SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 427A of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1077a), provides formulas for determining the interest rates charged to borrowers on loans made under the FFEL Program, including Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans (Stafford Loans), Federal PLUS Loans (PLUS Loans), Federal Consolidation Loans (Consolidation Loans), and Federal Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS Loans). No new loans have been made under the FFEL Program since June 30, 2010.

The FFEL Program includes loans with variable interest rates that change each year and loans with fixed interest rates that remain the same for the life of the loan. For loans with a variable interest rate, the specific interest rate formula that applies to a particular loan depends on the date of the first disbursement of the loan or, in the case of a Consolidation Loan, the date the application for the loan was received. If a loan has a variable interest rate, a new rate is determined annually and is in effect during the period from July 1 of one year through June 30 of the following year.

This notice announces the interest rates for variable-rate FFEL Program loans that will be in effect during the period from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. Interest rates for fixed-rate FFEL Program loans may be found in a Federal Register notice published on September 15, 2015 (80 FR 55342).

For the majority of variable-rate FFEL Program loans, the annual interest rate is equal to the lesser of—

(1) The bond equivalent rate of the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned at the final auction held before June 1 of each year, plus a statutory add-on percentage; or

(2) A statutorily established maximum interest rate.

The bond equivalent rate of the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned on May 26, 2020, is 0.132 percent, rounded to 0.13 percent.

For PLUS Loans first disbursed before July 1, 1998, and for all SLS Loans, the annual interest rate is equal to the lesser of—

(1) The weekly average of the one-year constant maturity Treasury yield, as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for the last calendar week ending on or before June 26 of each year, plus a statutory add-on percentage; or

(2) A statutorily established maximum interest rate.

The weekly average of the one-year constant maturity Treasury yield, as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for the last calendar week ending on or before June 26, 2020, is 0.17 percent.

For Consolidation Loans that have a variable interest rate, the annual interest rate for the portion of a Consolidation Loan that repaid loans other than loans made under the Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL) Program is equal to—

(1) The bond equivalent rate of the 91-day Treasury bill auctioned at the final auction held before June 1 of each year, plus a statutory add-on percentage; or

(2) A statutorily established maximum interest rate.

If a Consolidation Loan (whether a variable-rate loan or a fixed-rate loan) repaid loans made under the HEAL Program, the interest rate on the portion of the Consolidation Loan that repaid ( printed page 48234) HEAL loans is a variable rate that is equal to the average of the bond equivalent rates of the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned for the quarter ending June 30, plus a statutory add-on percentage. For the portion of a Consolidation Loan that repaid HEAL loans, there is no maximum interest rate.

The average of the bond equivalent rates of the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned for the quarter ending on June 30, 2020, is 0.15 percent.

The statutory add-on percentages and maximum interest rates vary depending on loan type and when the loan was first disbursed. In addition, the add-on percentage for certain Stafford Loans is different depending on whether the loan is in an in-school, grace, or deferment status, or in any other status. If the interest rate calculated in accordance with the applicable formula exceeds the statutory maximum interest rate, the statutory maximum rate applies.

Charts 1 through 4 show the interest rate formulas that are used to determine the interest rates for all variable-rate FFEL Program loans and the interest rates that are in effect during the 12-month period from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. Unless otherwise indicated, the cohorts shown in each chart include all borrowers, regardless of prior borrowing.

Chart 1 shows the interest rates for loans with rates based on the 91-day Treasury bill, with the exception of “converted” variable-rate Federal Stafford Loans and certain Federal Consolidation Loans.

Chart 2 shows the interest rates for loans with rates based on the weekly average of the one-year constant maturity Treasury yield.

Chart 3 shows the interest rates for “converted” variable-rate Federal Stafford Loans. These are loans that originally had varying fixed interest rates.

Finally, Chart 4 shows the interest rates for variable-rate Federal Consolidation Loans, and for the portion of any Federal Consolidation Loan that repaid loans made under the HEAL Program.

( printed page 48235)

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

85 FR 48233