BORROWERS of the Student Loan Bureau (SLB) can soon expect to further benefit from measures being implemented by the institution to provide more affordable financing.

While some of these measures have already been implemented, even more are expected shortly. Those being anticipated are a change from add on to reducing interest rate and a possible further reduction on the interest rate now levied at the principal amount borrowed.

“We are still awaiting the report from the actuaries. They are doing a detailed assessment which will guide our final decision (if the interest rate will be further reduced). So as soon as we have the findings of the actuaries we will do our further review to determine to what extent, if at all, we are able to reduce it further from the current nine per cent,” said Monica Brown, executive director of the SLB.

While awaiting a determination on this actuarial review, to be completed by the end of this month, Brown said that the change from add on to reducing balance interest will certainly go ahead as has been determined by the bureau’s board.

“It is coming. What we are actually waiting on is a new IT (Information Technology) system which will be able to facilitate the interest rate being computed on the reducing balance.”

A change from add on to reducing interest rate would see borrowers no longer repaying on both the interest and the original sum borrowed (the principal) but instead pay on the reduced principal and the interest which is calculated on the reduced amount.

Of the changes already made, notable among them are the lengthening of the repayment period from 10 to 15 years; the reduction in insurance premiums from $1.50 per $1,000, to $1.00 per $1,000 and the reduction of interest rates from 12 per cent to nine per cent.

What’s more, the SLB realises that with high unemployment, many persons though willing to repay are unable to do so. As such, they have adopted an approach which they deem beneficial to both the borrowers and the institution.

“We have asked persons to come in and speak with us if there are, for example, difficulties in paying. We are willing to look at the situation case by case and reschedule the loan as necessary based on our assessment.”

The SLB will approve approximately 13,000 loans this year, a 30 per cent increase over last year at a cost of just about $3 billion, almost a billion more than it paid out for the last academic year.