Ah, government bureaucracy―unwitting cradle of en-trepreneurship. After a dozen years as a marketer at Sallie Mae, Lydia Micheaux Marshall figured she could siphon off some of the $40 billion (2001 student loan originations) business―and make it more efficient. After all, most colleges maintained cozy relationships with a handful of banks, which had no incentive to compete on pricing, and few universities had either the time or the expertise to seek out better deals. Result: Versura, a potential matchmaker between the 4,400 two- and four-year colleges and the banks originating or buying student loans. Colleges seeking backers place a request on Versura's network, specifying such preferences as repayment schedules, guarantee agencies and disbursement methods. Lenders, notified by e-mail, enter bids that Versura analyzes (weighing overall costs to borrowers when interest rates and back-end borrower benefits are added up). Colleges select winners outright or pick finalists and ask for another round of bids. Schools pay nothing for the service; lenders with winning bids fork over 15 basis points (0.15% annually) of the outstanding loans to Versura. When a loan originator sells a loan portfolio, Versura collects another 0.15% of the portfolio from the seller.
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