55,981
Net charge-offs:
Charge-offs	(19,626)	(5,740)	(53,951)	(9,812)
Recoveries	1,458	286	3,643	413
Net charge-offs	(18,168)	(5,454)	(50,308)	(9,399)
Loan sales				0
Allowance at end of period	70,173	53,210	70,173	53,210
Allowance:
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment	0	0	0	0
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment	70,173	53,210	70,173	53,210
Loans:
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment	0	0	0	0
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment	$ 1,131,833	$ 1,133,005	$ 1,131,833	$ 1,133,005
Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans in repayment (annualized)	6.42%	2.03%	5.82%	1.56%
Allowance as a percentage of the ending total loan balance	6.20%	4.70%	6.20%	4.70%
Allowance as a percentage of the ending loans in repayment	6.20%	4.70%	6.20%	4.70%
Allowance coverage of net charge-offs (annualized)	0.97	2.44	1.05	4.25
Ending total loans, gross	$ 1,131,833	$ 1,133,005	$ 1,131,833	$ 1,133,005
Average loans in repayment	1,131,965	1,072,624	1,152,555	803,928
Ending loans in repayment	$ 1,131,833	$ 1,133,005	$ 1,131,833	$ 1,133,005

Allowance for Loan Losses - Ad

Allowance for Loan Losses - Additional Information (Details)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jul. 01, 2006
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest rate offered to borrowers facing financial difficulty	4.00%
Interest rate offered to borrowers facing financial difficulty, period	2 years
Percentage of loans in full and interest repayment status that are subject to interest rate reductions	8.00%		7.40%
Percentage of loans granted forbearance qualified as TDR	52.00%	57.00%
Criteria for loans to be considered as nonperforming (greater than)	90 days
Tier 1 of government guarantee (at least)	97.00%			97.00%
TDR payment default period (more than)	60 days
Percentage of FFELP loans insured and guaranteed (at least)	97.00%
Period of loans past due that have accrued interest (greater than)	90 days
Minimum
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest rate offered to borrowers facing financial difficulty	2.00%
Maximum
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Interest rate offered to borrowers facing financial difficulty	4.00%

Allowance for Loan Losses - Re

Allowance for Loan Losses - Recorded Investment, Unpaid Principal Balance and Related Allowance for TDR Loans (Details) - TDR Loans - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Recorded Investment	$ 1,503,740	$ 1,280,713
Unpaid Principal Balance	1,474,819	1,257,856
Allowance	$ 171,884	$ 120,110

Allowance for Loan Losses - Av

Allowance for Loan Losses - Average Recorded Investment and Interest Income Recognized for TDR (Details) - TDR Loans - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Average Recorded Investment	$ 1,467,098	$ 1,180,206	$ 1,391,167	$ 1,106,946
Interest Income Recognized	$ 24,639	$ 19,943	$ 69,159	$ 56,509

Allowance for Loan Losses - Lo

Allowance for Loan Losses - Loan Status and Aging of Past Due TDR Loans (Details) - Student Loan - Consumer Portfolio Segment - Troubled Debt Restructured Loans - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
TDR loans in in-school/grace/deferment	$ 89,046	$ 69,212
TDR loans in forbearance	97,175	69,796
TDR loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans current	1,137,771	994,411
Total TDR loans in repayment	$ 1,288,598	$ 1,118,848
Loans current	88.30%	88.90%
Total TDR loans in repayment	100.00%	100.00%
Total Private Education Loans	$ 1,474,819	$ 1,257,856
Loans delinquent 31-60 days
TDR loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans delinquent	$ 74,243	$ 63,074
Loans delinquent	5.70%	5.60%
Loans delinquent 61-90 days
TDR loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans delinquent	$ 47,500	$ 36,804
Loans delinquent	3.70%	3.30%
Loans delinquent, greater than 90 days
TDR loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans delinquent	$ 29,084	$ 24,559
Loans delinquent	2.30%	2.20%

Allowance for Loan Losses - Mo

Allowance for Loan Losses - Modified Loan Accounts for TDR (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Receivables [Abstract]
Modified Loans	$ 115,195	$ 101,117	$ 357,676	$ 301,769
Charge-offs	21,092	11,090	54,173	39,315
Payment- Default	$ 29,258	$ 20,595	$ 84,409	$ 68,430

Allowance for Loan Losses - _2

Allowance for Loan Losses - Loan Portfolio Stratified by Key Credit Quality Indicators (Details) - Consumer Portfolio Segment - Student Loan - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
School FICO, Refreshed Amounts
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 23,120,169	$ 20,504,465
Total in percent	100.00%	100.00%
School FICO, Refreshed Amounts | Less than 670
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 2,819,600	$ 2,416,979
Private Education Loans At Origination	12.00%	12.00%
School FICO, Refreshed Amounts | 670-699
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 2,843,463	$ 2,504,467
Private Education Loans At Origination	12.00%	12.00%
School FICO, Refreshed Amounts | 700-749
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 6,830,464	$ 6,144,489
Private Education Loans At Origination	30.00%	30.00%
School FICO, Refreshed Amounts | Greater than or equal to 750
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 10,626,642	$ 9,438,530
Private Education Loans At Origination	46.00%	46.00%
Private Education Loans | With Cosigner
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 20,663,133	$ 18,378,398
Private Education Loans with cosigner	89.00%	90.00%
Private Education Loans | Without Cosigner
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 2,457,036	$ 2,126,067
Private Education Loans without cosigner	11.00%	10.00%
Private Education Loans | Cosigners
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 23,120,169	$ 20,504,465
Total in percent	100.00%	100.00%
Private Education Loans | FICO at Original Approval
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 23,120,169	$ 20,504,465
Total in percent	100.00%	100.00%
Private Education Loans | FICO at Original Approval | Less than 670
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 1,635,201	$ 1,409,789
Private Education Loans At Origination	7.00%	7.00%
Private Education Loans | FICO at Original Approval | 670-699
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 3,528,152	$ 3,106,983
Private Education Loans At Origination	15.00%	15.00%
Private Education Loans | FICO at Original Approval | 700-749
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 7,632,035	$ 6,759,721
Private Education Loans At Origination	33.00%	33.00%
Private Education Loans | FICO at Original Approval | Greater than or equal to 750
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 10,324,781	$ 9,227,972
Private Education Loans At Origination	45.00%	45.00%
Private Education Loans | Seasoning
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 23,120,169	$ 20,504,465
Total in percent	100.00%	100.00%
Private Education Loans | Seasoning | 1-12 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 5,970,773	$ 4,969,334
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from 1-12 payments	26.00%	24.00%
Private Education Loans | Seasoning | 13-24 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 3,652,078	$ 3,481,235
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from 13 - 24 payments	16.00%	17.00%
Private Education Loans | Seasoning | 25-36 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 2,684,175	$ 2,741,954
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from 25 - 36 payments	11.00%	13.00%
Private Education Loans | Seasoning | 37-48 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 2,031,488	$ 1,990,049
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from 37 - 48 payments	9.00%	10.00%
Private Education Loans | Seasoning | More than 48 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 2,337,745	$ 2,061,448
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from more than 48 payments	10.00%	10.00%
Private Education Loans | Seasoning | Not yet in repayment
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 6,443,910	$ 5,260,445
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from not yet in repayment	28.00%	26.00%
Personal Loans | FICO at Original Approval
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 1,131,833	$ 1,190,091
Total in percent	100.00%	100.00%
Personal Loans | FICO at Original Approval | Less than 670
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 55,467	$ 77,702
Private Education Loans At Origination	5.00%	7.00%
Personal Loans | FICO at Original Approval | 670-699
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 286,460	$ 339,053
Private Education Loans At Origination	25.00%	28.00%
Personal Loans | FICO at Original Approval | 700-749
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 557,828	$ 554,700
Private Education Loans At Origination	49.00%	47.00%
Personal Loans | FICO at Original Approval | Greater than or equal to 750
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 232,078	$ 218,636
Private Education Loans At Origination	21.00%	18.00%
Personal Loans | Seasoning
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 1,131,833	$ 1,190,091
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from 1-12 payments	50.00%	85.00%
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from 13 - 24 payments	49.00%	15.00%
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from 25 - 36 payments	1.00%	0.00%
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from 37 - 48 payments	0.00%	0.00%
Seasoning based on monthly scheduled payments due from more than 48 payments	0.00%	0.00%
Total in percent	100.00%	100.00%
Personal Loans | Seasoning | 1-12 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 561,102	$ 1,008,758
Personal Loans | Seasoning | 13-24 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	552,313	181,333
Personal Loans | Seasoning | 25-36 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	18,418	0
Personal Loans | Seasoning | 37-48 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	0	0
Personal Loans | Seasoning | More than 48 payments
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Private Education Loans	$ 0	$ 0

Allowance for Loan Losses - Ag

Allowance for Loan Losses - Age Analysis of Past Due Loans Delinquencies (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Private Education Loans allowance for losses	$ (414,406)	$ (383,997)	$ (341,121)	$ (328,974)	$ (295,277)	$ (251,475)
Loans held for investment, net	24,716,664		22,270,919
Personal Loans
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Total Private Education Loans, gross	1,131,833		1,190,091
Private Education Loans deferred origination costs	594		297
Private Education Loans allowance for losses	(70,173)		(62,201)
Loans held for investment, net	1,062,254		1,128,187
Personal Loans | Consumer Portfolio Segment
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans current	$ 1,109,512		$ 1,172,776
Loans current	98.00%		98.50%
Total TDR loans in repayment	$ 1,131,833		$ 1,190,091
Total TDR loans in repayment	100.00%		100.00%
Total Private Education Loans, gross	$ 1,131,833		$ 1,190,091
Private Education Loans deferred origination costs	594		297
Total Private Education Loans	1,132,427		1,190,388
Private Education Loans allowance for losses	(70,173)		(62,201)
Loans held for investment, net	$ 1,062,254		$ 1,128,187
Delinquencies as a percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment	2.00%		1.50%
Personal Loans | Consumer Portfolio Segment | Loans delinquent 31-60 days
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans delinquent	$ 6,341		$ 6,722
Loans delinquent	0.60%		0.60%
Personal Loans | Consumer Portfolio Segment | Loans delinquent 61-90 days
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans delinquent	$ 8,382		$ 5,416
Loans delinquent	0.70%		0.50%
Personal Loans | Consumer Portfolio Segment | Loans delinquent, greater than 90 days
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans delinquent	$ 7,598		$ 5,177
Loans delinquent	0.70%		0.40%
Private Education Loans
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Total Private Education Loans, gross	$ 23,120,169		$ 20,504,465
Private Education Loans deferred origination costs	78,103		68,321
Private Education Loans allowance for losses	(342,544)		(277,943)
Loans held for investment, net	22,855,728		20,294,843
Private Education Loans | Consumer Portfolio Segment
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loans in-school/grace/deferment	6,443,910		5,260,445
Loans in forbearance	603,280		577,164
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans current	$ 15,627,722		$ 14,289,705
Loans current	97.20%		97.40%
Total TDR loans in repayment	$ 16,072,979		$ 14,666,856
Total TDR loans in repayment	100.00%		100.00%
Total Private Education Loans, gross	$ 23,120,169		$ 20,504,465
Private Education Loans deferred origination costs	78,103		68,321
Total Private Education Loans	23,198,272		20,572,786
Private Education Loans allowance for losses	(342,544)		(277,943)
Loans held for investment, net	$ 22,855,728		$ 20,294,843
Percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment	69.50%		71.50%
Delinquencies as a percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment	2.80%		2.60%
Loans in forbearance as a percentage of Private Education Loans in repayment and forbearance	3.60%		3.80%
Private Education Loans | Consumer Portfolio Segment | Loans delinquent 31-60 days
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans delinquent	$ 263,331		$ 231,216
Loans delinquent	1.60%		1.60%
Private Education Loans | Consumer Portfolio Segment | Loans delinquent 61-90 days
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans delinquent	$ 120,007		$ 95,105
Loans delinquent	0.80%		0.70%
Private Education Loans | Consumer Portfolio Segment | Loans delinquent, greater than 90 days
Loans in repayment and percentage of each status:
Loans delinquent	$ 61,919		$ 50,830
Loans delinquent	0.40%		0.30%

Allowance for Loan Losses - Ac

Allowance for Loan Losses - Accrued Interest Receivable (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Receivables [Abstract]
Total Interest Receivable	$ 1,488,628	$ 1,168,823
Greater Than 90 Days Past Due	2,348	1,920
Allowance for Uncollectible Interest	$ 7,505	$ 6,322

Deposits - Summary of Total De

Deposits - Summary of Total Deposits (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Banking and Thrift [Abstract]
Deposits - interest bearing	$ 22,628,139	$ 18,942,082
Deposits - non-interest bearing	538	1,076
Total deposits	$ 22,628,677	$ 18,943,158

Deposits - Additional Informat

Deposits - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2018
Banking and Thrift [Abstract]
Deposits	$ 22,628,677		$ 22,628,677		$ 18,943,158
Brokered deposits	12,500,000		12,500,000		10,300,000
Retail and other deposits	10,100,000		10,100,000		8,600,000
Stable interest-bearing deposits, total	6,800,000		6,800,000		5,900,000
Brokered deposit placement fee	4,000	$ 4,000	12,000	$ 9,000
Third party broker fees paid	5,000	$ 6,000	20,000	$ 25,000
Deposits exceeding FDIC insurance limits	557,000		557,000		523,000
Accrued interest on deposits	$ 72,000		$ 72,000		$ 53,000

Deposits - Interest Bearing De

Deposits - Interest Bearing Deposits (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Amount
Money market	$ 9,620,876	$ 8,687,766
Savings	707,546	702,342
Certificates of deposit	12,299,717	9,551,974
Deposits - interest bearing	$ 22,628,139	$ 18,942,082
Qtr.-End Weighted Average Stated Rate
Money market	2.29%	2.46%
Savings	1.87%	2.00%
Certificates of deposit	2.60%	2.74%

Borrowings - Company Borrowing

Borrowings - Company Borrowings (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short Term	$ 297,800	$ 0
Long Term	4,601,888	4,284,304
Total	4,899,688	4,284,304
Unsecured borrowings
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short Term	0	0
Long Term	197,956	197,348
Total	197,956	197,348
Secured borrowings
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short Term	297,800	0
Long Term	4,403,932	4,086,956
Total	4,701,732	4,086,956
Secured borrowings | Private Education Loan securitization
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short Term	0	0
Long Term	4,403,932	4,086,956
Total	4,403,932	4,086,956
Secured borrowings | Private Education Loan securitization | Fixed-rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short Term	0	0
Long Term	2,699,378	2,284,347
Total	2,699,378	2,284,347
Secured borrowings | Private Education Loan securitization | Variable-rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short Term	0	0
Long Term	1,704,554	1,802,609
Total	1,704,554	1,802,609
Secured borrowings | Secured Borrowing Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short Term	297,800	0
Long Term	0	0
Total	$ 297,800	$ 0

Borrowings - Additional Inform

Borrowings - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($)	Jun. 12, 2019	Mar. 13, 2019	Feb. 20, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Apr. 05, 2017
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Short-term borrowings				$ 297,800,000	$ 0
Unsecured offering issued				$ 1,110,000,000	$ 1,900,500,000	$ 1,448,000,000
Estimated weighted average life of student loans				5 years 4 months 24 days	5 years 4 months 24 days
Uncommitted federal funds				$ 125,000,000
Lendable value of collateral				3,200,000,000	$ 3,100,000,000
Unsecured borrowings
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Short-term borrowings				0	0
Senior Unsecured Notes Due April 5, 2022 | Unsecured borrowings
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Unsecured offering issued				198,000,000			$ 200,000,000
Interest rate stated percentage							5.125%
Private Education Loans 2019 Term A
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Total loan amount securitized at inception		$ 453,000,000
Amount of loan securitization sold to third parties		$ 453,000,000
Ownership interest percentage		100.00%
Proceeds from loan securitization sold to third parties		$ 451,000,000
Loans pledged as collateral				464,000,000
Principal amount of collateral				430,000,000
Capitalized interest				34,000,000
Class A and B Notes
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Estimated weighted average life of student loans	4 years 4 months 28 days	4 years 3 months 3 days
Class A and B Notes | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.01%	0.92%
Private Education Loans 2019 Term B
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Total loan amount securitized at inception	$ 657,000,000
Amount of loan securitization sold to third parties	$ 657,000,000
Ownership interest percentage	100.00%
Proceeds from loan securitization sold to third parties	$ 655,000,000
Loans pledged as collateral				688,000,000
Principal amount of collateral				641,000,000
Capitalized interest				47,000,000
Commercial Paper | ABCP borrowings
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Private asset backed commercial paper education loan funding facility			$ 750,000,000
Ownership interest percentage in residual interest in ABCP facility			100.00%
Short-term borrowings				$ 298,000,000	$ 0

Borrowings - Securitizations (

Borrowings - Securitizations (Details) - USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2017	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Nov. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Securities Financing Transaction [Line Items]
Total Issued								$ 1,110,000,000	$ 1,900,500,000	$ 1,448,000,000
Total loan and accrued interest amount securitized at inception on-balance sheet term securitization								$ 1,208,963,000	$ 2,101,644,000	$ 1,606,804,000
2017-A
Securities Financing Transaction [Line Items]
Total Issued	$ 772,000,000
Weighted Average Life	4 years 3 months 7 days
Basis spread on variable rate	0.93%
2017-B
Securities Financing Transaction [Line Items]
Total Issued					$ 676,000,000
Weighted Average Life					4 years 25 days
Basis spread on variable rate					0.80%
2018-A
Securities Financing Transaction [Line Items]
Total Issued				$ 670,000,000
Weighted Average Life				4 years 5 months 4 days
Basis spread on variable rate				0.78%
2018-B
Securities Financing Transaction [Line Items]
Total Issued			$ 686,500,000
Weighted Average Life			4 years 4 months 24 days
Basis spread on variable rate			0.76%
2018-C
Securities Financing Transaction [Line Items]
Total Issued		$ 544,000,000
Weighted Average Life		4 years 3 months 25 days
Basis spread on variable rate		0.77%
2019-A
Securities Financing Transaction [Line Items]
Total Issued						$ 453,000,000
Weighted Average Life						4 years 3 months 3 days
Basis spread on variable rate						0.92%
2019-B
Securities Financing Transaction [Line Items]
Total Issued							$ 657,000,000
Weighted Average Life							4 years 4 months 28 days
Basis spread on variable rate							1.01%

Borrowings - Financing VIEs (D

Borrowings - Financing VIEs (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018
Debt Outstanding
Short Term	$ 297,800	$ 0
Long Term	4,601,888	4,284,304
Total	4,899,688	4,284,304
Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding
Restricted Cash	142,846	122,789	$ 115,658
Other Assets	40,324	48,141
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Debt Outstanding
Short Term	297,800	0
Long Term	4,403,932	4,086,956
Total	4,701,732	4,086,956
Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding
Loans	5,786,175	5,030,837
Restricted Cash	135,945	113,431
Other Assets	427,733	326,727
Total	6,349,853	5,470,995
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Private Education Loan securitization
Debt Outstanding
Short Term	0	0
Long Term	4,403,932	4,086,956
Total	4,403,932	4,086,956
Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding
Loans	5,446,885	5,030,837
Restricted Cash	127,043	113,431
Other Assets	400,574	326,570
Total	5,974,502	5,470,838
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Secured Borrowing Facility
Debt Outstanding
Short Term	297,800	0
Long Term	0	0
Total	297,800	0
Carrying Amount of Assets Securing Debt Outstanding
Loans	339,290	0
Restricted Cash	8,902	0
Other Assets	27,159	157
Total	$ 375,351	$ 157

Derivative Financial Instrume_3

Derivative Financial Instruments - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional value	$ 9,500,000,000
Net derivatives	73,000,000	$ 27,000,000
Estimated accumulated other comprehensive income to be reclassified in next 12 months	4,700,000
Cash collateral held relative to derivative exposure	0	0
Cash collateral pledged	74,000,000	$ 27,000,000
CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional value	$ 9,000,000,000
Percent of total notional derivative contracts	94.50%
Amount of variation margin included as settlement	$ (133,600,000)
London Clearing House
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional value	$ 500,000,000
Percent of total notional derivative contracts	5.50%
Amount of variation margin included as settlement	$ 11,500,000

Derivative Financial Instrume_4

Derivative Financial Instruments - Impact of Derivatives on Consolidated Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Total net derivatives	$ 73,000	$ 27,000
Interest rate swaps
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative instruments	275	2,090
Derivative Liabilities	(1,238)	(2,032)
Total net derivatives	(963)	58
Interest rate swaps | Trading
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative instruments	0	90
Derivative Liabilities	(423)	0
Total net derivatives	(423)	90
Interest rate swaps | Cash Flow | Designated as Hedging Instrument
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative instruments	275	0
Derivative Liabilities	0	(2,032)
Total net derivatives	275	(2,032)
Interest rate swaps | Fair Value | Designated as Hedging Instrument
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative instruments	0	2,000
Derivative Liabilities	(815)	0
Total net derivatives	$ (815)	$ 2,000

Derivative Financial Instrume_5

Derivative Financial Instruments - Offsetting Assets and Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Other Liabilities
Cash collateral pledged	$ 74,000	$ 27,000
Other Assets
Other Assets
Gross position	275	2,090
Impact of master netting agreement	(142)	(1,389)
Derivative values with impact of master netting agreements (as carried on balance sheet)	133	701
Cash collateral pledged	73,527	27,151
Net position	73,660	27,852
Other Liabilities
Other Liabilities
Gross position	(1,238)	(2,032)
Impact of master netting agreement	142	1,389
Derivative values with impact of master netting agreements (as carried on balance sheet)	(1,096)	(643)
Cash collateral pledged	0	0
Net position	$ (1,096)	$ (643)

Derivative Financial Instrume_6

Derivative Financial Instruments - Notional Values (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Notional values	$ 9,500,000
Interest rate swaps
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Notional values	9,485,485	$ 5,996,310
Interest rate swaps | Trading
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Notional values	3,471,271	1,577,978
Interest rate swaps | Cash Flow Hedges | Designated as Hedging Instrument
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Notional values	1,183,176	1,280,367
Interest rate swaps | Fair Value Hedges | Designated as Hedging Instrument
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Notional values	$ 4,831,038	$ 3,137,965

Derivative Financial Instrume_7

Derivative Financial Instruments - Schedule of Hedged Items Recorded in Statement of Financial Position (Details) - Deposits - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Carrying Amount of the Hedged Assets/(Liabilities)	$ (4,903,568)	$ (3,114,304)
Cumulative Amount of Fair Value Hedging Adjustment Included in the Carrying Amount of the Hedged Assets/(Liabilities)	$ (83,892)	$ 14,202

Derivative Financial Instrume_8

Derivative Financial Instruments - Impact of Derivatives on Consolidated Statements of Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Cash Flow Hedges
Interest expense	$ 185,326	$ 140,964	$ 526,352	$ 366,942
Trading
Total	656	(5,642)	17,331	(18,185)
Designated as Hedging Instrument
Fair Value Hedges
Interest recognized on derivatives	(2,924)	(3,977)	(10,812)	(7,303)
Hedged items recorded in interest expense	(16,391)	4,809	(98,094)	27,526
Derivatives recorded in interest expense	16,610	(4,896)	97,947	(27,774)
Trading
Total	(2,705)	(4,064)	(10,959)	(7,551)
Designated as Hedging Instrument | Accumulated Gain (Loss), Net, Cash Flow Hedge, Parent | Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
Cash Flow Hedges
Interest expense	517	(21)	3,002	(2,142)
Trading
Trading
Change in fair value of future interest payments recorded in earnings	2,844	(1,557)	25,288	(8,492)
Total	$ 2,844	$ (1,557)	$ 25,288	$ (8,492)

Derivative Financial Instrume_9

Derivative Financial Instruments - Impact of Derivatives on Consolidated Statement of Changes in Stockholders' Equity (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]
Amount of gain recognized in other comprehensive income (loss)	$ (9,566)	$ 6,453	$ (45,211)	$ 34,718
Less: amount of loss reclassified in interest expense	517	(21)	3,002	(2,142)
Total change in other comprehensive income (loss) for unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives, before income tax (expense) benefit	$ (10,083)	$ 6,474	$ (48,213)	$ 36,860

Stockholders' Equity - Common

Stockholders' Equity - Common Stock Repurchased (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Equity [Abstract]
Common stock repurchased under repurchase program (in shares)	4,436,963	0	15,861,718	0
Average purchase price per share (in usd per share)	$ 8.45	$ 0	$ 9.94	$ 0
Shares repurchased related to employee stock-based compensation plans (in shares)	15,238	116,151	1,328,665	3,056,746
Average purchase price per share (in usd per share)	$ 9.54	$ 11.54	$ 10.92	$ 11.34
Common shares issued (in shares)	26,137	397,004	3,677,821	6,341,950
Remaining authority under the share repurchase program	$ 43		$ 43

Stockholders' Equity - Additio

Stockholders' Equity - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Common stock dividend (in usd per share)	$ 0.03			$ 0.09
Common stock repurchased (in shares)		4,436,963	0	15,861,718	0
Common stock repurchased, price		$ 37,000,000		$ 157,000,000
Stock repurchase program, authorized amount	$ 200,000,000	$ 200,000,000		$ 200,000,000
Common Stock
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Common stock closing price (in usd per share)	$ 8.83	$ 8.83		$ 8.83

Earnings per Common Share (Deta

Earnings per Common Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Numerator:
Net income	$ 128,458	$ 103,878	$ 436,924	$ 339,964
Preferred stock dividends	4,153	4,124	12,952	11,441
Net income attributable to SLM Corporation common stock	$ 124,305	$ 99,754	$ 423,972	$ 328,523
Denominator:
Weighted average shares used to compute basic EPS (in shares)	424,149,000	435,468,000	429,295,000	434,875,000
Effect of dilutive securities:
Dilutive effect of stock options, restricted stock and restricted stock units and Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) (in shares)	3,187,000	4,551,000	3,277,000	4,609,000
Weighted average shares used to compute diluted EPS (in shares)	427,336,000	440,019,000	432,572,000	439,484,000
Basic earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation (in dollars per share)	$ 0.29	$ 0.23	$ 0.99	$ 0.76
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation (in dollars per share)	$ 0.29	$ 0.23	$ 0.98	$ 0.75
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)	0	0	0	0

Fair Value Measurements - Valu

Fair Value Measurements - Valuation of Financial Instruments That are Marked-to-Market on Recurring Basis (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Assets
Available-for-sale investments	$ 455,968	$ 176,245
Total earning assets	2,751,177
Fair Value Measurements on a Recurring Basis
Assets
Available-for-sale investments	455,968	176,245
Derivative instruments	275	2,090
Total earning assets	456,243	178,335
Liabilities
Derivative instruments	(1,238)	(2,032)
Fair Value Measurements on a Recurring Basis | Level 1
Assets
Available-for-sale investments	0	0
Derivative instruments	0	0
Total earning assets	0	0
Liabilities
Derivative instruments	0	0
Fair Value Measurements on a Recurring Basis | Level 2
Assets
Available-for-sale investments	455,968	176,245
Derivative instruments	275	2,090
Total earning assets	456,243	178,335
Liabilities
Derivative instruments	(1,238)	(2,032)
Fair Value Measurements on a Recurring Basis | Level 3
Assets
Available-for-sale investments	0	0
Derivative instruments	0	0
Total earning assets	0	0
Liabilities
Derivative instruments	$ 0	$ 0

Fair Value Measurements - Fair

Fair Value Measurements - Fair Values of Financial Assets and Liabilities, Including Derivative Financial Instruments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Earning assets
Accrued interest receivable	$ 128,363
Accrued interest receivable, difference		$ 93,861
Tax indemnification receivable	108,743	41,570
Total earning assets	2,751,177
Total earning assets, difference		2,152,077
Interest-bearing liabilities
Long-term borrowings, difference	(123,363)	5,373
Total interest-bearing liabilities, difference	(248,555)	63,304
Excess of net asset fair value over carrying value	2,502,622	2,215,381
Money-market and savings accounts
Interest-bearing liabilities
Deposits, difference	(27,806)	19,151
Certificates of deposit
Interest-bearing liabilities
Deposits, difference	(97,386)	38,780
Fair Value
Earning assets
Cash and cash equivalents	3,851,608	2,559,106
Available-for-sale investments	455,968	176,245
Accrued interest receivable	1,638,821	1,285,842
Tax indemnification receivable	38,226	39,207
Derivative instruments	275	2,090
Total earning assets	33,324,376	28,391,625
Interest-bearing liabilities
Short-term borrowings	297,800	0
Long-term borrowings	4,725,251	4,278,931
Accrued interest payable	83,172	61,341
Derivative instruments	1,238	2,032
Total interest-bearing liabilities	27,860,792	23,226,455
Fair Value | Money-market and savings accounts
Interest-bearing liabilities
Deposits	10,356,228	9,370,957
Fair Value | Certificates of deposit
Interest-bearing liabilities
Deposits	12,397,103	9,513,194
Carrying Value
Earning assets
Cash and cash equivalents	3,851,608	2,559,106
Available-for-sale investments	455,968	176,245
Accrued interest receivable	1,510,458	1,191,981
Tax indemnification receivable	38,226	39,207
Derivative instruments	275	2,090
Total earning assets	30,573,199	26,239,548
Interest-bearing liabilities
Short-term borrowings	297,800	0
Long-term borrowings	4,601,888	4,284,304
Accrued interest payable	83,172	61,341
Derivative instruments	1,238	2,032
Total interest-bearing liabilities	27,612,237	23,289,759
Carrying Value | Money-market and savings accounts
Interest-bearing liabilities
Deposits	10,328,422	9,390,108
Carrying Value | Certificates of deposit
Interest-bearing liabilities
Deposits	12,299,717	9,551,974
Private Education Loans
Earning assets
Loans held for investment, net	2,547,095
Loans held for investment, net, difference		2,018,576
Private Education Loans | Fair Value
Earning assets
Loans held for investment, net	25,402,823	22,313,419
Private Education Loans | Carrying Value
Earning assets
Loans held for investment, net	22,855,728	20,294,843
FFELP Loans
Earning assets
Loans held for investment, net	11,459
Loans held for investment, net, difference		11,296
FFELP Loans | Fair Value
Earning assets
Loans held for investment, net	810,141	859,185
FFELP Loans | Carrying Value
Earning assets
Loans held for investment, net	798,682	847,889
Personal Loans
Earning assets
Loans held for investment, net	64,260
Loans held for investment, net, difference		28,344
Personal Loans | Fair Value
Earning assets
Loans held for investment, net	1,126,514	1,156,531
Personal Loans | Carrying Value
Earning assets
Loans held for investment, net	$ 1,062,254	$ 1,128,187

Regulatory Capital - U.S. Base

Regulatory Capital - U.S. Basel III Regulatory Requirements (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Actual Amount
Common Equity Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	$ 3,123,262	$ 2,896,091
Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	3,123,262	2,896,091
Total Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	3,462,407	3,196,279
Tier 1 Capital (to Average Assets)	$ 3,123,262	$ 2,896,091
Actual Ratio
Common Equity Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	11.50%	12.10%
Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	11.50%	12.10%
Total Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	12.80%	13.30%
Tier 1 Capital (to Average Assets)	10.30%	11.10%
Advanced Approach
U.S. Basel III Regulatory Requirements, Amount
Common Equity Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	$ 1,893,808	$ 1,528,209
Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	2,299,624	1,887,787
Total Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	2,840,712	2,367,226
Tier 1 Capital (to Average Assets)	$ 1,209,790	$ 1,039,226
U.S. Basel III Regulatory Requirements, Ratio
Common Equity Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	7.00%	6.375%
Tier 1 Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	8.50%	7.875%
Total Capital (to Risk-Weighted Assets)	10.50%	9.875%
Tier 1 Capital (to Average Assets)	4.00%	4.00%

Regulatory Capital - Additiona

Regulatory Capital - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Banking and Thrift [Abstract]
Dividends	$ 20,000,000	$ 0	$ 241,000,000	$ 0

Commitments, Contingencies an_2

Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees (Details) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Contractual obligation	$ 2,200
Other liabilities reserve	$ 2
Loss contingency, loss emergence period	1 year

Uncategorized Items - slm-3q201

Label	Element	Value
Cumulative Effect of New Accounting Principle in Period of Adoption	us-gaap_CumulativeEffectOfNewAccountingPrincipleInPeriodOfAdoption	$ 1,052,000
AOCI Attributable to Parent [Member]
Cumulative Effect of New Accounting Principle in Period of Adoption	us-gaap_CumulativeEffectOfNewAccountingPrincipleInPeriodOfAdoption	270,000
Retained Earnings [Member]
Cumulative Effect of New Accounting Principle in Period of Adoption	us-gaap_CumulativeEffectOfNewAccountingPrincipleInPeriodOfAdoption	$ 782,000