To date, Citizens’ Education Refinance Loan has helped private student loan borrowers lower their monthly payments by an average of $127 and lower their average APR by 1.5 percent, saving thousands of dollars in interest payments over the lives of their loans. Others have utilized refinancing to set consistent monthly payments for the duration of their private student loan by switching to a fixed rate. With today’s announcement, qualified borrowers can now use the Education Refinance Loan to consolidate federal student loans in addition to private student loans, significantly broadening the appeal of this product.
Federal student loans represent 92 percent of student loan debt in the United States, according to industry estimates.1 In addition, a recent report stated that 40 million consumers now hold at least one student loan with the average consumer holding 3.7 open student loans.2 Citizens research published in August showed that many consumers – both students and their parents – now see the cost of college threatening their future home purchase and retirement plans. The Education Refinance Loan helps qualified borrowers better manage their student loan debt and save money.
"While a college education is one of the best investments a young adult can make, paying for it afterward while trying to achieve other financial milestones can be difficult," said Brendan Coughlin, President of Education Finance for Citizens Financial Group. "Loans that are affordable when students are 18 years old often are not the best solutions for them five or more years later, when they have built a strong credit history. In one recent example, we saw a customer reduce his monthly payment by more than $800 through refinancing. Having seen the value of refinancing for private student loan borrowers, we are pleased to be able to extend the Education Refinance Loan now to help federal student loan borrowers as well."
Depending on borrowers’ individual needs, the Education Refinance Loan offers potential benefits like a lower monthly payment, lower interest rate, lower overall cost of their loan, locking a variable rate into a fixed rate or a single monthly student loan payment. The loan offers eligible applicants interest rates as low as 2.31 percent for variable rates and 4.74 percent for fixed rates, with eligible discounts applied. There are no application, origination or disbursement fees, no prepayment penalties and refinancing.
Detailed information on qualifications required for the loan is available on the Citizens Bank website and the Charter One website. As part of its commitment to student loan borrowers through the life of their student loans, Citizens also has a dedicated team of education finance specialists who work with borrowers to make sure they are aware of all of their options. This team can be reached by phone at 1-888-411-0262.
This enhancement of the Education Refinance Loan comes as part of Bank Better, a company-wide Citizens program driven by the goal of making banking simple, clear and personal. Other recent Bank Better enhancements include:
One Deposit Checking, where just one deposit each statement period – of any amount – waives the monthly maintenance fee.
Protecting customers from overdraft fees for transactions of $5 or less, with the bank’s signature innovation, $5 Overdraft Pass™.
Mobile Deposit, which offers customers the ability to deposit checks quickly using our Mobile Banking apps. By using the mobile device’s video camera there is no need to tap a button, making depositing checks quick and simple.
Fast Balance TM, an exciting new feature that allows busy, on-the-go customers to view account balances without needing to log in to their Mobile Banking app.
State-of-the-art ATMs so customers can make ATM deposits as late as 10 p.m. local time on a business day and still have the deposits count as "today."
