SEIU Report on Nova Student Loan Program Sparks Concern and Underscores Need for Transparency

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A report released today by SEIU unveiled concerns with Nova Southeastern
University’s loan practices that involve
potential conflicts of interest, including many of the same concerns
currently being investigated by the New York Attorney General at other
universities, including a Nova financial aid call center run by a
private lender and additional bureaucracy for students who wish to use
non-preferred lenders.

CONCERNS:



Nova law school dean Joseph D. Harbaugh sits on the board of directors
of Access Group, one of the school’s
preferred lenders. A 2001 report by Harbaugh discussed how he brought
in the Access Group as a consultant for law students to discuss
budgeting and debt, with the goal of keeping student debt down.


As identified in the Miami Herald, Sallie Mae runs a Nova student loan
call center. Sallie Mae also appears to run Nova’s
graduate student loan website. Although the webpage has the NSU logo
and Office of Student Financial Assistance web banner at the top of
the page, the site is run through the Sallie Mae “e-fao.com”
site and says “powered by Sallie Mae”
in the lower right corner.


Students who wish to use a lender other than one on the preferred list
must complete additional paperwork. Nova’s
Guide to Student Financial Aid cautions students that choosing a
lender not listed on Nova’s preferred list
may result in a longer processing time.


Carl Buck, the Vice President of Peterson’s,
a subsidiary of Nelnet, presented a free seminar to Nova students on “The
Secrets of Financial Aid” in Fall 2006.

Nova should take this opportunity to be more transparent in how it
structures its student loans. The Florida state Attorney General has
started an investigation of Florida state schools and is calling on
universities across the state to sign an agreement to manage loans
without conflicts of interest.

A report released today unveiled concerns with Nova Southeastern
University’s loan practices that involve
potential conflicts of interest. SEIU researchers uncovered the
worrisome report on Nova’s student loan
practices as part of the growing concern over Nova’s
commitment to the community, as more than 100 low-wage service workers
were turned away from their jobs after forming a union.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo started investigations into the
relationship between colleges and lenders nation-wide, revealing that
preferred lender lists can increase costs for students.

Japan's Bank Lending Slows as Companies Shun Debt (Update5)

Japan's lending growth slowed for a
third month as cash-rich companies ignored the lowest borrowing
costs among major economies and used their own funds to invest.

Loans excluding trusts rose 1 percent in April from a year
earlier, the Bank of Japan said in Tokyo today, slowing from 1.1
percent in March. Lending adjusted for currency fluctuations, bad
loan write-offs and securitizations climbed 1.9 percent.

Lending has risen less than 2 percent in each of the past nine
months as companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc.
shun the use of debt for expansion, instead using money generated
by the longest stretch of profit growth in 36 years. Borrowing is
unlikely to accelerate in coming months, said Takuji Aida.

``Companies have ample cash and that reduces their need to
borrow from banks,'' said Aida, chief economist at Barclays Capital
in Tokyo. ``The extra liquidity is more a reflection of strong
business activity.''

The yen traded at 120.21 per dollar at 5:11 p.m. in Tokyo
compared with 120.17 before the report was published. Bank lending
including trusts climbed 1 percent in April, the same pace as the
previous month, the central bank said.

Japan's banks began to increase lending in February 2006,
having disposed of bad debts accumulated after the bubble economy
burst 16 years ago. Growth in borrowing has slowed since peaking at
2.2 percent last July, the same month the Bank of Japan ended its
five-year policy of keeping interest rates near zero percent.

BOJ's Fukui

Loans excluding trusts were 388 trillion yen ($3.2 trillion)
in April, down from the record 537 trillion yen in March 1996.

The bank doubled the key overnight lending rate to 0.5 percent
in February. Governor Toshihiko Fukui's policy board will keep
borrowing costs on hold at its next meeting on May 16-17, according
to all 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Interest rates are ``very low'' given the economy's strength
and failing to increase borrowing costs could cause overinvestment,
Fukui said in a speech to business leaders in Tokyo today.

Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, said
he's ``not uncomfortable'' with the country's interest-rate levels.
``There's no great demand for financing'' among Japan's companies,
Mitarai, who is also chairman of Canon, said on May 7.

Canon, the world's largest maker of digital cameras, posted a
record profit last quarter. Toyota, the world's largest automaker
by market value, said yesterday that profit rose 8.9 percent in the
three months ended March 31.

Largest Banks

Growth in lending last month was dragged down by the country's
largest banks, while loans offered by regional banks accelerated.

Lending by Japan's 10 mega banks contracted 0.3 percent in
April from a year earlier, after rising 0.1 percent in March, the
report showed. Regional banks' loans climbed 2.4 percent, faster
than the 2.2 percent growth the previous month.

``Growth in loans has been driven by regional banks lending to
consumers and mid-sized companies,'' Takamasa Hisada, the Bank of
Japan's deputy director of bank surveillance.

An index of demand for loans from companies fell to 9 in April,
the lowest in more than a year, from 14 in January while that of
consumers rose to 13 from 7 in the same period, the Bank of Japan
said in a quarterly report last month.

Lack of loan demand is forcing banks to keep their borrowing
rates low, reducing interest income, said Tomoko Fujii, a senior
economist and strategist at Bank of America N.A. in Tokyo.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan's third-biggest
bank by assets, said last month full-year profit fell 36 percent,
worse than its forecast.

Other economists have a different view on the stalled growth
in loans.

`Sick of Borrowing'

``Companies are so sick of borrowing,'' said Richard Koo,
chief economist at Nomura Research Institute Ltd. They're slowly
regaining confidence to borrow after repaying debt amid a decade of
economic stagnation. ``This may take a while,'' Koo said.

The collapse of the bubble in the early 1990s triggered a
slump in stock and land prices, leaving companies laden with debt
and smothering demand for loans. Banks, which had secured loans
with land, became reluctant to extend credit, plunging the economy
into more than seven years of deflation.

Interest-bearing liabilities held by Japanese companies have
fallen to about 80 percent of gross domestic product, the lowest
since 1970, from more than 125 percent of GDP in the mid-1990s,
according to Merrill Lynch & Co.

Japan's money supply, or M2 plus notes in circulation, rose
1.1 percent in April, the central bank said in a separate report.
Broad liquidity, which includes bonds and investment trusts, gained
2.6 percent.

Savers, taking advantage of higher interest rates, have been
shifting money from current accounts to time deposits since the
central bank increased borrowing costs in July. Time deposits grew
3.7 percent in April and funds in current accounts dropped 1.3
percent, the bank said today.

``We expect a continuing shift from current accounts to time
deposits, as the impact of the additional rate hike in February
works through the economy,'' said Chiwoong Lee, research assistant
at Goldman Sachs Japan Ltd.

To contact the reporters on this story
Toru Fujioka in Tokyo at

Teen charged with taking credit card from locker room

A Rhinelander teen has been charged with stealing a credit card from the locker room area at the YMCA of the Northwoods.Aaron Richardson, 17, made an initial appearance in Oneida County Circuit Court Friday where he was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card (a misdemeanor punishable by nine months in jail) and felony bail jumping.




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According to a police report attached to the complaint, Richardson was with two other young people at the YMCA when one of them allegedly took the credit card from a locker.The group took the credit card to Wal-Mart and Shopko where they successfully bought clothes and an IPod before one of the stores denied the card.It is unclear if the two people with Richardson are awaiting charges or if they have already been charged in juvenile court.Richardson was charged with bail jumping because he was free on bond in an Iron County case involving burglary and other charges.He is scheduled to be back in Oneida County Circuit Court May 7 for a preliminary hearing.YMCA of the Northwoods Executive Director Steve Courts says the Y advises its members to lock all of their belongings either in their car or in a locker. Locks are available for the lockers, he added, noting that the Y also has mandatory sign-in for all persons in the building.Courts said people tend to think that the YMCA is different from other places and that things like stealing won't happen there, but unfortunately that is not the case.&#8220We tend to have flare-ups a couple of times a year,” Courts said, adding that one theft is too many for his taste.