David Elliott and Christina Olivos authored an article for The National Law Journal Banking & Finance Special Report on November 2, 2015, which outlined recommendations from the U.S. Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) on best practices for federal student loan servicing contracts. "The recommendations come amid increasing concern over the size and status of taxpayer-funded federal student loans," Elliott and Olivos said. With student debt hitting record highs, President Barack Obama issued a memorandum charging an interagency task force representing the Department of the Treasury, Department of Education, Office of Management and Budget and Domestic Policy Council with identifying changes to performance-based contracting. The task force's recommendations focus on five areas: compensation structure; performance measurement and new loan allocation; standardized minimum service-level and borrower communication requirements; borrower protections and complaint resolution processes; and strong oversight processes and enforcement mechanisms.

Read the full article, "Student Loan Rules May Get Tighter".