AMENDED AND RESTATED PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN SERVICING AGREEMENT BETWEEN PENNSYLVANIA HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AGENCY AND THE FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION
CONFIDENTIAL
MATERIALS OMITTED AND FILED SEPARATELY WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION.
ASTERISKS
DENOTE OMISSIONS.
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Exhibit
99.13
AMENDED
AND RESTATED PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN SERVICING AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION
ASSISTANCE AGENCY
AND
THE
FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION
THIS
AMENDED AND RESTATED PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN SERVICING AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”)
is made and dated as of September 28, 2006 (the “Effective Date”), by and
between the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (d/b/a American
Education Services), a public corporation and governmental instrumentality
organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 0000 Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx 00000 ("Servicer"), and The First Marblehead
Corporation, having an address at 000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx, Xxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000 (“FMC”), and amends and restates that certain Alternative
Servicing Agreement between Servicer and FMC dated as of October 16, 2001
(“Old
Servicing Agreement”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS,
the
Servicer is in the business of servicing privately insured student loans
and
other education loans for lenders; and
WHEREAS,
Program Lender (defined
below) and FMC have created a group of education loan programs, all of which
are
described in the Program Guidelines (defined below), pursuant to which education
loans are funded by Program Lender and purchased by FMC or an SPE (defined
below); and
WHEREAS,
in order to ensure the integrity of the education loans at the time they
are
purchased by FMC or an SPE, FMC desires to oversee the servicing of such
education loans prior to purchase; and
WHEREAS,
FMC desires to utilize the expertise of the Servicer to service such education
loans as and when they are purchased by FMC or an SPE;
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises contained in this Agreement
and the fees to be paid by FMC to the Servicer, and intending to be legally
bound, the parties to this Agreement do hereby agree to the
following:
SECTION
1. DEFINITIONS
1.01 |
"Account"
means the Student Loans collectively of an individual
Borrower.
|
1.02 |
"Agreement"
means this Amended and Restated Private Student Loan Servicing Agreement,
including each Schedule and Exhibit provided for herein and each
amendment
hereafter adopted.
|
1.03 |
"Borrower"
means an individual who is the maker of a Credit Agreement and who
obtains
a Student Loan or a Committed Student Loan. “Borrower” includes both the
primary obligor and any cosigner.
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1.04 |
"Business
Days" means a day of the year other than a Saturday or Sunday, or
a day on
which the Servicer or FMC is required or authorized by law to remain
closed, and on which either does remain
closed.
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1.05 |
“Change
of Control” means the
sale to any other entity, individual or group of all or substantially
all
of the entity’s assets used to perform the
Services.
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1.06 |
“Committed
Student Loans” means any of and “Committed Student Loans” means all, the
Private Student Loans which FMC is obligated to or has the right
to
purchase under third-party agreements with Program Lender and which,
upon
the occurrence of such purchase, will become Student
Loans.
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1.07 |
“Confidential
Information” has the meaning assigned to it in Section
11.02.
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1.08 |
“Consumer
Information” has the meaning assigned to it in Section
11.03.
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1.09 |
“Credit
Agreement” shall mean the promissory note or credit agreement executed by
a Borrower evidencing a Student Loan or a Committed Student
Loan.
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1.10 |
“Customer”
has the meaning assigned to it in Section
11.03.
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1.11 |
“Customer
Information” has the meaning assigned to it in Section
11.03.
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1.12 |
“Customer
Service Schedule” means the schedule of that name attached hereto and as
amended by agreement of the parties.
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1.13 |
“Disaster
Recovery and Business Continuity Plans” has the meaning given to it in
Section 11.05.
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1.14 |
“Failed
Standard” shall have the meaning given to it in Section
4.02.
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1.15 |
“Fee
Schedule” means the schedule of that name attached hereto and as amended
by agreement of the parties.
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1.16 |
“FMC”
means The First Marblehead Corporation in its capacity as “FMC” and
“Securitization Sponsor,” (as those roles are defined in the Program
Guidelines), and as a party entitled to Servicing of Committed Student
Loans and Student Loans.
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1.17 |
“FMDS”
has the meaning given to it in Section
4.14.
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1.18 |
“FMER”
means First Marblehead Education Resources, Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of FMC.
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1.19 |
“Force
Majeure” has the meaning given to it in Section
10.01.
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1.20 |
“Identity
Theft Procedures” means the Procedures for Fraud Notification set forth in
the Servicing Guidelines and as amended by agreement of the parties.
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1.21 |
“Information
Security Program” has the meaning given to it in Section
11.03.
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1.22 |
"Insurer"
means The Education Resources Institute, Inc. (“XXXX”) or such other
private insurance agencies as the parties may mutually agree upon
from
time to time.
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1.23 |
“Late
Fees” has the meaning given to it in Section
4.14.
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1.24 |
“Material
Adverse Change” means
any condition or event that is reasonably likely to have a material
adverse effect on (i) the business operations, property or condition
(financial or otherwise) or prospects of the Servicer, or (ii) the
validity or enforceability of this Agreement or any of the Schedules
or
Exhibits hereunder.
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1.25 |
“Milestone”
shall have the meaning given to it in Section
4.03(d).
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1.26 |
“Non-Peak
Application Periods” means the months other than June, July, August and
September.
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1.27 |
“Old
Servicing Agreement” has the meaning set forth
above.
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1.28 |
“Operations
Meeting” shall have the meaning given to it in Section 4.09 of this
Agreement.
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1.29 |
“Original
Credit Agreement” means the signed first or first two pages of the Credit
Agreement (beginning with the Borrower and Program Lender name and
ending
with a signature or signatures).
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1.30 |
“Owner”
means with respect to a Student Loan, Program Lender prior to a
Securitization Transaction and then FMC or any Permitted Assignee
that
purchases such Student Loans or any interest therein from Program
Lender
or from another Permitted Assignee in a Securitization
Transaction.
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1.31 |
“Peak
Application Periods” means the months of June, July, August and
September.
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1.32 |
“Permitted
Assignee” means a Special Purpose Entity (as defined below), or any
financial institution, bond insurer, guaranty agency, indenture trustee,
lender’s collateral agent or other substantially similar party to whom
rights under this agreement are assigned as security in a financing
transaction to which the Special Purpose Entity is a
party.
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1.33 |
“Person”
means a natural person, limited or unlimited liability corporation,
limited liability company, limited liability partnership, partnership,
association, trust or any other legal entity having the capacity
to
contract.
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1.34 |
“Program
Guidelines” means, solely for purpose of
identifying Private Student Loan programs to be Serviced under the
Agreement,
the Underwriting, Origination and Loan Term Guidelines for one or
more
Private Student Loan programs identified by the parties from time
to time
in a writing signed by both parties. At the time of this Agreement,
Program Guidelines includes the Underwriting, Origination and Loan
Term
Guidelines for those Private Student Loan programs set forth on Schedule
A
attached hereto.
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1.35 |
“Program
Lender” means one or more lenders to be specified by the parties in
writing, signed by both parties from time to time. At the time of
execution of this Agreement, Program Lenders include the following:
Bank
of America, N.A.; JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.; Charter One Bank, N.A.;
Chase
Manhattan Bank USA, N.A.; Citizens Bank of Rhode Island; GMAC Bank;
HSBC
Bank USA, N.A.; The Huntington National Bank; Insurbanc; KeyBank,
National
Association; Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company (M&T Bank);
National City Bank; PNC Bank, N.A.; Sovereign Bank; and SunTrust
Bank.
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1.36 |
“Program
Manual” has the meaning assigned to it in Section
4.09.
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1.37 |
“Program
Year” means the period from May 1 to April
30.
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1.38 |
“Private
Student Loan” or “PSL” means an education loan to finance the costs of
higher education (or private K-12 education) that is not (a) guaranteed
by
the United States Department of Education nor by any agency of any
state
or (b) a Guaranteed Access to Education (GATE) Loan program (other
than
the Bank of America GATE Education Loan (BAGEL) Program that is guaranteed
by XXXX).
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1.39 |
“Proprietary
Information” has the meaning given to it in Section
11.01.
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1.40 |
“Remedial
Action Plan” has the meaning given to it in Section
4.03(d).
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1.41 |
“Required
Reports Schedule” means the schedule of that name attached hereto and as
amended by the agreement of the parties.
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1.42 |
“Securitization
Transaction” means the purchase of a pool of Student Loans by an
SPE.
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1.43 |
"Service",
"Services", "Serviced", "Servicing" shall mean to perform, in full
compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations,
the
terms and conditions of the Credit Agreements, the Servicing Guidelines,
the Program Manual, and the terms and conditions of this Agreement,
including without limitation the Service Level Agreement: duties,
obligations, and procedures that are required of Servicer hereunder
in
connection with Student Loans and Committed Student
Loans.
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1.44 |
“Service
Level Agreement” means the Service Level Agreement attached hereto as
Exhibit C and as amended by agreement of the parties.
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1.45 |
“Servicer
Consent Letter” means a letter substantially in the form of Exhibit A, to
be executed by Servicer, FMC, and an SPE in connection with each
Securitization Transaction.
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1.46 |
“Servicing
Guidelines” means the Servicing Guidelines for one or more Private Student
Loan programs that have been issued by Insurer and approved by FMC
and
Servicer attached hereto as Exhibit B and as may amended by agreement
of
the parties pursuant to the terms
thereof.
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1.47 |
“Special
Purpose Entity” or “SPE” means a trust, corporation or limited liability
company organized by FMC and engaged solely in the business of purchasing
Private Student Loans and engaging in financing and/or securities
transactions to obtain funds to purchase such Private Student
Loans.
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1.48 |
"Student
Loan" means any of, and "Student Loans" means all, the Private Student
Loans executed by a Borrower, funded by Program Lender, purchased
by FMC
or an SPE and which are Serviced by the Servicer pursuant to this
Agreement.
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1.49 |
“System
Access Schedule” means the schedule of that name attached hereto and as
amended by agreement of the parties.
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1.50 |
“Trustee”
means the Permitted Assignee having a lien or security interest in
a pool
of Student Loans, which lien or security interest is held for the
benefit
of investors or lenders providing funds in such Securitization
Transactions.
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SECTION
2. SCOPE
OF AGREEMENT
2.01
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Old
Servicing Agreement. On
the Effective Date, this Amended and Restated Servicing Agreement
shall
supersede and replace the Old Servicing Agreement in its entirety.
Pursuant to Section 13.02, this Agreement has been assigned in
part to
SPEs with respect to pools of Student Loans. The Servicing of such
Student
Loans shall be governed by this Agreement upon receipt by Servicer
of the
written consent of an SPE who has become a party to this Agreement
by
virtue of such assignment; provided, however, that FMC shall be
solely
responsible for obtaining the written consents of SPEs for Servicing
under
this Agreement.
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2.02
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Services. The
Servicer agrees, in consideration of certain fees, to perform the
Services
set forth in this Agreement, including each Schedule and Exhibit
hereto,
and any additional Services which FMC requests and the Servicer
agrees to
provide with respect to the Servicing of Student Loans in accordance
with
the Servicing Guidelines, for which account information and/or
documentation shall be delivered to the Servicer.
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2.03
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Role
of FMC.
Servicer acknowledges that FMC has, under third-party agreements,
the
obligation or the right to purchase the Committed Student Loans
and FMC,
as the parent company of the Insurer’s agent, FMER, has an obligation to
the Insurer to ensure the adequate conversion of the Committed
Student
Loans from FMER’s origination system to Servicer’s Servicing system. In
light of the foregoing, Servicer further acknowledges that FMC
has a
present interest in Committed Student Loans and Servicer agrees
to provide
product setup and conversion Services for such loans pursuant to
this
Agreement. Such rights of FMC pursuant hereto shall be in addition
to, and
not in derogation of, the rights of Program Lender as Owner of
such
Committed Student Loans. FMC shall not have liability under this
Agreement
for any Student Loan unless and until FMC becomes an Owner of such
Student
Loan.
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Servicer
agrees that upon assignment of FMC’s rights with respect to a pool of Student
Loans to an SPE or other Permitted Assignee: (i) all
obligations of FMC under this Agreement with respect to such Student Loans,
including without limitation the obligation to pay the fees set forth in
the Fee
Schedule, shall cease upon assumption of that obligation by any SPE and (ii)
all
of FMC’s rights under this Agreement, other than the right to receive Services
with respect to such pool of Student Loans, shall be retained by FMC, including
without limitation those rights relating to product setup and conversion
of
Committed Student Loans, and audits that relate to continuing
Services.
SECTION
3. TERM
OF AGREEMENT
This
Agreement shall commence on the date first set forth above and shall continue,
with respect to Student Loans which are subject to this Agreement (including
loans serviced under the Old Servicing Agreement and new Student Loans serviced
on and after the effective date of this Agreement), in accordance with Section
14.01, unless earlier terminated by either Party pursuant to the provisions
of
this Agreement. With respect to product setup and conversion services and
the
fees charged for the Services, this Agreement shall continue for a period
of
three (3) years from the date first set forth above, unless earlier terminated
by either Party pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, and shall
automatically renew for an additional one (1) year period, unless terminated
by
any Party by written notice of non-renewal to the other given at least one
hundred and eighty (180) days prior to the end of the then current term.
The
expiration or termination of this Agreement as to the addition of new Student
Loans shall in no way affect the rights or obligations of Servicer with respect
to Student Loans that have become subject to this Agreement by partial
assignment of this Agreement to an SPE.
SECTION
4. Servicing
Duties
4.01
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Servicing
Duties.
Servicer shall provide and perform the Services in
full compliance with: the terms of this Agreement, including without
limitation the Service
Level Agreement (as amended by the parties from time to time in
accordance
with the terms thereof) ;
the Servicing Guidelines; the Program Manual; the terms and conditions
of
the Credit Agreements; and all federal and state laws and regulations
applicable to Servicer or Program Lender or any Owner.
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4.02
|
Failed
Service Levels: Notice and Cure
Servicer shall notify FMC through the reports required by Exhibit
C to
this Agreement, which reports shall be made in accordance with
Section
5.04 hereof, of any failure to meet any Servicing standard set
forth in
the Service Level Agreement other than standards defined therein
as
“Servicer’s Service Objective” (a “Failed Standard”). In the event that
the Servicer shall fail to perform the same Servicing standard
for thirty
(30) days thence (the second consecutive Failed Standard), then
the Owner
shall be entitled to a reduction (or rebate if already paid) of
[**]of the
Servicing Fees due the Servicer pursuant to Section II of the Fee
Schedule
(a “Fee Reduction”) with respect to the months in which the Failed
Standard shall have occurred. The Owner shall continue to be entitled
to a
Fee Reduction for each subsequent consecutive month in which the
Servicer
shall fail to perform the same standard. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
no
reduction or rebate shall be made with respect to any Failed Standard
that
occurs prior to March 1, 2007. This
Section 4.02 shall be effective from the Effective Date through
August 31,
2007, and shall then be open for negotiation. If no changes are
proposed
or agreed to in writing, this Section 4.02 shall remain in
effect.
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4.03
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Product
Setup and Conversion. Servicer
agrees, in accordance with the existing practices and procedures
of the
parties, to perform product set-up and conversion Services with
respect to
the Committed Student Loans as set forth in the Product Setup and
Conversion Service Level Agreement which shall include, without
limitation, the following:
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(a)
|
Credit
Agreement Forms.
Servicer shall promptly review promissory note or credit agreement
forms
that are proposed by FMC and/or Program Lender and, after mutual
resolution of any comments thereon that affect the Servicing of
such
forms, accept such forms for purposes of product set-up and
conversion.
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(b)
|
Servicing
System Adaptation.
Servicer shall promptly review education loan product terms and
pricing
matrices proposed by FMC and/or Program Lender and shall establish
appropriate Servicing matrices and programs to support such product
terms
and pricing as of a mutually agreed product launch date. The parties
shall
publish a mutually agreeable program launch date for each program
within
each Program Year. Servicer shall make every effort to meet live
program
dates requested by FMC, which date shall be no less than thirty
(30) days
from the date Servicer accepts the product and pricing matrix (or
similar
document containing the same information) for such program; provided,
however, that the Servicer agrees to use commercially reasonable
efforts
to complete the set-up process in a shorter time frame on a case-by-case
basis in order to accommodate the business needs of FMC (or its
clients).
FMC shall have the right to audit Servicer’s Servicing matrices and
program setup as set forth in Section 4.03(d)
below.
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(c)
|
Conversion. Servicer
agrees to accurately convert all Committed Student Loan origination
data
necessary for servicing hereunder onto its Servicing System in
accordance with Section VI of the Service Level Agreement. Servicer
shall
also, in a timely manner, return to the Servicer Relations Group
at FMC
all loan files sent to the Servicer in error.
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(d)
|
Periodic
Audit.
Servicer agrees that, no less than twenty (20) days after receipt
of
written notice, shall cooperate with audits by FMC of the
product
set-up and conversion Services and communication
and other protocols necessary for the efficient and
accurate performance thereof.
If
any audit reveals any failure to adequately perform any such matter,
Servicer
shall within thirty (30) days of its receipt of the results of
such audit,
publish a remedial action plan that includes a schedule of tasks
and
objectives to be completed (each such task or objective, a “Milestone”)
and provides for reports to FMC with respect to each Milestone
(“Remedial
Action Plan”) and provide the same to FMC. Upon completion of the Remedial
Action Plan, FMC may, at a time mutually agreeable to the parties,
perform
an additional audit to validate successful completion of the Remedial
Action Plan.
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4.04
Custody
Procedure.
The
Servicer shall hold all Original Credit Agreements and related documents
Serviced hereunder on behalf of the Owner and shall retain each such Credit
Agreement and related documents until five (5) years after the earlier of
(a)
the date upon which the Student Loan evidenced by such Credit Agreement and
related documents is paid in full or (b) the date upon which the Student
Loan is
deconverted from Servicer’s Servicing System. The
Servicer shall maintain all Original Credit Agreements that have an original,
wet signature in a fire resistant vault equipped with a fire suppression
system
which is connected to an alarm and a security locking system. Servicer
shall create microfilm or electronic records of all Original Credit Agreements
and related documents at no additional cost to FMC and shall maintain such
microfilm or electronic records on-site at the Servicer’s Servicing
center at
Harrisburg, PA
and at an off-site facility in a fire resistant vault equipped with (a) a
fire
suppression system which is connected to an alarm and (b) with a security
locking system at least 100 miles away from the on site facility used to
house
the Original Credit Agreements and related documents. The
Servicer shall supply FMC, upon request, microfilm or electronic copies of
Original Credit Agreements and related documents. FMC
or its designated agent shall have the right to inspect all security procedures
during Servicer’s
regular business hours. The
Servicer shall provide FMC with sixty (60) days advance notice of any change
in
the physical location, of the Original Credit Agreements and related documents
or any relocation of the Servicer’s Servicing center. All
Original Credit Agreements at all times shall be stored in a state other
than
the State of Louisiana.
4.05
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Lost
or Damaged Records.
In
the event that records or other data submitted to the Servicer
for
Servicing should be lost or damaged while in the possession, control
or
custody of the Servicer or its agents, such lost or damaged records
or
data shall be reproduced by the Servicer at the Servicer's own
cost and
expense from microfilm or
image duplicates
in the Servicer's possession or under the Servicer's control and
the
Servicer shall pay the Owner’s expenses associated with such lost or
damaged records or data, including but not limited to reasonable
attorney’s fees. In the event that a Student Loan becomes uncollectible,
unenforceable or loses the guarantee of the Insurer or other entity
which
pays default claims on Student Loans, due to loss or destruction
of
records or data in the possession, control or custody of the Servicer
or
its agents then the Servicer shall, on demand, pay to the Owner
the
principal balance (including capitalized interest) plus any unpaid
interest due on any such Student Loan and the Owner shall thereupon
assign
all of its right, title and interest in any such loan to the
Servicer.
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4.06
|
System
Changes.
The
Servicer has the right to change any part or all of its equipment,
its
Servicing system, computer programs, and its procedures relating
to the
manner of or the methodology used in servicing the Student Loans,
subject
to the following:
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(a)
|
In
no event shall such change abrogate or in any way modify the obligations
of the Servicer to Service the Student Loans or the Committed Student
Loans in full compliance with all applicable federal and state
laws and
regulations, the terms and conditions of the Credit Agreements,
the
Servicing Guidelines, the Program Manual or the terms of this Agreement,
including without limitation the Service Level Agreement, or the
quality
of the Service.
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(b)
|
As
part of the quarterly meeting discussed in Section 4.09 below,
the
technical and operational staffs of Servicer and FMC shall discuss
upcoming system changes for each party and to follow up on any
emergency
changes implemented during the prior quarter under subsection (d)
below.
The parties agree that they shall provide reasonable information
about the
nature and effect
of changes that the parties reasonably believe may affect the operations
or processes of the other and shall determine the extent to which
the
other party needs to be involved in the testing of changes to its
own
system. At each meeting, the parties shall also discuss proposed
implementation dates for system changes and shall make best efforts
to
avoid implementation dates that will have a material adverse impact
on the
operations of the other party.
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(c)
|
Servicer
shall test, prior to implementation, each system change that will
affect
the Servicing of Student Loans to determine that such change will
not
result in adverse consequences to its obligations under this Agreement.
Servicer
will document all changes and corresponding testing of such
changes.
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(d)
|
If
the need to make any emergency changes arises, Servicer shall notify
FMC
of such need as soon as is reasonably possible but in all cases
prior to
the implementation of any change. Servicer shall track all emergency
changes.
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4.07
|
System
Access.
Servicer
shall, at the direction of FMC and only at the direction of FMC,
provide
FMC, FMDS on behalf of each Owner, XXXX, and FMER as agent for
XXXX with
web-based access to Student Loan and Committed Student Loans files,
or
portions thereof, in accordance with the terms of the System Access
Schedule, which shall set forth, without limitation, the type of
access
and/or online services that must be available to each type of user
and the
minimum user access security requirements that must be implemented
on
Servicer’s Servicing system. Servicer shall at all times maintain the
security of user access to its Servicing system in conformity with
the
security provisions of the System Access Schedule, which shall
include,
without limitation, Servicer’s review of the individual user access rights
of Servicer employees and other users no less frequently than every
ninety
(90) days.
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4.08
|
System
Parameters.
The Servicer is responsible for designing, implementing and maintaining
its Servicing system in accordance with the requirements of this
Agreement, including without limitation the System Requirements
Service
Level Agreement.
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4.09
|
Operations
Meetings; Procedures
Manual.
The
Servicer and FMC agree that they shall mutually schedule and conduct
a
joint meeting of their operational staffs no less frequently than
once per
calendar quarter for the discussion, tracking, and resolution of
any
operational issues relevant to the Servicing of Student Loans under
this
Agreement (each such meeting, an “Operations Meeting”).
|
As
part of the series of operational meetings, the Servicer and FMC shall create
and maintain a procedures manual for all aspects of Servicing which shall
comply
fully with
the
terms of this Agreement, including without limitation the Service Level
Agreement, the Servicing Guidelines, the terms and conditions of the Credit
Agreements, and all applicable federal and state laws
(“Program Manual”). Servicer and FMC shall collaborate on the Program Manual and
shall complete the same within 180 days of the execution of this Agreement.
The
final version of the Program Manual shall be negotiated, mutually agreed
upon,
and distributed between the Parties. The Program Manual shall be subject
to the
provisions of Section 11.01 (confidentiality). As a condition precedent to
the
effectiveness of any provision of the Program Manual that has an impact on
the
Servicing Guidelines, the Servicing Guidelines must be amended pursuant to
the
terms thereof to contain such provision. System changes that are needed as
a
consequence of any provision of the Program Manual will be completed within
a
timely manner and in accordance with a schedule adopted by the parties at
an
Operations Meeting.
The
parties shall review the Program Manual annually for revisions and updates.
The
parties anticipate that the Program Manual may include, without limitation,
the
following information:
(a)
|
Description
of all loan product terms relevant to Servicing for all Student
Loans,
including a history of Program Year changes which shall commence
upon
execution of this Agreement;
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(b)
|
Borrower
communications letter bank;
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(c)
|
Due
diligence procedures;
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(d)
|
Procedures
for delinquency and default, including but not limited to bankruptcy
and
death;
|
(e)
|
Forbearance
procedures and forms;
|
(f)
|
Cancellation
policies and procedures;
|
(g)
|
Disbursement
procedures;
|
(h)
|
Deferment
processing and enrollment confirmation
requirements;
|
(i)
|
Skip
tracing procedures;
|
(j)
|
Consumer
Reporting Agency reporting;
|
(k)
|
Service
levels, including without
limitation
|
(i)
|
Customer
Service for phone, web and paper communications, including issue
resolution and quality control
|
(ii)
|
Payment
processing
|
(iii)
|
Origination
Processing (as applicable)
|
(iv)
|
Conversion
Processing (as applicable) and,
|
(v)
|
System
Availability and Parameters;
|
(l)
|
Default
Prevention (as applicable);
|
(m)
|
Fraud
detection; Identity theft and fraud claim processing (FACT Act);
|
(n)
Servicer
“cure” procedures;
(o)
Escalation
procedures for Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans;
(p)
Servicing
reports; and
(q)
Secure communication protocol for borrower level data.
4.10
|
Training. Servicer
will assume responsibility, at its expense, for training of its
staff to
meet the requirements of this Agreement, including all Schedules
and
Exhibits hereto.
|
4.11
|
Customer
Service.
Servicer shall implement, maintain and monitor all Services which
interface with Borrowers in accordance with the Customer Service
Schedule,
which shall include without
limitation
|
(a)
|
Minimum
customer service hours of
operation;
|
(b)
|
Call
monitoring and quality control;
and,
|
(c)
|
Borrower
customer satisfaction surveys.
|
4.12
|
Borrower
Correspondence.
FMC shall have the right to request changes to, and approve the
form and
substance of, all correspondence sent to Borrowers that is customizable
by
the Servicer at the Owner level (as opposed to a guarantor level),
including but not limited to pre-repayment letters and collection
correspondence that Servicer is required to send to Borrowers pursuant
to
the Servicing Guidelines or any federal or state regulation. Servicer’s
inability to customize at the Owner level shall not excuse its
obligation
to comply with all applicable laws. Borrower correspondence approved
pursuant to this Section 4.12 shall become part of the Program
Manual.
Requested changes to letters shall be completed within a timely
manner in
accordance with a schedule adopted at an Operations
Meeting.
|
4.13
|
Collections.
All
sums received by the Servicer with respect to any Student Loans,
whether
attributable to principal or interest shall be received in trust
for the
benefit of the Owner. All
funds received on behalf of Borrowers shall be deposited in a
Servicer-owned and maintained clearing account, that is a separate
account
in which funds are not commingled with Servicer’s non-collection account
funds. Within
two
(2)
Business Days,
all
available funds from Student Loans shall be electronically transmitted
to
an account designated by FMC.
|
4.14
|
Late
Fees.
FMC
and Servicer agree that a Borrower in repayment status (which
refers to a Borrower’s Student Loan Serviced under the terms of this
Agreement for which, under the terms of the Borrower’s Credit
Agreement(s), the repayment period has commenced, and includes
Accounts in
post-grace period deferment or forbearance) may be assessed late
fees when
payments are overdue, to the extent allowed by applicable
law and the
terms of the Credit Agreement(s),
subject to FMC’s
approval of late fee systems,
and in accordance with the terms of this Section (herein referred
to as
“Late Fees”). FMC or FMC’s affiliate First Marblehead Data Services, Inc
(“FMDS”), in its capacity as SPE administrator, shall notify Servicer,
in
writing, of the Late Fees criteria which such party desires the
Servicer
to apply to each Student Loan type. Such criteria shall include,
but not
be limited to, Late Fee amounts, time period and applicable state
law in
which Late Fees will be assessed to Student
Loan Accounts.
FMC or FMDS, as applicable, may establish different Late Fee criteria
for
Student Loans having different owner codes. FMC or FMDS, as applicable,
directions as to Late Fee criteria shall apply to all loans, including
those owned by an SPE. Late Fee criteria for some product types
may
include “no late fee.” The Servicer reserves the right to submit questions
pertaining to the requirements regarding the assessment of Late
Fees to a
particular Student Loan portfolio and FMC or FMDS, as applicable,
shall
respond to Servicer’s questions within thirty (30) days. Late Fees shall
be deducted from any payment(s) received from Borrowers as directed
by FMC
or FMDS, as applicable. FMC agrees that Late
Fees shall not be included in the amount of a claim if a default
claim is
submitted to the Insurer.
|
4.15
|
Privacy
Policies.
Servicer shall mail Owner’s privacy policy statement (a) to the
Borrower(s) on each Student Loan, within 45 days after the Owner
purchases
such loan, and (b) annually thereafter to all Borrowers. The Servicer
will
amend this process as necessary to comply with any changes to this
law.
|
4.16
|
Reports
and Forms.
During
the term of this Agreement, the Servicer shall promptly and routinely
furnish to FMC, sorted by SPE Owner, and to each Owner copies of
all
material reports, records, and other documents and data as required
by the
Servicing Guidelines or as otherwise required by this Agreement,
including
the reports set forth on the Required Reports Schedule. All monthly
reports shall be delivered in accordance with (a) the data security
requirements of the Secure Communication Protocol made a part of
the
Program Manual, and (b) the Required Reports Schedule, unless otherwise
expressly provided for herein. In the event that any reports are
not
delivered to FMC as provided for herein, all fees due and owing
the
Servicer under this Agreement may be withheld until such reports
are
received by FMC. The Servicer shall not have failed this standard
if
reports are delayed for any reason beyond its control. The Servicer
shall
furnish in good condition all forms and supplies necessary or appropriate
to perform the Services, such as letters, invoices, and forbearance
applications, as specified in the Schedule(s) and any written and
signed
amendments thereto.
|
4.17
|
Governmental
Reporting.
The
preparation and submission of any and all governmental reports
or requests
for data shall be the responsibility of FMC. The Servicer shall,
however,
supply supporting data and reports as required by this Agreement,
including all Schedules and Exhibits hereto, without additional
charge.
Subject to Servicer’s reasonable charges, Servicer shall also provide such
other information (not otherwise required hereunder) as may be
reasonably
required under applicable law or this Agreement to enable FMC to
fulfill
Insurer or governmental reporting requirements, and otherwise for
FMC’s
business. Servicer shall provide reports on form 1098E and 1099
to
borrowers and the U.S. Internal Revenue
Service.
|
4.18
|
Reports
to Consumer Reporting Agencies.
The
Servicer shall provide any and all reports on Accounts serviced
hereunder
required by the applicable law, this Agreement, including without
limitation the Servicing Guidelines, to the appropriate Consumer
Reporting
Agencies or credit information service and shall correct any errors
caused
by the incorrect reporting of information, in a timely manner not
to
exceed thirty (30) days.
Servicer shall report to all national Consumer Reporting Agencies,
which
are currently Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. After any sale
of
Committed Student Loans to an SPE, Servicer shall promptly, but
not later
than the end of the reporting period for that month, correct its
reporting
to show the correct name of the new Owner in the report, together
with the
name of the originating Program Lender. If FMC directs Servicer
to make a
report or correction of credit information to a Consumer Reporting
Agency
that is outside the Servicer’s customary practices, including but not
limited to as
part of a legal settlement with a Borrower, then the Servicer may
condition making such report or correction on the completion of
an
acceptable writing that allocates the compliance, regulatory, and
legal
risk of making the requested report or
correction.
|
4.19
|
Data
Error Correction; Account Adjustment.
In the event that any data file transmitted to FMC or any Owner
or any
Account contains a material error, Servicer shall, within one (1)
calendar
day of discovery of such error, notify FMC or the affected Owners
of such
error. Servicer shall use best efforts to provide a corrected file
as soon
as possible but no later than [**]
calendar days. For purposes of this Section 4.19, a material error
includes, without limitation:
|
(a)
|
Failure
to follow data format requirements or file naming conventions established
by the parties
|
(b)
Data
corruption
(c)
More
than [**]
of the entries in the file are substantively incorrect (e.g.,
misposting)
(d)
Failure
of the file properly to link data to other files delivered by Servicer,
or
(e)
Any
systemic error in the file (e.g., failure to update LIBOR Index).
Without
limiting the foregoing, if FMC or any Owner requests that the Servicer make
any
correction or adjustment to any Account, the Servicer shall provide written
confirmation that the correction or adjustment has been made.
4.20
|
Identity
Theft Procedures.
The parties hereby adopt the Identity Theft Procedures, as set
forth in
the Servicing Guidelines attached hereto and as amended from time
to time
by agreement of the parties or as required by applicable law. FMC
and the
Servicer may suggest changes to the Identity Theft Procedures from
time to
time or as required by applicable law.
|
SECTION
5. AFFIRMATIVE
COVENANTS
From
the date hereof, Servicer covenants and agrees to the following:
5.01
|
Government
Approvals.
The
Servicer shall maintain all licenses, permits, approvals and
qualifications necessary to carry out its obligations under this
Agreement.
|
5.02
|
Insurance. Servicer
and subcontractors engaged by Servicer to provide Services under
this
Agreement shall also be required to maintain the insurance described
herein at limits acceptable to Servicer and
FMC:
|
(a)
Commercial General Liability insurance on an occurrence basis, on Insurance
Services Office ("I.S.O.") form CG 00 01 or its equivalent, at a limit not
less
than [**] per occurrence/[**] aggregate. This insurance shall be endorsed
to
include as Additional Insured “FMC and its subsidiary and affiliated companies,
as their interests may appear.” The required limits may be arranged through a
combination of primary and excess policies, as needed. A copy of the additional
insured endorsement must be attached to the certificate of insurance Servicer
provides to FMC.
(b)
Automobile Liability insurance for any vehicles operated by the Servicer
or its
employees in connection with work or Services performed under this Agreement,
including owned, non-owned, borrowed, and hired autos, at limits not less
than
[**] per accident.
(c)
For contracts where Servicer’s personnel will have access to or control over
physical or electronic property of FMC or Owner and/or their customers and/or
clients, Employee Dishonesty coverage (also known as a Fidelity Bond), covering
all employees and agents of the Servicer, at a limit not less than [**] for
each
occurrence . This policy shall be endorsed to include as Loss Payees “Owner and
its subsidiary and affiliated companies, as their interests may appear,” and
shall extend to the misappropriation of physical or electronic property of
others in the possession or control of Service Personnel. Servicer shall
provide
FMC with a copy of this policy prior to commencing work upon FMC’s request, and
thereafter annually upon FMC’s reasonable request. A copy of the Loss Payee
endorsement or provisions shall also be attached to any certificate of insurance
Servicer provides to FMC as evidence of this coverage.
All
coverage shall be maintained with insurers licensed to transact insurance
business in the state(s) where Servicer maintains offices or operations.
The
insurers shall have an A. M. Best rating of A- or better; deviations from
that
standard are subject to review and approval by FMC. Servicer shall furnish
Certificates of Insurance and any required copies of policies or endorsements
prior to commencing any work under this Agreement and thereafter within 10
days
of the renewal or replacement of any of the insurance policies described
in the
Certificates. Certificates of Insurance shall include an undertaking by the
insurer to provide 30 days prior written notice of cancellation or material
change in coverage(s).
Upon
FMC’s request, Servicer shall provide FMC with a copy of any policy or
endorsement required hereunder. Regardless of any limitations to any
indemnification of FMC or Owner by Servicer as may be stated elsewhere in
this
Agreement, Servicer expressly understands and agrees that if Servicer fails
to
maintain any of the required insurance coverages, Servicer shall be directly
liable for claims that would otherwise be covered by the insurance required
of
Servicer, its vendors and/or subcontractors. Servicer shall also be responsible
for the payment of any applicable deductibles.
5.03
|
Notification.
Servicer shall promptly notify FMC in writing of (a) the occurrence
of any
event which, if it had existed on the date of this Agreement, would
have
required qualification of the representations and warranties set
forth in
Section 6 (Representations and Warranties) herein; (b) a Material
Adverse
Change,
including but not limited to, material financial difficulty, other
catastrophic event, material change in strategic goals, or significant
staffing changes;
or (c) any material litigation which if adversely determined would
cause a
Material Adverse Change.
|
5.04
|
Accuracy
of Reports.
All reports, transmittals, records or data files required, maintained
or
provided by Servicer hereunder shall be accurate in all material
respects,
and FMC shall have the right to rely thereon.
|
5.05
Work
Performed in United States.
Unless this Agreement specifically provides otherwise, all Services must
be
performed in the United States and all Proprietary Information and Customer
Information, must be stored, maintained, accessed from, and utilized only
by
employees and sub-contractors in the United States.
5.06
|
No
Subcontractors.
With the exception of skip tracing services, the Servicer shall
not
utilize or engage a subcontractor to perform any Services under
this
Agreement without the prior written consent of FMC. To the extent
subcontractors perform any services under this Agreement, the Servicer
shall be liable for the performance of such subcontractors. Any
subcontractors who are approved by FMC and persons hired by Servicer
for
skip tracing services must sign FMC’s standard form of Confidentiality
Agreement and are subject to the confidentially and privacy and
security
obligations of Section 14.07 hereof. Servicer shall advise FMC
upon
periodic request of the entities to which it has subcontracted
skip
tracing services.
|
5.07
|
OFAC
Check.
All Servicer employees performing Services or supporting Servicer
activities under this Agreement, regardless of their location,
shall be
validated by Servicer to not be on any list published and maintained
by
the Government of the United States of America of persons or entities
with
whom any U.S. person or entity is prohibited from conducting business.
Currently, the lists of such persons or entities can be found on
the
following web site:
|
The
Specialty Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List of the Office of
Foreign
Assets Control - Department of Treasury at xxxx://xxx.xxxxxxx.xxx/xxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxx/xxx/xxxxx.xxxx.
In
the event of Servicer becoming aware of any Servicer employee involved in
providing Services being included in the list of prohibited persons or entities,
Servicer shall provide FMC with immediate notice thereof.
Servicer
shall conduct periodic reviews, no less frequently than quarterly, of the
lists
mentioned above. Servicer shall report to FMC immediately if the name of
any
Servicer employee performing the Services matches with the name of any person
listed on any list published by the Government of the U. S. of persons or
entities with whom any U. S. person or entity is prohibited from doing
business.
5.08
|
FACT
Act, PATRIOT Act and OFAC Check.
Servicer’s performance of its Servicing obligations under this Agreement
in conformity with all applicable laws shall include, without limitation,
compliance with the requirements imposed on Owner and Insurer as
users and
furnishers of consumer report information under the Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act of 2003 and all regulations issued pursuant
thereto, including, without limitation, timely and lawful response
to any
identity theft report received from any Borrower or consumer reporting
agency and the obligation to respond to a credit report reinvestigation
request in accordance with the Identity Theft Procedures. Servicer
shall
notify Owner if it becomes aware that any Borrower is on any list
published and maintained by the government of the United States
of America
of persons or entities with whom the Owner’s transaction of business is
restricted, as those lists are currently set forth in Section 5.07
above
and as may be hereafter required by applicable law.
|
5.09
|
Further
Assurances.
At any time, upon the reasonable request of FMC (or its nominee)
or any
Owner (or its nominee), and subject to Servicer’s reasonable charges and
reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses, Servicer shall execute
and
deliver to such requesting party or its designee such other certificates,
agreements and instruments and take such actions as such requesting
party
or its designee may reasonably request in connection with its compliance
with any legal or regulatory requirements, including, without limitation,
any certifications required to be delivered by such requesting
party under
any Securities and Exchange Commission or other securities requirement
or
in connection with the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002.
|
SECTION
6. REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES
The
Servicer represents and warrants to FMC (and these warranties and
representations shall be deemed continuing and repeated as of the date each
Student Loan shall become subject to this Agreement) as follows:
6.01
|
Existence. The
Servicer is a public corporation duly organized and validly existing
and
in good standing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
and
is duly qualified to do business in all jurisdictions where its
failure to
so qualify would materially impair its ability to perform its obligations
under this
Agreement.
|
6.02
|
Right
to Act. No
registration with or approval of any governmental agency (except
for
approval as to form and legality by the Attorney General for the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) is required for the due execution
and
delivery or enforceability of this Agreement. The Servicer has
legal power
to execute and deliver this
Agreement under the laws of Pennsylvania and to perform such Services
and
observe the provisions herein under
the laws of Pennsylvania. By executing and delivering this Agreement,
and
by performing and observing the
provisions of this Agreement, the Servicer will not violate any
existing
provision of its Articles of Incorporation
or its bylaws or any applicable law or violate or otherwise become
in
default under any existing contract or other obligation binding
upon the
Servicer. The officers executing and delivering this Agreement
have been
duly authorized to do so, and this Agreement is legally binding
upon the
Servicer and enforceable against
the Servicer in every respect.
|
6.03
|
Intellectual
Property and Software Rights. Servicer’s
performance of its obligations under this Agreement will not infringe
any
patent, trademark, copyright, or any trade secret or other proprietary
right of any third party. Servicer is the lawful owner or licensee
of any
software programs or other materials used by Servicer in the performance
of the Services called for in this
Agreement.
|
6.04
|
Accuracy
and Continued Validity of Servicer’s Financial
Status.
The Servicer has furnished to FMC financial reports, which in the
opinion
of the Servicer fairly and accurately reflect the financial operations
of
the Servicer and there has been no Material Adverse Change in the
Servicer’s financial prospects since the date the report was provided
which would require revision of the same. No representation or
warranty
made by the Servicer under this Agreement and no statement made
by the
Servicer in any financial statement, certification, report, exhibit
or
document furnished by the Servicer to FMC pursuant to or in connection
with this Agreement is false or misleading in any material respect
(including by omission of material information necessary to make
such
representation, statement or warranty not misleading) as of the
date given
or made.
|
6.05
|
OFAC
Check.
Neither Servicer ,nor any of its subsidiaries, Affiliates, directors,
officers, agents, or employees is
|
(a)
|
an
individual or entity that is listed in the annex to, or is otherwise
subject to the prohibitions contained in, Executive Order No. 13224
on
Terrorist Financing, effective September 24, 2001 (the “Executive Order”)
or the Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”)
regulations;
|
(b)
|
an
individual or entity with whom FMC is prohibited from dealing or
otherwise
engaging in business under any U.S. law, regulation, executive
order
and/or lists published by OFAC (including those executive orders
and lists
published by OFAC);
|
(c)
|
an
individual or entity that is named on the most current list of
“Specially
Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons” published by OFAC on its
official website or any replacement website or other replacement
official
publication of such list; or
|
(d)
|
an
individual or entity with which any financial institution is prohibited
from dealing or otherwise engaging in any transaction under any
laws or
regulations related to terrorism or money laundering.
|
6.06
|
Ongoing
Obligation.
If
at any time during the term of this Agreement, any of the representations
contained in this Section 6 are no longer true, Servicer will immediately
notify FMC, and FMC shall have the immediate right to terminate
this
Agreement, without further obligation or penalty. FMC
will not be required to pay any Early Termination or Record
Return/Deconversion fee if this Agreement is terminated pursuant
to this
Section 6.06.
|
SECTION
7. INSPECTIONS: AUDITS
7.01.
|
FMC
Audit of Books and Records.
FMC, its accountants, auditors, representatives and any Federal,
state or
local governmental or quasi-governmental officials with regulatory
authority over FMC or FMC Affiliates shall have the absolute right,
at
FMC’s expense, upon not less than twenty (20) days prior notice (or
such
shorter notice period as required by law), at any time during or
after the
term hereof:
|
(i)
to audit or examine all books, records, documents, other writings, information,
whether in hard copies, electronic form or otherwise, relating to Services
to be
provided by Servicer under this Agreement at the location(s) where Servicer
maintains such books, records, documents, writings and information;
and
(ii)
to conduct such other examinations, tests or investigations with respect
to the
Services to be provided under this Agreement as FMC may deem necessary or
desirable in FMCs sole and absolute discretion and at FMC’s expense, it being
acknowledged and agreed by Servicer that FMC shall have full and unrestricted
rights of access to books, records, documents, other writings and information,
whether in hard copies, electronic form or otherwise, relating to the Services
to be provided by Servicer under this Agreement, at any time during normal
business hours.
7.02.
|
Sarbanes
Oxley Compliance. If
requested by FMC, Servicer shall participate in Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx
Act of 2002
(“Sarbanes Oxley”) compliance testing conducted by FMC with respect to the
Services on a quarterly basis and shall provide documents and information
as reasonably requested by FMC to conduct such compliance testing.
Servicer agrees to provide any assistance reasonably requested
by FMC to
enable FMC to comply with Sarbanes Oxley, the rules of the Public
Company
Accounting Oversight Board and rules of the Securities and Exchange
Commission relating to disclosure
|
controls
and procedures and inquiries by the SEC or other regulatory agency. Such
assistance shall include but shall not be limited to: (i) documenting Servicer’s
controls and procedures relating to the Services; (ii) cooperating with FMC’s
auditors in connection with the testing of such controls and procedures;
(iii)
making quarterly representations or certifications to FMC regarding any material
changes to such controls and procedures; (iv) remediating any material weakness
or significant
deficiency
that would prevent FMC from complying with Sarbanes Oxley or any rules or
regulations promulgated thereunder; and (v) providing an unqualified SAS
70 Type
2 Report issued by an independent certified public accounting (CPA) firm
in
connection with its provision of the Services.
7.03.
|
SAS
70 Audit.
Servicer will engage, at its expense, an independent CPA firm that
adheres
to professional standards established by the American Institute
of
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to conduct reviews of Servicer’s
general controls associated
with Servicer’s facilities, as well as the controls associated with the
Services and the programs used to provide the Services,
including but not limited to controls over information technology
and
related processes, The scope of the audit shall include all such
matters
as Servicer’s auditor deems necessary or required to meet regulatory
compliance standards, including but not limited to an examination
of the
record keeping system and other equipment and software used by
Servicer.
Such reviews shall be performed at such frequency and times as
Servicer
shall determine, but shall be performed at least once annually.
Within
thirty (30) days of its receipt by Servicer, Servicer shall provide
FMC
with a copy of each report submitted by Servicer’s independent accountants
regarding any of the matters set forth in this paragraph. All such
reviews
shall comply with AICPA Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No.
70, and
the reports obtained shall be of the type generally referred to
(depending
on the publication) as either Type “II” or “B”. In a Type II report, the
Servicer auditor will express an opinion on (1) whether the Servicer’s
organization description of its controls presents fairly, in all
material
respects, the relevant aspects of the Servicer’s organization controls
that had been placed in operation as of a specific date, and (2)
whether
the controls were suitably designed to achieve specified control
objectives, and (3) whether the controls that were tested were
operating
with sufficient effectiveness to provide reasonable, but not absolute,
assurance that the control objectives were achieved during the
period
specified. If the Servicer’s auditor procedures reveal exceptions or
control deficiencies, then Servicer shall take steps to correct
the
control objective, at no cost to
FMC.
|
7.04.
|
Operational
Audits.
Upon twenty (20) days notice from FMC, and subject to Servicer’s
reasonable security requirements, Servicer shall provide to FMC
(and FMC’s
internal and external auditors, inspectors, regulators and other
representatives that FMC may designate from time to time) access
at
reasonable hours to Servicer’s personnel, to the facilities at or from
which Services are then being provided, and to Servicer’s records and
other pertinent information, all to the extent relevant to the
Services
and Servicer’s obligations under this Agreement. Such access shall be
provided for the purpose of performing audits and inspections of
Servicer
and its businesses and to examine Servicer’s performance of loan servicing
under this Agreement including (i) verifying the integrity of the
Servicer
data; (ii) examining the controls (e.g., organizational controls,
input/output controls, system modification controls, system design
controls and access controls) and the security, disaster recovery
and
back-up practices and procedures; (iii) examining Servicer’s measurement,
monitoring and management tools; and (iv) enabling FMC to meet
applicable
legal, regulatory and contractual requirements. Servicer shall
provide any
assistance reasonably requested by FMC or its designee in conducting
any
such audit.
|
7.05
|
Regulatory
Audits.
Within thirty (30) days of its receipt, Servicer shall provide
FMC with a
summary of any audit results performed by a federal or state regulator
concerning the Services provided under this Agreement, including
but not
limited to the Department of Education. The content of any such
summary
shall be subject to Servicer’s reasonable security requirements. When the
regulatory auditor’s procedures reveal exceptions or control deficiencies,
then Servicer shall take steps to
|
correct
the control design deficiency or operating effectiveness deficiency in all
material respects. If such audit reveals that the services provided by Servicer
do not cause Servicer’s operations to meet the auditor’s recommendation, then
Servicer shall provide such further services as are necessary to bring its
operations into conformance with the auditor’s recommendations to such level and
degree, at no cost to FMC.
7.06
Financial
and Other Information.
Servicer shall provide FMC with the following:
(a)
Within forty-five (45) days after the end of each of the first three quarters
of
each fiscal year, unaudited financial statements of Servicer for such quarter,
setting forth the information called for as of the end of, and for such quarter
as described in paragraph (b) of this Section 7; and
(b)
Within 120 days after the close of each fiscal year of Servicer, a copy of
an
annual report as to the obligations and activities of Servicer during such
fiscal year, and financial statements for such fiscal year, setting forth
in
reasonable detail:
(i)
the balance sheet for Servicer and its programs showing the assets and
liabilities of the programs at the end of such fiscal year;
(ii)
a statement of Servicer’s revenues and expenses in accordance with the
categories
or classifications established by Servicer for its operating and program
purposes and showing
the revenues and program expenses during such fiscal year; and
(iii)
a statement of changes in financial position, including changes in financial
position
of Servicer’s programs, as of the end of such fiscal year.
The
annual report shall be accompanied by an Independent Auditor’s Report stating
that the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the
net
assets of the Servicer as of the years stated, and its changes in net assets
and
cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America.
7.07.
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Annual
Statement as to Compliance.
The Servicer shall deliver an annual report to FMC on or prior
to March 31
of each year commencing March 31, 2006, signed by the Chief Executive
Officer (“CEO”) or Executive Vice President (“EVP”) of the Servicer,
stating that (a) a review of the activities of the Servicer, and
the
Servicer’s Performance under this Agreement, for the previous twelve (12)
months ending September 30 has been made under such CEO’s or EVP’s
supervision and (b) to the best of such CEO’”s or EVP’s knowledge, based
on such review, the Servicer has or has caused to be performed
all of its
obligations under this Agreement throughout such year and that
no
default
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has
occurred, or if such a default has occurred and is continuing, specifying
each
such event, the nature and status thereof and the steps necessary to remedy
such
affair. In
the
event that the Servicer has delegated any servicing responsibilities with
respect to the Student Loans to a subservicer or subcontractor, the Servicer
shall deliver a similar annual report by any such subservicer or subcontractor
as described above as and when required with respect to the
Servicer.
7.08.
Annual
Independent Public Accountant’s Servicing Reports;
Assessments
of Compliance and Attestation Reports.
On and
after January 1, 2006, the Servicer shall service and administer all Student
Loans in accordance with all applicable requirements of the servicing criteria
set forth in Item 1122(d) (the “Servicing Criteria”) of Regulation AB (17 C.F.R.
§§ 229.1100 - 229.1123) (“Regulation AB”) promulgated by the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Securities Act of 1934, as amended
(the “Exchange Act”). Pursuant to Rules 13a-18 and 15d-18 of the Exchange Act
and Item 1123 of Regulation AB, the Servicer shall deliver to FMC, the related
Trustee and any other Permitted Assignee, at the cost and expense of FMC,
the
Trustee, or a Permitted Assignee, on or before August 31 of each year commencing
in 2006, a report regarding the Servicer’s assessment of compliance (an
“Assessment of Compliance”) with the Servicing Criteria during the previous
twelve (12) months ending June 30. The Assessment of Compliance must be
reasonably satisfactory to the related Trustee, and as set forth in Regulation
AB, the Assessment of Compliance must contain the following:
(a)
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A
statement by a Servicing officer of such Servicing officer’s
responsibility for assessing compliance with the Servicing Criteria
applicable to the Servicer;
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(b)
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An
assessment by such Servicing officer of the Servicer’s compliance with the
applicable Servicing Criteria for the period consisting of the
previous
twelve (12) months ending June 30, including disclosure of any
material
instance of noncompliance with respect thereto during such period,
which
assessment shall be based on the activities the Servicer performs
with
respect to asset-backed securities transactions taken as a whole
involving
the Servicer, that are backed by the Student
Loans;
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(c)
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A
statement that a registered public accounting firm has issued an
attestation report on the Servicer’s Assessment of Compliance for the
period consisting of the previous twelve (12) months ending June
30;
and
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(d)
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On
or before August 31 of each year commencing in 2006, the Servicer
shall
furnish to FMC, the related Trustee and any other Permitted Assignee
a
report (an “Attestation Report”) by a registered public accounting firm
that attests to, and reports on, the Assessment of Compliance made
by the
Servicer, as required by Rules 13a-18 and 15d-18 of the Exchange
Act and
Item 1122(b) of Regulation AB, which Attestation Report must be
made in
accordance with standards for attestation reports issued or adopted
by the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
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The
Servicer shall cause any subservicer, and any subcontractor determined by
the
Servicer to be “participating in the servicing function” within the meaning of
Item 1122 of Regulation AB, to deliver to FMC, the related Trustee and any
other
Permitted Assignee an Assessment of Compliance and Attestation Report as
and
when provided above.
Each
of
the parties to this Agreement acknowledges and agrees that the purpose of
this
Section 7.08 of this Agreement is to facilitate compliance with the provisions
of Regulation AB, as such may be amended from time to time and subject to
clarification and interpretive advice as may be issued by the staff of the
SEC
from time to time. Therefore, each of the parties agrees that (a) the
obligations of the parties hereunder shall be interpreted in such a manner
as to
accomplish that purpose, (b) the parties’ obligations hereunder will be
supplemented and modified as necessary to be consistent with any such
amendments, interpretive advice or guidance, convention or consensus among
active participants in the asset-backed securities markets, advice of counsel,
or otherwise in respect of the requirements of Regulation AB, (c) the parties
shall comply with requests made by FMC, the Administrator, any Trustee or
other
Permitted Assignee for delivery of additional or different information as
FMC,
the Administrator, any Trustee or other Permitted Assignee may determine
in good
faith is necessary to comply with the provisions of Regulation AB, and (d)
no
amendment of this Agreement shall be required to effect any such changes
in the
parties’ obligations as are necessary to accommodate evolving interpretations of
the provisions of Regulation AB.
7.09
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Cooperation
with Audits; Follow-Up.
Servicer shall fully cooperate with any audit(s) conducted by either
FMC,
FMC’s agent, or a U.S. federal agency pursuant to this Agreement. Servicer
shall not charge FMC for the management hours or fees with respect
to the
time spent by Servicer’s management and employees reasonably necessary in
providing assistance to FMC, FMC’s internal and external auditors, or any
governmental authority performing any audits, compliance, security
and
control testing. If any audit report establishes that Servicer’s
performance of the Services is not in compliance with the terms
of this
Agreement, Servicer shall submit to FMC within thirty (30) days
of its
receipt of the relevant audit report a plan to improve Servicer’s
performance to the level required by this Agreement. In the event
that any
financial audit report reveals that any changes or expenses have
been
overbilled or underbilled, then FMC shall make adjustment in the
fees and
invoices as necessary on a prospective basis in future months as
necessary
to correct errors or maintain compliance with the Agreement, or
Servicer
or FMC shall render a payment to the other party as necessary to
correct
the discrepancy.
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7.10
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Accelerated
and Emergency Audits.
In the event that FMC has the right to terminate this Agreement
under
Section 14 (Termination), whether or not such right is exercised,
FMC
shall have the right to perform or cause to be performed any audit,
examination or inspection described in this Agreement, without
any
limitations or requirements as to notice, frequency, duration,
business
interruption, or other such limitation or requirement for the benefit
of
the Servicer. All costs of such an accelerated or emergency audit
shall be
borne by FMC.
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SECTION
8. CHARGES
AND PAYMENTS.
8.01
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Fees. The
Servicer shall provide all aspect of the Services at its sole cost
and
expense, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, and shall
be
compensated as set forth this Agreement, including without limitation
the
Fee Schedule.
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8.02
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Rate
Change.
To
the extent that an increase occurs in the costs incurred by the
Servicer
in providing the Services hereunder due
to: (a) changes in the Servicing Guidelines or
this Agreement, including without limitation the Service Level
Agreement,
(b)
legislative and regulatory changes beyond the control of the Servicer
which pertain to the manner of servicing of the Student Loans in
accordance with Section 4.01 herein, (c) changes in United States
Postal
Service postage rates, or
(d)
material changes requested by FMC in the Services provided herein,
including but not limited to changes contemplated in Section 4.09
hereof,
the Servicer shall have the right to make a compensating increase
to the
Servicing fees set forth herein and in the Fee Schedule.
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Such
increase shall be limited to Servicer’s actual incremental cost increase
resulting from such changes.
Servicer shall give FMC ninety (90) days prior written notice before
implementing any such increase in Servicing fees pursuant to this Section.
Such
notice shall set forth the bases of, as well as the computation used in
determining, any increase.
8.03
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Invoices.
Invoices for the Servicer's
Services, including the collection of Late Fees collected on behalf
of FMC
or
any Owner as
set forth in Section 4.14
herein and the Fee Schedule,
shall be rendered by the Servicer after each month end with payment
to be
paid by FMC or
the Owner, and shall be delivered electronically, or, upon request
by FMC
or the Owner, as a paper copy. Separate
invoices shall be rendered for each Owner. All invoices are payable
net
forty-five (45)
days from the date of the invoice. If
full payment is not received within sixty (60) days of the invoice
date,
except as to amounts which are under
good faith
dispute, the Servicer may assess an interest charge of [**]%
per month ([**]%
annual percentage rate) on the unpaid balance from the date of
the initial
billing until fully paid. FMC
or the
affected
Owner
shall report any disputes to the Servicer regarding an invoice
for
Servicing within sixty (60) days of the invoice,
and the Servicer shall research the disputed item and respond to
FMC
or the affected Owner(s).
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SECTION
9. LIABILITY
The
Servicer agrees to pay for any claim, loss, liability or expense, including
reasonable attorney's fees, which arises out of or relates to the Servicer's
acts or omissions with respect to the Services provided under this Agreement
(including, without limitation, any refusal of the Insurer to pay any claim
based on Servicer's failure to conform to the Servicing Guidelines), where
the
final determination of liability on the part of the Servicer is established
by
an arbitrator, by a court of law with competent jurisdiction over the Servicer
or by way of settlement agreed to by the Servicer. This provision shall not
be
construed to limit the Servicer's or FMC's rights, obligations, liabilities,
claims or defenses which arise as a matter of law or pursuant to any other
provision of this Agreement. This provision shall take effect as of the date
on
which each individual Student Loan is converted to the Servicer's servicing
system and shall apply to default claims rejected or paid subject to penalty
due
to errors on the part of the Servicer which occur after the date of conversion
to the Servicer's system. Furthermore,
nothing herein shall be read or construed as a waiver of the sovereign immunity
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, except to the extent authorized by the
laws
of said Commonwealth.
The
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has created the Board of Claims, pursuant to
the
provisions of the act of May 20, 1937, P.L. 728, as amended by the act of
October 5, 1978, Act Xx. 000, 00 X.X. 0000-0 et seq., for the adjustment
of
claims arising from contracts entered into by the Commonwealth or an agency
of
the Commonwealth. Subject to the statutory jurisdictional requirements, any
and
all claims against PHEAA respecting any matter pertaining to this Agreement
or
any part thereof may be instituted in the Board of Claims.
FMC
agrees to pay for any claim, loss, liability or expense, including reasonable
attorney's fees and court costs, arising out of or relating to FMC's acts
or
omissions with respect to the Student Loans covered by this Agreement, where
the
final determination of liability on the part of FMC is established by an
arbitrator, by a court of law or by way of settlement agreed to by FMC. This
provision shall not be construed to limit FMC's or the Servicer's rights,
obligations, liabilities, claims or defenses which arise as a matter of law
or
pursuant to any other provision of this Agreement.
If
the Insurer rejects a claim on account of Servicer’s failure to conform to the
Servicing Guidelines in Servicing a Student Loan, the Servicer will start
the
cure process described in the Servicing Guidelines for the purpose of
reinstating FMC’s or any Owner’s claim against the Insurer. (Student Loans in
such status are hereinafter referred to as Student Loans in “Cure Status”). An
indicator will be placed in the Student Loan record indicating the start
(and
the date) of Cure Status. Within twelve (12) months of the initiation of
Cure
Status, if Insurance has not been reinstated in accordance with the Servicing
Guidelines, the Servicer shall purchase any such Student Loan by paying to
FMC
or the Owner (as applicable) an amount equal to the principal balance and
all
accrued and unpaid interest through the date of purchase. The Owner will
assign
its right, title and interest in any Credit Agreement to the Servicer where
the
Servicer has purchased such note. Within thirty (30) days after a final
determination pursuant to Section 9 that Servicer was not responsible for
causing the loss of Insurance, FMC will repurchase any and all such uninsured
Student Loans for an amount equal to the purchase price plus any other costs
incurred by Servicer in their purchase.
SECTION
10. FORCE
MAJEURE
10.01
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Neither
Servicer nor FMC shall be liable for any failure or delay in the
performance of its obligations under this Agreement to the extent
such
failure or delay is caused by any acts of war, terrorism, civil
riots or
rebellions, quarantines, embargoes and other similar unusual governmental
actions, extraordinary elements of nature or acts of God, judicial
or
governmental action, emergency regulation or labor dispute or unrest,
provided that and only to the extent that Servicer or FMC could
not
reasonably circumvent the failure or delay through the use of commercially
reasonable alternate sources, workaround plans or other means (“Force
Majeure”). An event shall not be considered a Force Majeure event to the
extent that proper implementation of the Business Continuity Plan
(as
defined below) would have enabled the Servicer to continue performance
hereunder in a timely manner. The occurrence of a Force Majeure
event
shall not excuse the Servicer from having in place reasonable safeguarding
plans and procedures adequate for protecting all Proprietary Information
and Customer Information of FMC and any Owner.
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Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Section, a Force Majeure event shall obligate
and
require Servicer to commence its Disaster Recovery Plan (as defined below).
If
any Force Majeure event prevents, hinders or delays performance of the critical
Services for more than three (3) days or results in data loss in excess of
forty-eight (48) hours, FMC may procure any affected Services from an alternate
source at FMC’s cost and expense. If the Force Majeure event continues to
prevent, hinder or delay performance of any Services which are of a critical
nature for an additional four (4) days, FMC shall have the right to terminate
this Agreement on not less than fifteen (15) days prior written notice to
Servicer, provided that Servicer will be responsible to continue Services
up to
the effective date of such termination. FMC shall not be required to pay
any
Early Termination or Record Return/Deconversion Fees for a termination of
this
Agreement pursuant to this Section.
10.02
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Without
limiting Servicer’s obligations under this Agreement, whenever a Force
Majeure event causes Servicer to allocate limited resources between
or
among Servicer’s customers, FMC and any Owner, as applicable, shall be
treated at least as favorably as Servicer’s most favored
customers.
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SECTION
11. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION/PRIVACY/SECURITY
11.01. Proprietary/Confidential
Information.
Each party understands and acknowledges that in the performance of this
Agreement, each party (the “Recipient”) will gain access to certain nonpublic
information, material and data, hereinafter referred to as “Proprietary
Information”, relating to the other party (the “Disclosing Party”), which may
include, but not be limited to, FMC’s customer information, the Disclosing
Party’s technical and financial data, design, process, procedures, formula,
business logic, presentation or strategy, new products and marketing plans
that
are commercially valuable to such Disclosing Party and all
trade
secrets, ideas, know-how, data, compilations, inventions, literary, artistic,
graphical or other works and improvements, in each case whether or not
patentable, copyrightable or otherwise subject to intellectual or industrial
property protection, and whether or not registrable or subject to any
registrations or applications therefor, and any of the same relating to or
owned
by any subsidiary or affiliate of the Disclosing Party.
(i)
Recipient agrees to keep all such Proprietary Information confidential, and
not
disclose, transfer, use, copy, or allow any employees or any third parties
access to any such Proprietary Information, except for those who have a need
to
know such Proprietary Information in order for the Recipient to accomplish
the
requirements of this Agreement and who are individually bound by contractual
obligations of confidentiality and limitation of use sufficient to give effect
to this Section 11. Recipient
will (a) keep all documents and any other material containing or incorporating
any of the Proprietary Information at the usual place of business of Recipient,
subject to physical access restrictions acceptable to Disclosing Party, (b)
not
use, reproduce, transform or store any of the Proprietary Information in
any
externally accessible computer or electronic information retrieval system
unless
such system is adequately protected against unauthorized access, and (c)
make
copies of the Proprietary Information only to the extent that the same is
required pursuant to the purposes of this Agreement.
In no event shall Recipient disclose any such Proprietary Information to
any
competitors of Disclosing Party. In the event of a joint venture between
Servicer and another entity, Servicer agrees to maintain the confidentiality
of
all such Proprietary Information of FMC and not to disclose the same in any
manner to the joint venture entity without the prior written consent of FMC.
Upon request by the Disclosing Party and upon termination of this Agreement,
the
Recipient shall promptly return all such Proprietary Information retaining
no
copies and
remove any copies of the Proprietary Information in any form whatsoever on
the
Recipient's computer and information storage systems. Recipient shall also
provide to the Disclosing Party a written certification of destruction signed
by
an officer of the Recipient duly authorized to legally bind the Recipient
certifying and
warranting that no copies of
the
Proprietary Information have
been retained. Recipient
agrees and understands that the Disclosing Party retains all right, title
and
interest in and to all of its Proprietary Information and any intellectual
property and industrial rights therein, including (without limitation) any
patents, copyrights and registrations thereof and applications therefor,
and the
Disclosing Party will have all the rights and remedies available to it as
a
result of such right, title and interest. This Agreement does not grant or
constitute an assignment of or license in or to any such Proprietary Information
or intellectual or industrial property, including, without limitation, for
the
development, manufacture or sale by Recipient of products or services based
on
Proprietary Information or for any other use of Proprietary Information by
Recipient except as expressly provided herein.
(ii) Recipient’s
duty hereunder shall not extend to such Proprietary Information which (a)
is
rightfully received by Recipient from a third party under no duty of
confidentiality to the Disclosing Party; (b) is approved in writing by
Disclosing Party for disclosure; (c) is already in the public domain
or
which,
after disclosure, becomes part of the public domain or otherwise generally
available to the public through publication or otherwise through no fault
of the
Recipient
(d) the
Recipient can show is lawfully in its possession at the time of disclosure
and
was not acquired, directly or indirectly, from the Disclosing Party or anyone
else who, to the knowledge of the Recipient, was subject to any obligations
of
confidentiality to the Disclosing Party, (e) developed independently from
the
Disclosing Party and which the Recipient can show by contemporaneous records
were developed without reference to the Disclosing Party’s Proprietary
Information or
(f) is compelled by a validly issued subpoena, court order, governmental
request
or request of a law enforcement agency.
(iii) Recipient
acknowledges that the Disclosing Party shall have the right to take all
reasonable steps to protect their interests in keeping the Proprietary
Information and the Confidential Information confidential, including, but
not
limited to, injunctive relief and any other remedies as may be available
at law
or in equity in the event Recipient does not fulfill its obligations under
this
Section 6.
11.02 Privacy. Each
Party shall comply with all federal and state laws, and rules and regulations
of
applicable regulatory agencies, protecting the Confidential Information and
privacy rights of FMC, its customers and consumers, including, without
limitation, Title V of the federal Xxxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx Act and federal
regulations implementing such act, Interagency Guidelines Establishing Standards
For Safeguarding Customer Information and codified at 12 C.F.R. Parts 30,
208,
211, 225, 263, 308, 364, 568, and 570.
and the federal Economic Espionage Act (18 U.S.C. Section 1831 et seq). Servicer
will not directly or indirectly reuse or redisclose to any Affiliate (as
defined
below), or any unaffiliated entity or person, any Confidential Information,
including but not limited to, any personally identifiable consumer information,
provided by FMC under this Agreement for any purpose other than to perform
the
activities contemplated by this Agreement. All
Confidential Information in the possession of Servicer, other than information
independently obtained by Servicer and not derived in any manner from
information obtained under or in connection with this Agreement, is and shall
remain confidential and proprietary information of FMC, XXXX, and/or the
applicable Program Lender. If Servicer proposes to disclose Customer Information
to any person or entity to assist Servicer to perform its duties under this
Agreement, Servicer shall first enter into a written confidentiality agreement
with such person or entity under which that person or entity would be restricted
from disclosing, using or duplicating such Customer Information, except as
contemplated under this Agreement. Notwithstanding any such confidentiality
agreement, Servicer shall remain liable to FMC, Program Lender or any Owner,
as
applicable, for any failure of such person or entity to comply with such
confidentiality agreement to the extent that such noncompliance, if engaged
in
by Servicer, would be a breach of this Agreement.
For
purposes of this Agreement “Affiliates” means all current or future corporations
that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, Control
(as
defined below) or are Controlled by, or are under common Control with, FMC
or
Servicer or that are successors (whether by change of name, dissolution,
merger,
consolidation, reorganization or otherwise) to any such corporations or their
businesses and assets. “Control” means the possession, directly or indirectly,
of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies
of
an entity through the majority ownership of voting securities.
For
purposes of this Agreement, "Confidential Information" shall mean all data;
records; correspondence; reports; borrower lists; documents; any
personally identifiable information or records in any form (oral, written,
graphic, electronic, machine-readable, or otherwise) relating to a Borrower,
including, but not limited to: a Borrower’s name, address, telephone number,
social security number, account number, loan payment or transactional account
history, account status, and the fact that the Borrower has a relationship
with
a Program Lender and Owner;
other Borrower information; or other documentation received by Servicer pursuant
to the Agreement from FMC, or from the Borrower, or from the school which
Borrower attends, or information prepared and maintained by Servicer in the
course of its activities under this Agreement.
Servicer
agrees not to utilize any Confidential Information, including
but not limited to the marketing of products or services to, or the solicitation
of business from, Borrowers,
unless it is necessary to do so in order to fulfill an obligation under this
Agreement. Servicer also agrees that it will not sell, disclose, transfer,
or
rent any Confidential Information to any third party nor will it use any
Confidential Information on behalf of any third party, without the express
written permission of FMC and the relevant Borrower. Servicer shall use a
digital certificate on the web server to enable the use of SSL and HTTPS
protocols. All internet transfers of Confidential Information and screen
images
of the same shall be encrypted.
Servicer
acknowledges that money damages may be both incalculable and an insufficient
remedy for any breach of this provision by Servicer and that any such breach
may
cause FMC irreparable harm. Accordingly, Servicer agrees that in the event
of
any breach or threatened breach of this Section, FMC, in addition to any
other
remedies at law or in equity that it may have, shall be entitled without
requirement of posting a bond or other security, to equitable relief, including
injunctive relief and specific performance without proof of actual
damages.
11.03 Security
Program.
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Servicer may receive or
otherwise have access to “Customer Information” (as defined in Appendix B to 12
CFR §30), in connection with providing Services to FMC pursuant to the terms of
the Agreement. Servicer shall implement and maintain an appropriate security
program for Customer Information designed to meet the following Objectives,
as
defined below, of the Interagency Guidelines Establishing Standards for
Safeguarding Customer Information pursuant to the authority of Section 501(b)
of
the Xxxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx Act of 1999 (“Information Security Program”).
“Objectives” means a program designed to (i) ensure the security and
confidentiality of Customer Information (as defined below); (ii) protect
against
any anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity to Customer
Information, and (iii) protect against unauthorized access to or use of Customer
Information that could result in substantial harm or inconvenience to any
“Customer” (as defined in 12 CFR § 40.3 (h)). Servicer shall provide FMC on or
prior to the Effective Date and thereafter, upon request, with a copy of
its
information security and assurance policy and any updates or amendments thereto.
Servicer agrees that upon reasonable notice and at Servicer’s convenience, FMC
may come to Servicer’s place of business and review the specifics of Servicer’s
security plan with Servicer. It is understood and agreed that Servicer shall
not
be required to have an Information Security Program in place that implements
every security measure listed in each paragraph of Section III C of Appendix
A
to 12 CFR § 30; provided that Servicer’s Information Security Program is
appropriate to address the level of risk and otherwise meets the Objectives.
FMC, its internal and external auditors and regulatory agencies (“Auditors”)
shall be permitted, during normal business hours, to audit the Servicer’s
Information Security Program upon provision of sixty (60) days prior notice
and
provision of an agenda for the audit requirements. Servicer shall provide
to the
Auditors, upon request, a copy of a CyberTrust Certification Letter and a
Type
II SAS 70 Report which report shall include the operating controls associated
with Servicer’s Information Security Program and tests of those operating
controls. Servicer shall be subject to said audits as long as Servicer continues
to maintain, store or have access to Customer Information.
As
part of its information security program, Servicer shall take appropriate
measures to properly dispose of “Consumer Information” and “Customer
Information” as defined in The Interagency Guidelines Establishing Standards for
Information Security (as revised, 12/28/04), 12 CFR Part 30 (Appendix B),
whether such information is in paper, electronic or other form. These measures
should, at a minimum include:
(i) Burning,
pulverizing or shredding of papers containing Consumer Information and Customer
Information so that the information cannot practicably be read or
reconstructed;
(ii) Ensuring
the destruction or erasure of electronic media containing Consumer Information
and Customer Information so that the information cannot practicably be read
or
reconstructed; and/or
(iii) Ensuring
that any third party who performs the activities described in (a) and (b)
on
behalf of Servicer above does so in a manner consistent with this
Section.
Servicer
shall ensure that it does not retain Customer Information or Consumer
Information for longer than it needs such information to perform its obligations
hereunder. Servicer’s disposal policy shall require that such information is
reviewed and destroyed on a routine basis consistent
with the Servicer's disposal policy.
Servicer
shall have in place and follow a routine destruction policy for all FMC
Confidential Information, FMC data, deliverables and any working papers,
correspondence, notes, memoranda, drafts or other material (whether in
electronic, paper or other form) related to Servicer’s performance under this
Agreement. No such materials will be retained longer than such period as
is set
forth in Servicer’s policy period for retention unless mandated under this
Agreement or by applicable law.
This
Section is intended only to describe how to properly dispose of Consumer
Information and Customer Information. Requirements related to when Customer
Information and Consumer Information must be retained or destroyed are found
elsewhere in this Agreement or under applicable law.
11.04 Security
Breach.
In the event Servicer knows or reasonably believes that there has been any
unauthorized acquisition of or access to data that compromises the security,
confidentiality, or integrity of “non-public personal
information” maintained by or for Servicer (a “Breach”), Servicer shall take the
following actions:
(i)
Immediately
notify FMC of such Breach.
(ii)
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Identify
to FMC at no cost to FMC what specific data, by customer and/or
account
number has or may have been
Breached.
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(iii)
Monitor
any affected accounts for any unusual activity (if appropriate).
(iv)
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Take
measures to contain and control the incident to prevent further
unauthorized access.
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(v)
Remedy
the circumstances that permitted such Breach to occur.
(vi)
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Cooperate
with FMC as necessary to facilitate FMC’s compliance with any applicable
federal or state law regarding unauthorized access of customer
personal
information.
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For
the purposes of this section, “non-public personal
information” shall include any two of the following: a person’s name, address,
social security number, telephone number, driver’s license or state ID number,
account number, credit/debit card account number, access code, password,
identification number, or security code. Servicer shall fully reimburse FMC
for
the actual costs of mailing notices to individuals whose data has or may
have
been Breached, where such Breach is the direct result, in whole or in part,
of
Servicer’s breach of this Agreement, Servicer’s failure to conform to applicable
law, or Servicer’s negligence.
11.05 Business
Continuity and Site Disaster Recovery Plans
Servicer shall maintain and shall test at least once annually plans to continue
business in the event of an interruption to its business or unavailability
of
any site from which Services are being performed (the “Disaster Recovery and
Business Continuity Plans”). The Servicer agrees that its Disaster Recovery and
Business Continuity Plan shall include, among other things, provision for
the
remote storage of computer software and data, for the remote storage of copies
of Student Loan documentation in conformance with Section 4.04 (Custody),
the
availability of a location for off-site computer services and procedures
covering all of the Servicer’s facilities used in connection with the Services
in order to insure continuance of Services in the event of a disaster affecting
any such Servicer facility and storage of a complete system image tape of
both
object code and source code for its student loan servicing software at an
off-site storage location designated by the Servicer and disclosed to FMC.
The
Servicer covenants and agrees that it shall create on a daily basis
electronically stored backup data for all Student Loan data for the particular
day. At
a
minimum, the Servicer’s core processing facilities and operations will include
redundant backup and security to ensure minimal exposure to systems failure
or
unauthorized access. The Servicer will take commercially available measures
to
ensure the continuity of operations via tape or other off-site backup mechanism.
Power backup will be maintained throughout the core processing facilities
which
affect performance of the Services should a power outage occur. The
Business Continuity Plan must meet the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and
Recovery Point Objective (RPO) as defined below:
The
Service will be available within a three (3) day period following any
significant outage/incident (RTO = 72 hours) with a maximum of forty-eight
(48)
hours of data loss (RPO = 48 hours).
Servicer
shall test both its Disaster Recovery Plan and Business Continuity Plan on
an
annual basis and send its annual Overview of Business Recovery Exercise report
to FMC. Servicer agrees that upon reasonable notice and at Servicer’s
convenience, FMC may come to Servicer’s place of business and review the
specifics of Servicer’s Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans with
Servicer. If
any
testing hereunder establishes that Servicer’s performance of the Services is not
in compliance with the terms of this Agreement, Servicer shall within thirty
(30) days of its receipt of the results of such testing, publish a Remedial
Action Plan and provide the same to FMC. Such Remedial Action Plan shall
include
a schedule of Milestones and shall provide for reports to FMC with respect
to
each Milestone.
An event shall not be considered a force majeure event to the extent that
proper
implementation of the Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans would
have
enabled Servicer to continue performance hereunder in a timely manner. The
occurrence of a force majeure event or disaster shall not excuse Servicer
from
having in place reasonable safeguarding plans and procedures adequate for
protecting all FMC Confidential or Proprietary Information and Customer
Information and Consumer Information. In
the
event of a natural or other disaster beyond the Servicer’s control that
interrupts the Servicer’s performance of any such Services for any period, the
Servicer shall promptly respond to such disaster in accordance with the
procedures contained in the Disaster
Recovery and Business
Continuity Plans in order to resume performance of such Services.
11.06 Servicer
Firewall(s).
(i)
Servicer
will create its firewall rules based on the principle of least access needed.
This means that the firewall(s) will only pass the traffic necessary for
the
system applications utilized by Servicer in providing Services hereunder
to
function to the backend servers, and any unnecessary traffic will be
blocked.
(ii) Servicer
will segregate the Internet environment used to provide service to its clients
from the intranet environment used by internal Servicer personnel.
(iii) An
encrypted session will be used for connectivity between FMC and Servicer
over
the internet.
11.07
User
Authentication Processes.
Servicer will follow its existing policies, procedures, and standards for
authentication. Servicer will provide FMC with access to such policies and
procedures at Servicer’s place of business.
11.08 Intrusion
Detection.
Servicer will maintain a current industry standard intrusion detection
monitoring system that protects its infrastructure against system risk from
outside users and vendors. Servicer will actively monitor the intrusion
monitoring system and develop escalation procedures to notify FMC personnel
in
the event of a security breach pursuant to Section 11.04.
11.09 Risk
Assessment.
Servicer shall comply with industry best practices and standards regarding
information security. In addition to Servicer’s annual Type II SAS 70 audit, it
shall partner with an external vendor for the purpose of receiving a
certification on Servicer’s information security practices and protocols. The
external vendor shall at a minimum conduct external and internal scans and
audits of the Servicer’s network. On an on-going basis the external vendor shall
provide to Servicer notification of any malicious code, viruses or known
threats
so that Servicer may protect its network accordingly. Additionally, on an
annual
basis, Servicer shall engage external vendors to conduct blind intrusion
testing
to verify Servicer’s then current information security, controls, standards, and
procedures. Upon request from the FMC, Servicer shall provide a certification
letter from its external vendors certifying Servicer’s compliance with industry
best practices and standards. For each external vendor providing services
described in this Section 11.09, Servicer shall provide FMC with a summary
of
such vendor’s reports and shall respond to any of FMC’s reasonable follow-up
questions with respect to such summaries. Any information provided to FMC
under
this Section shall be deemed Proprietary Information.
11.10.Survival.
The obligations set forth in this Section 11 as they pertain to Proprietary
Information, Confidential Information, Customer and Consumer Information
shall
survive termination of this Agreement and continue for so long as the relevant
information remains Proprietary Information, Confidential Information, Customer
Information or Consumer Information.
SECTION
12. DISPUTES
In
the event of any dispute or disagreement between the parties hereto either
with
respect to the interpretation of any provision of this Agreement or with
respect
to the performance hereunder by the Servicer or by FMC, each of the parties
will
appoint, no later than thirty (30) days after the dispute or disagreement
has
arisen as evidenced in writing by one of the parties, a designated officer
to
meet for the purpose of endeavoring to resolve such dispute or to negotiate
for
an adjustment to such provision. In
case no agreement is reached, a third designated person may be appointed
upon
mutual agreement to resolve such dispute or to negotiate with the previously
designated officers to negotiate for an adjustment to such provision.
No
formal proceedings for the judicial resolution of the initially designated
dispute may be commenced until either of the designated officers concludes
in
good faith that amicable resolution through continued negotiations of the
matter
in issue does not appear likely. In
no event shall such dispute resolution procedure continue for more than sixty
(60) days after the appointment of the initially designated officers, after
which period of time either
party
may choose to seek a final determination of liability on the part of the
other
party
by a court of law as set forth in Section 9 (Liability) herein.
SECTION
13. ASSIGNMENT.
13.01
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Assignment
by the Servicer.
This Agreement and all the rights and obligations of the Servicer
hereunder may not without the prior written consent of FMC,
which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, be assigned or
subcontracted by the Servicer. Any successor must acquire substantially
all of the assets or business of the Servicer, have the ability
to perform
the Services under the terms and conditions hereof, and be approved
by the
Insurer and reasonably acceptable to any Trustee.
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13.02
|
Assignment
to Permitted Assignee.
The parties contemplate that:
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(a)
|
pools
of Committed Student Loans will be sold by the Program Lender to
SPEs in
Securitization Transactions sponsored by FMC from time to time,
and
Permitted Assignees will receive a collateral assignment of the
Committed
Student Loans in each Securitization Transaction; and
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(b)
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at
the same time and as part of the same transaction, FMC will assign
its
rights under this Agreement to obtain Servicing of said Student
Loans to
said SPEs, which rights may be further assigned to Permitted Assignees,
so
that said Student Loans will be Serviced by Servicer under the
terms of
this Agreement, following execution by the parties of a Servicer
Consent
Letter.
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13.03
|
Effect
of Assignment. Servicer
agrees that upon the assignment of FMC’s
rights under this Agreement with respect to a pool of Student Loans
to a
Permitted Assignee and the execution by the parties of a Servicer
Consent
Letter, all obligations of FMC under this Agreement with respect
to
ongoing Servicing of such Student Loans, including without limitation
the
obligation to pay fees set forth in the Fee Schedule, shall
cease,
all rights and obligations of FMC under this Agreement with respect
to
such Student Loans shall inure to the SPE and the Permitted
Assignees,
and any all references to FMC in this Agreement, to the extent
it has been
so partially assigned, shall be deemed to refer to said SPE.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, FMC shall retain rights under this
Agreement that do not relate to ongoing Servicing of such Student
Loans,
as set forth in Section 2.03 (Role of
FMC).
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13.04
|
Notice
Requirement prior to Sale of Student Loans.
FMC shall use reasonable efforts to notify the Servicer, in writing,
sixty
(60) days prior to any sale of Student Loans, and shall notify
Servicer,
in writing, no less than forty-five (45) days prior to any sale
of Student
Loan, currently housed on the Servicing system as to (a) the anticipated
sale date and (b) the characteristics of the exact Student Loans
to be
sold. The actual sale date will be provided five (5) days prior
to the
sale. Upon receipt of the above initial notice, the Servicer will
provide
FMC with available transfer dates within thirty (30) days. Actual
transfer dates shall be mutually agreed
upon.
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13.05
|
Servicing
Obligations after Sale of Student Loans
(to third party other than an SPE).
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(a)
|
The
Servicer's Offer of Continued Servicing.
With
respect to any Student Loans which are sold, assigned or transferred
by a
Permitted Assignee
(other than a trustee under Section 13.02),
upon the Servicer's receipt of a notice from such Permitted Assignee
that
it intends to sell, assign or transfer any or all of the Student
Loans
which are being Serviced hereunder, the Servicer shall contact
the
intended purchaser, assignee or transferee (collectively, the
"Transferee") and offer to Service such Student Loans for the Transferee
for the balance of the term of this Agreement (and, at the option
of the
Transferee, any extensions thereof) as follows: (i) if
the Transferee
or an affiliate, parent, subsidiary or other entity related to
the
Transferee (collectively, a "Related Entity") has entered into
a servicing
agreement with the Servicer, under the terms and conditions of
any such
agreement,
or (ii) otherwise, under
terms and conditions which are no less favorable than those terms
and
conditions which are contained in this Agreement.
This
subsection shall not apply to an assignment to a Permitted Assignee
pursuant to Section 13.02.
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(b)
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Liability
of Permitted Assignee upon Transferee's Acceptance of Servicer's
Offer to
Service Student Loans.
If
the Transferee accepts the offer described in 13.05(a)(i) or (ii),
the
Permitted Assignee shall have no further obligation or liability
to the
Servicer hereunder with respect to such Student Loans, and the
Early
Termination Fees set forth in the Fee Schedule shall not be due
and
payable. If
the Transferee does not elect to have the Servicer continue Servicing
the
Student Loans, the Permitted Assignee shall pay the Early Termination
Fees
set forth in the Fee Schedule. This
subsection shall not apply to an assignment to a Permitted Assignee
pursuant to subsection 13.02.
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Section
14. TERMINATION
14.01 Borrower’s
Student Loan. This
Agreement shall terminate as to a specific Borrower's Student Loan on the
earliest of:
(a)
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the
month following the month during which (i) the principal, interest,
and
Late Fees, if any, have been fully paid and remitted to the Owner,
and
(ii) the Borrower has been notified that the Student Loan has been
paid in
full;
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(b)
|
the
end of the month during which notification is given to the Servicer
that a
claim for guarantee/insurance relating to the Student Loan has
been paid
by the Insurer; or
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(c)
|
the
end of the month following the month during which the sale or transfer
of
such Student Loan occurs where Servicer does not continue Servicing
such
Student Loan subject to the provisions set forth in Section 13
(Assignment) hereof.
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14.02.
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Termination
by FMC.
This
Agreement may be terminated at the option of FMC upon the occurrence
of
any of the following:
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(a)
|
Any
of the representations or warranties made in or pursuant to this
Agreement
are not true or are
erroneous
in any material respect;
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(b)
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The
Servicer's failure to perform or observe any of the provisions
or
covenants of this Agreement and its referenced schedules and exhibits,
in
any material respect (including, without limitation, any breach
of the
provisions of Section
4.13 (Collections), all of which shall be deemed
material);
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(c)
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If
the Servicer shall (i) discontinue business, or (ii) generally
not pay its
debts as such debts become due, or (iii) make a general assignment
for the
benefit of creditors, or (iv) admit by answer, default or otherwise
the
material allegations of petitions filed against it in any bankruptcy,
reorganization, insolvency or other proceedings (whether federal
or
state),
relating to relief of debtors, or (v) suffer or permit to continue
unstayed and in effect for thirty (30) consecutive days, any judgment,
decree or order, entered by a court of competent jurisdiction,
which
approves a petition seeking its reorganization or appoints a receiver,
custodian, trustee, interim trustee or liquidator for itself or
all or a
substantial part of its assets, or (vi) take or omit any action
in order
thereby to effect any of the foregoing;
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(d)
|
Change
of Control.
Notwithstanding 13.01 (Assignment by Servicer), if Servicer is
the subject
of a Change of Control, FMC shall have the right to terminate this
Agreement upon a minimum of twenty (20) business days prior written
notice. Such right of termination may be exercised any time beginning
upon
the earlier of consummation of the Change of Control transaction
or public
announcement that such a transaction is pending. Following
Servicer’s receipt of notice and information to support the termination
hereunder from FMC, Servicer shall work diligently with FMC to
carry out
the deconversion of the Student Loans off of the Servicer’s Servicing
system within a timeframe reasonably agreeable to the parties but
in any
event shall be begun within ninety (90) business days from the
Servicer’s
receipt of notice and the parties shall use their best efforts
to complete
the deconversion process within 24 months from the date it begins. There
will be no charge to FMC of Early Termination Fees as detailed
in the Fee
Schedule attached hereto arising from FMC’s termination of the Agreement
pursuant to this Section. FMC shall be responsible for any and
all fees
arising under this Agreement and the attached Fee Schedule that
are
incurred by FMC hereunder prior to FMC’s termination of this Agreement
pursuant to this Section.
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(e)
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Termination
for Insufficient Volume.
In the event that the total original principal amount of Student
Loans
being Serviced pursuant to this Agreement shall be less than [**]dollars
($[**])
as of the May 1 that occurs at least twenty-four months after the
first
Student Loan is Serviced hereunder, then FMC and all Owners acting
in
concert may, by written notice to Servicer, terminate this Agreement.
Such
termination shall be on six (6) months written notice . Servicer
shall
cooperate fully in the deconversion and transfer of such Student
Loans to
another Servicer.
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In
the event of an event of default as set forth in Section 14.02(a) or (b)
above,
the Servicer shall have the right to cure any such breach or error to FMC's
full
satisfaction within thirty
(30)
days of written notice from FMC. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Servicer
shall
have the right to cure any breach of Section 4.13 (Collections) or any failure
to conform to a Milestone in a Remedial Action Plan within five
(5)
(not thirty
(30))
days
after written notice from FMC.
In
the event that:
(i) Servicer
fails to cure such default and the Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section
14.02 (a) or (b) or (ii) this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section
14.01
or 14.02 (c), or
Sections 4.02, 4.03(d), 6.06, 10.01,
there will be no charge to FMC for Early Termination Fees or Record
Return/Deconversion Fees. In
the event the Agreement is terminated prior to the end of the initial term
for
any reason other than stated above
(including termination under Section 14.02(d),
FMC shall be responsible for the payment of Early Termination Fees and
Record Return/Deconversion Fees as
detailed in the Fee Schedule.
14.03.
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Termination
by the Servicer.
This Agreement may be terminated at the option of the Servicer
upon the
occurrence of any of the following:
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(a)
|
FMC's
failure to perform or observe any of the material provisions or
covenants
of this Agreement;
or
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(b)
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If
FMC shall (a) discontinue business, or (b) generally not pay its
debts as
such debts become due, or (c) make a general assignment for the
benefit of
creditors, or (d) admit by answer, default or otherwise the material
allegations of petitions filed against it in any bankruptcy,
reorganization, insolvency or other proceeding (whether federal
or state)
relating to relief of debtors, or (e) suffer or permit to continue
unstayed and in effect for thirty (30) consecutive days, any judgment,
decree or order, entered by a court of competent jurisdiction,
which
approves a petition seeking its reorganization or appoints a receiver,
custodian, trustee, interim trustee or liquidator for itself or
all or a
substantial part of its assets, or (f) take or omit any action
in order
thereby to effect any of the foregoing;
or
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In
the event of an event of default as set forth in Section 14.03(a) or (b)
above,
FMC shall have the right to cure any such breach or error to
Servicer’s
full satisfaction within thirty
(30)
days of written notice from Servicer.
In
the event FMC
fails to cure such default and the Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section
14.03(a) or (b), FMC shall pay Servicer the Early Termination Fees
and Record Return/Deconversion Fees
set forth in the Fee Schedule.
14.04.
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Record
Return/Deconversion.
Upon
termination of this Agreement or upon termination of this Agreement
with
respect to any particular Student Loan or Loans whether by virtue
of the
passage of time or otherwise, the Servicer shall, regardless of
any FMC
default or any other reason, return to FMC all records, data processing
records, reports, documents and correspondence, including Original
Credit
Agreements, applications, payment histories, due diligence histories,
and
copies of microfilm documents maintained by the Servicer in connection
with the Servicing of the Student Loans (or such Student Loans
as
applicable). Servicer shall maintain a copy of all records and
reports
which related to the Servicing of Student Loans generally for five
years
after any deconversion. Upon the return of the Student Loan records,
FMC
agrees to pay the Record Return/Deconversion Fee, as set forth
in the Fee
Schedule, except under the circumstances specifically set forth
in this
Agreement, and such records will be returned to FMC by Servicer
as
provided below
or as otherwise mutually agreed upon by the parties.
Upon any termination or expiration of this Agreement, any deconversion
and
transfer of the Accounts to FMC or its new servicer shall be on
an orderly
schedule reasonably determined by the Servicer, with FMC’s approval. To
the extent that the Servicer continues to provide Servicing for
any
Accounts after the termination or expiration date pending such
scheduled
deconversion and transfer, the terms of this Agreement shall remain
in
effect and the Servicer’s fees shall continue to be paid hereunder with
respect to such Accounts during such
period.
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14.05
|
Transition
Period Rights.
If
this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Sections 14.02(a), (b),
(c) or
(d) or 4.02,
4.03(d), 6.06, or 10.01,
then FMC or any Owner shall have the right to demand continued
Servicing
of the Student Loans by Servicer at the rates set forth in the
Fee
Schedule until such time as all loans have been successfully deconverted.
FMC shall have the right to access the Servicer’s facilities and access to
Student Loan data in the same manner as was permitted during the
term of
this Agreement. Servicer has the obligation upon termination or
expiration
to provide, and FMC or any Owner has the absolute right to obtain,
all of
its Proprietary Information and Customer Information at any
time.
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SECTION
15. MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
15.01
|
Notices.
All
notices, approvals, consents, requests or other written communications
regarding this Agreement are to be addressed as noted below.
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If
to
FMC:
President
The
First Marblehead Corporation
The
Prudential Tower
000
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx
Xxxxx
Xxxxxx,
Xxxx. 02199-8157
If
to Servicer:
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Executive
Vice President, Marketing & Client
Affairs
|
Pennsylvania
Higher Education Assistance Agency
0000
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
|
Xxxxxxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxxxx 00000
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15.02
|
Relationship.
The
parties to this Agreement intend that the Servicer shall render
the
Services contemplated by this Agreement as an independent contractor.
The
Servicer and its employees, agents, and servants are not to be
considered
agents or employees of FMC, for any purpose whatsoever. Nothing
herein
contained, nor any action taken by the Servicer under this Agreement,
shall be deemed or construed to give the Servicer any right, title
or
interest either in law or in equity in and to any Student Loan
being
Serviced by Servicer.
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15.03
|
Non-Exclusive
Agreement for FMC.
Nothing
contained herein shall be construed to create an exclusive arrangement
as
to FMC. The Servicer understands and agrees that FMC may enter
into other
agreements for the servicing of Private Student Loans in the
future.
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15.04
|
Survival.
The
representations and warranties of each party
shall survive the termination of this Agreement and the obligations
and
duties of each
party (including, without limitation, the
obligations
under Sections 9 (Liability) and 14 (Confidentiality))
shall survive the termination or expiration of this
Agreement.
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15.05
|
Entire
Understanding.
This
Agreement herewith including all Schedules and Exhibits attached
thereto,
represent the entire understanding of the parties with respect
to their
subject matter, and supersede all previous discussions and correspondence
with respect thereto, and no representations, warranties or agreements,
express or implied, of any kind with respect to such subject matter
have
been made by either party to the other, except as expressly set
forth
herein or in such other agreements.
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15.06
|
Interpretation
of Documents.
In
the event of a conflict between this Amended and Restated Private
Student
Loan Servicing Agreement and a Schedule or Exhibit attached hereto,
this
Agreement shall control.
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15.07
|
Cooperation. FMC
and the Servicer agree that they will cooperate fully with one
another in
order to carry out the terms and provisions of the Agreement during
the
term of this Agreement and during all periods in which Committed
Student
Loans and Student Loans are processed and Serviced by Servicer.
Cooperation
under this Section shall include, but not be limited to, each party
using
reasonable means to ensure successful, normal, daily processing
of
Committed Student Loans and Student Loans and related operations
and
functions. Each
party agrees to support the reasonable routine efforts of the other
party
and to work to resolve any disputes which may arise during such
periods
referenced above, and to continue to work together in a professional,
business-like manner during all phases, functions and processes
defined in
this Agreement.
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15.08
|
Authorization.
Each of the undersigned represent that he or she has the authority
to
execute this Agreement on behalf of the respective
party.
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15.09
|
Amendments;
Changes; Modifications.
This Agreement, Exhibits or Schedules (a) may be amended, supplemented,
or
modified only by written instrument duly executed by FMC and the
Servicer;
(b) shall be incorporated into this Agreement;
and (c) shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of
the
parties hereto and their respective successors and
assigns.
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15.10
No
Waiver. Any
failure by FMC or the Servicer to insist upon the strict performance by the
other of any of the terms and provisions of this Agreement shall not be deemed
to be a continuing waiver of any such terms and provisions, and notwithstanding
any such failure, such party shall have the right thereafter to insist upon
the
resumption of strict performance by the other of any and all of the terms
and
provisions hereof. The
rights and remedies herein provided are cumulative and not exclusive of any
rights or remedies provided by law.
15.11
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Opinion
of Outside Counsel.
Upon request by FMC, in connection with a Securitization
Transaction,
the Servicer agrees to provide to FMC an opinion of its outside
counsel,
in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for FMC, that :
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(a)
|
The
agreement has been duly authorized by all necessary action of the
Servicer.
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(b)
|
The
agreement does not violate the chartered documents or other constituent
documents governing the Servicer or any other applicable
law.
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(c)
|
The
agreement has been duly executed by an authorized officer of the
Servicer.
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(d)
|
The
agreement is a valid and binding obligation of the Servicer, enforceable
in accordance with its terms.
|
Servicer
may provide the opinion of its in-house corporate counsel, in lieu of outside
counsel, unless FMC agrees to pay the reasonable fees of Servicer’s outside
counsel in connection with such opinion.
15.12
|
Law
Governing. This
Agreement is being delivered in and shall be construed in accordance
with
the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
without regard to any principles of conflict of
laws.
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15.13
|
Waiver
of Jury Trial. THE
PARTIES HEREBY EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY OF ANY
CLAIM,
DEMAND, ACTION OR CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING UNDER THIS AGREEMENT
OR ANY
OTHER DOCUMENT OR AGREEMENT EXECUTED OR DELIVERED IN CONNECTION
HEREWITH,
OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH OR RELATED OR INCIDENTAL TO THE DEALINGS
OF
THE PARTIES HERETO WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY SUCH DOCUMENT
OR
AGREEMENT, OR THE SERVICES AND TRANSACTION RELATED HERETO OR THERETO,
WHETHER NOW EXISTING OR HEREAFTER ARISING, AND WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
TORT
OR OTHERWISE.
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15.14
|
Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each
of
which shall be deemed to be an original and all of which together
shall be
deemed to be one of and the same
document.
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15.15
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Unenforceability. If
any provision of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid or
unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect
or
impair the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions
of this
Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect, and the
Parties
hereto shall continue to be bound
thereby.
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[REMAINDER
OF THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.]
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly
executed as of the month, day and the year first-above written.
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AGENCY
|
THE
FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION
|
|||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
|
By:
|
/s/
Xxxx Xxxxx
|
|
Name:
|
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
|
Name:
|
Xxxx
Xxxxx
|
|
Title:
|
President
and CEO
|
Title:
|
Executive
Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
|
|
Date:
|
September
28, 2006
|
Date:
|
September
28, 2006
|
INDEX
TO SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS
Fee
Schedule
System
Access Schedule
Customer
Service Schedule
Required
Reports Schedule
Schedule
A - Existing Program Guidelines**
Exhibit
A - Servicer Consent Letter
Exhibit
B - XXXX Servicing Guidelines**
Exhibit
C - Service Level Agreement
**
Confidential
treatment has been requested
for
this
exhibit or schedule in its
entirety.
FEE
SCHEDULE FOR
AMENDED
AND RESTATED PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN SERVICING AGREEMENT
DATED
SEPTEMBER 28, 2006
BETWEEN
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AGENCY
AND
THE
FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION (“AGREEMENT”)
This
Fee
Schedule shall be effective from the Effective Date for a period of three
years
(the “Initial Term”) and shall then be open for negotiation. If no changes are
proposed or agreed to in writing, this Fee Schedule shall automatically renew
for an additional one (1) year periods.
I. DEFINITIONS:
Capitalized
terms used in this Fee Schedule have the meanings assigned to them in the
Agreement. In addition to the words and terms elsewhere defined in this
Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the
Agreement indicates a contrary meaning or intent:
A. An
“Account” is to refer to the Credit Agreements collectively of an individual
Borrower of a particular Student Loan type in the same status.
B. An
“Interim Account” is to refer to Credit Agreements collectively of an individual
Borrower that constitute (1) an In-School (Enrolled) Account, or (2) a Grace
Account.
C. A
“Repayment Account” is to refer to the Credit Agreements of an individual
Borrower under the terms of which the repayment period has commenced, but
which
is not an In-School (Enrolled) Account.
D. An
“In-School (Enrolled) Account” is to refer to the Credit Agreements collectively
of an individual Borrower with respect to which principal and interest payments
are deferred because the Borrower is enrolled at an eligible institution,
whether before of after the repayment period begins.
E. A
“Grace
Account” is to refer to the Credit Agreements collectively of an individual
Borrower (1) with respect to which the Borrower has ceased to be enrolled
at an
eligible institution, and (2) under the terms of which the repayment period
has
not yet commenced.
F. “Standard
Conversion” means the conversion of a Borrower’s Account from data provided in
hard-copy format or by electronic means.
G. “On-System
Conversion” means the conversion of a Borrower’s account that the Servicer is
currently Servicing for an owner or holder other than the proposed new owner
or
holder.
II. SERVICING
FEES:
1.
Monthly
Servicing Fees—Interim Account Status:
The
Servicing fee for Student Loans in Interim Account status shall be payable
by
the Owner on a pro-rated monthly basis and shall be equal to [**] basis points
per annum based upon the ending principal balance of the Student Loans at
month
end.
([**]
x
ending principal balance at month end divided by [**])
2.
|
Monthly
Servicing Fees—Repayment Account Status (other than Student Loans in
Owner-caused Cure status):
|
(a)
Ending
Principal Balance < $[**]
If the
ending principal balance of the Student Loans (including Student Loans in
Interim Account status and Repayment Account status) at month end is less
than
[**], then the Servicing fee for loans in Repayment Account status shall
be
payable by the Owner on a pro-rated monthly basis and shall be equal to [**]
basis points per annum based upon the ending principal balance of the Student
Loans at each month end.
([**]
x
ending principal balance at month end divided by [**])
(b)
Ending
Principal Balance > or Equal to $[**] and < or Equal to
$[**]
If the
ending principal balance of the Student Loans (including Student Loans in
Interim Account status and Repayment Account status) at month end is [**]
or
more, but less than or equal to [**], then the Servicing fee for loans in
Repayment Account status shall be payable by the Owner on a pro-rated monthly
basis and shall be equal to [**] basis points per annum based upon the ending
principal balance of the Student Loans at each month end.
([**]
x
ending principal balance at month end divided by [**])
(c)
Ending
Principal Balance > $[**].
If the
ending principal balance of the Student Loans (including Student Loans in
Interim Account status and Repayment Account status) at month end is greater
than [**], then the Servicing fee for loans in Repayment Account status shall
be
payable by the Owner on a pro-rated monthly basis and shall be equal to (i)
for
the first $[**]of the ending principal balance of the Student Loans, [**]basis
points per annum based upon the ending principal balance of the Student Loans
at
each month end; and (ii) for the ending principal balance of the Student
Loans
in excess of $[**], [**] basis points per annum based upon the ending principal
balance of the Student Loans at each month end.
For
the
first $[**]:
([**]
x
ending principal balance at month end divided by [**])
For
amounts in excess of $[**]
([**]
x
ending principal balance at month end divided by [**])
(d)
Delinquent
Accounts.
Notwithstanding subsections (a), (b), and (c) above, the Servicing fee for
loans
in Repayment Account status shall be [**]basis points for all Student Loans
thirty (30) days or more delinquent until the Student Loan is placed for
pre-claims assistance, and for Student Loans placed for pre-claims assistance,
the Servicing fee for loans in Repayment Account status shall be [**] basis
points.
([**]x
ending principal balance of Student Loans 30 or more days delinquent divided
by
[**])
([**]
x
ending principal balance of Student Loans placed for pre-claims divided by
[**])
3. High
or Low Average Balance.
Notwithstanding the existence of the Initial Term, the Servicing fees in
this
Section II may be renegotiated at any time the average principal balance
of the
Student Loans is less than [**] or greater than [**]. If, at the conclusion
of
any such negotiation, no changes are proposed or agreed to in writing, the
Fee
Schedule shall remain in effect unchanged.
III.
CONVERSION
FEES
1. Interim
Account—External
a.
|
Initial
Exam:
|
$[**]
per loan
|
b.
|
Serial
Exam:
|
$[**]
per loan
|
c.
|
Abbreviated
Note Exam:
|
$[**]
per loan
|
2. Interim
Account—On System
a.
|
Full
Note Exam:
|
$[**]
per loan
|
b.
|
Waived
Exam:
|
No
charge
|
3. Repayment
Account: Quote
4. Reconversion
Fee:
$[**]
per
loan
5. Rehabilitation
Reconversion Fee $[**]
per
loan
IV. DUE
DILIGENCE/PRE-CLAIMS/CLAIMS PROCESSING
1. Skip
Trace
a.
|
Placement:
|
[**]
|
b.
|
Locate:
|
$[**]
per loan
|
2. Late
Fees: [**]%
of
all collected late fee revenue on delinquent accounts
3. Third
Party Referral
(referral to third party under contract with the Servicer for core/collection
after successful location): $[**]
per
Borrower per bond issue
4. Claim
Processing:
a. The
Owner
shall pay a claim processing fee of $[**] for each defaulted Student Loan
per
claim package filed. Claim processing shall include, without limitation,
presentation to Insurer of all documentation required under the Servicing
Guidelines, in the form required thereunder. Servicer will provide DDB
Certification and Closed School Certification at no charge.
V. CURE
SERVICING--Owner-Caused Cures
1.
|
Monthly
fee
|
$[**]
per account
|
2.
|
Skip
Tracing--Locate
|
$[**]
per account
|
3.
|
Third
Party Referral
|
$[**]
per account
|
4.
|
Guaranty
Reinstated/
|
|
Default
Claim Paid
|
$[**]
per account
|
|
5.
|
Correction
of Owner Error
|
$[**]
per error
|
VI. MISCELLANEOUS
FEES
1.
|
Deconversion
to Owner
|
$[**]
per loan
|
2.
|
Return
of Records to Owner
|
$[**]
per loan
|
3.
|
Early
Termination
|
$[**]
per Account
|
4. Ad
Hoc
Projects/Reporting
(fees to
be pre-identified by the Servicer and billed as identified)
a.
|
Computer
Programmer
|
$[**]/hour
|
b.
|
Computer
Analyst
|
$[**]/hour
|
c.
|
CPU
Run Time
|
$[**]/hour
|
d.
|
Staff
Services
|
$[**]/hour
|
e.
|
Legal
Services
|
$[**]/hour
|
f.
|
GLB
extract files
|
[**]for
no charge
|
$[**]
for each in excess of [**]
|
5. Securitization
(Financing, Bond Issue)
a.
|
Set-up
Fee
|
$[**]
per financing
|
(includes
[**] hours of legal services per financing)
|
||
b.
|
Financing
Legal Services
|
$[**]/hour
(in excess of [**] hours per financing)
|
c.
|
Post
Closing, Loan Transfer within a financing
|
$[**]
per Borrower per transfer
|
6. Mailings
a.
|
GLB
privacy notices
|
$[**]
per notice
|
b.
|
IRS
Form 1098
|
$[**]
per notice
|
c.
|
Other
mailings or notices/
|
|
Special
delivery notices
|
Quote
|
7.
|
Basic
Monthly Reporting
|
[**]
|
8.
|
SAS
70 Audit
|
[**]
|
9.
|
Lender’s
Audit Guide
|
[**]
|
10.
|
Borrower
Incentive Programs
|
Quote
|
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Fee Schedule to be duly
executed as of the month, day and the year first-above written.
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AGENCY
|
THE
FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION
|
|||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
|
By:
|
/s/
Xxxx Xxxxx
|
|
Name:
|
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
|
Name:
|
Xxxx
Xxxxx
|
|
Title:
|
President
and CEO
|
Title:
|
Executive
Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
|
|
Date:
|
September
28, 2006
|
Date:
|
September
28, 2006
|
AMENDED
AND RESTATED PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN SERVICING AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION
ASSISTANCE AGENCY
AND
THE
FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION
SYSTEM
ACCESS SCHEDULE
All
system access for FMC, XXXX, and FMER employees shall be limited to view
only
option.
1.
FMC.
Servicer
shall provide FMC with web-based, view-only Account access, which shall include
the ability to view loan servicing screens including but not limited to Borrower
information, Account history and due diligence records.
Individual
FMC users shall obtain remote access within five (5) Business Days of receipt
of
notice from FMC that such individual requires remote access.
2.
BORROWERS.
Servicer
shall provide Borrowers and Co-Borrowers with limited access to their Account
information. Access should be limited to view-only, with the ability to submit
queries and request or print forms as necessary.
3.
XXXX.
Servicer
shall provide XXXX, and its agent FMER, with access to all XXXX guaranteed
loans. Access shall be limited to view-only and shall include the ability
to
view all loan servicing screens including but not limited to borrower
information, Account History, due diligence records, and access requests.
4.
FMC/FMER/XXXX USER ACCESS SECURITY REQUIREMENTS
Servicer
Relations at FMC will be responsible for notifying AES to add and delete
employees who need, or no longer need, access as appropriate. On a quarterly
basis, AES will provide FMC with a report of FMC, FMER, and XXXX employees
who
have system access to Borrower information at AES. FMC shall be responsible
for
the accuracy of such reports and shall be liable for the inaccuracy thereof
in
accordance with Section 9 (Liability) of this Agreement.
AMENDED
AND RESTATED PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN SERVICING AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION
ASSISTANCE AGENCY
AND
THE
FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION
CUSTOMER
SERVICE SCHEDULE
1.
Call Monitoring.
Servicer
shall monitor on a monthly basis a minimum of [**]% of the calls received
per
customer service representative for quality. Such monitoring shall include
the
use of the Call Monitoring Scorecard as shown in Exhibit C (Service Level
Agreement).
FMC
shall, upon reasonable notice to Servicer, have the ability to monitor calls
both on-site and remotely, at times and in a manner acceptable to both parties,
as established in an Operations Meeting (see Section 4.09).
2.
Customer Service Hours of Operation
The
Servicer shall maintain minimum customer service hours of operation from
7:30
a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday. FMC reserves
the right to request an increase and/or decrease in these hours upon written
notice to Servicer, and Servicer agrees to accommodate such requests to the
extent feasible under the circumstances.
3.
Collections Hours of Operation
Servicer
shall maintain minimum hours of operations for collection activities as
follows:
· |
Monday
through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Standard
Time
|
· |
Friday,
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Standard
Time
|
· |
Saturday,
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Eastern Standard
Time
|
4.
Borrower Satisfaction Surveys
The
Servicer shall work with FMC to develop telephonic borrower satisfaction
surveys
to measure the customer experience through various channels including mail,
internet, and Voice Response Unit. If surveys demonstrate customer service
issues that require remedial action, Servicer shall collaborate with FMC
to
resolve such issues.
5.
Borrower Correspondence/Complaints
All
correspondence received by Servicer relating to individual Borrower Accounts
shall be maintained by the Servicer and shall be made available to FMC during
Servicer’s normal business hours. Servicer shall be responsible for handling all
customer service complaints. Copies of escalated customer complaints from
Borrowers and Servicer’s response thereto are to be forwarded to FMC on a weekly
basis. Complaints with respect to Student Loans and/or Borrowers received
from
any regulatory body or federal or state agency shall be handled as exceptions
and Service shall contact FMC immediately.
AMENDED
AND RESTATED PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN SERVICING AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION
ASSISTANCE AGENCY
AND
THE
FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION
REQUIRED
REPORTS SCHEDULE
Servicer
shall electronically deliver to FMC and/or all Owners, as applicable, within
the
time periods specified below, the data elements that are, as of the Effective
Date, contained in the reports specified below:
1.
|
A
report of all Committed Student Loans on Servicer’s system that are fully
disbursed, including (at least): Unique
loan identifier, Current principal balance, Current interest balance,
and
Fully disbursed indicator, delivered to FMC ten
(10) business days prior to a scheduled Securitization
Transaction,
|
2.
|
The
same report as set forth in Item 1 above, updated through the closing
date, delivered to FMC within five (5) days after the closing date
of a
Securitization Transaction scheduled under Section 13.04 of the
Agreement,
|
3.
|
MR-01
Report, delivered
weekly to FMC and all Owners.
|
4.
|
MR-50
Report, delivered to all Owners within
three (3) calendar days after the end of each calendar
month.
|
5.
|
MR-53
Report, delivered to all Owners within
three (3) calendar days after the end of each calendar
month
|
6.
|
Such
other reports identified and mutually adopted at Operations Meetings
and
made part of the Program Manual (see Section 4.09 of this
Agreement).
|
SCHEDULE
A
EXISTING
LOAN PROGRAM GUIDELINES
AMENDED
AND RESTATED PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN SERVICING AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION
ASSISTANCE
AGENCY
AND
THE
FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION
Program
|
Programs
Covered
|
[**]
|
[**]
|
Exhibit
A - Servicer Consent Letter
SERVICER
CONSENT LETTER
[DATE]
Pennsylvania
Higher Education Assistance Agency
0000
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxxxx 00000-0000
Attention:
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Client Affairs
Dear
Sir
or Madam:
Reference
is hereby made to the Amended and Restated Private Student Loan Servicing
Agreement, dated September 28, 2006, as amended (the “Servicing
Agreement”),
by
and between the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (the
“Servicer”)
and
The First Marblehead Corporation (“FMC”),
a
copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit
A.
Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set
forth
in the Servicing Agreement. The parties hereto agree as follows:
1. FMC
hereby assigns its interest in the Servicing Agreement with respect to the
Student Loans identified on the attached Schedule
1
(the
“Student
Loans”)
to The
National Collegiate Student Loan Trust [TRUST NAME] (the “Issuer”),
and
the Servicer hereby consents thereto.
2. The
Servicer hereby consents to the assignment and to the grant by the Issuer
of a
security interest in the Servicing Agreement to U.S. Bank National Association
(the “Indenture
Trustee”),
as
provided in the Indenture (the “Indenture”),
dated
as of [INDENTURE DATE], by and between the Issuer and the Indenture Trustee,
for
the benefit of the holders of the Student Loan Asset Backed Notes (the
“Notes”)
of the
Issuer.
3. The
Servicer hereby confirms that it will not terminate the Servicing Agreement
until the appointment of a successor servicer by the Issuer, unless such
termination is due to a default by the Issuer under Section 14.03 thereof,
or
unless the Servicing Agreement otherwise expires in accordance with Section
3
thereof.
4. The
Issuer hereby confirms that it will not terminate the Servicer for cause
pursuant to Section 14.02 of the Servicing Agreement until a successor servicer
is appointed.
5. The
Servicer hereby confirms that it has complied with all the terms and satisfied
all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied under the Servicing
Agreement.
6. It
is
expressly understood and agreed by the parties hereto that (i) this servicer
consent letter is executed and delivered by [OWNER TRUSTEE] (the “Owner
Trustee”),
not
individually or personally, but solely as owner trustee of the Issuer under
the
Trust Agreement dated as of [TRUST AGREEMENT DATE] among The National Collegiate
Funding LLC, The Education Resources Institute, Inc. and the Owner Trustee,
in
the exercise of the powers and authority conferred and vested in it, (ii)
each
of the representations, undertakings and agreements herein made on the part
of
the Issuer is made and intended not as a personal representation, undertaking
and agreement by the Owner Trustee, but is made and intended for the purpose
of
binding only the Issuer, (iii) nothing herein contained shall be construed
as
creating any personal or individual liability on the Owner Trustee, to perform
any covenant either expressed or implied contained herein, all such liability,
if any, being expressly waived by the parties hereby and by any person claiming
by, through, or under the parties hereto, and (iv) under no circumstances
shall
the Owner Trustee be personally liable for the payment of any indebtedness
or
expenses of the Issuer or be liable for the breach or failure of any obligation,
representation, warranty or covenant made or undertaken by the Issuer under
this
Agreement or any other documents related to the Notes.
7. Any
breach of the Servicer’s obligations under this Servicer Consent Letter shall
constitute a material breach of the Servicing Agreement.
8. The
parties hereto acknowledge and agree that for so long as any Notes are
outstanding, the Indenture Trustee is a third party beneficiary hereof and
of
the Servicing Agreement, and the Indenture Trustee shall have the right to
exercise all rights of the Issuer under the Servicing Agreement.
9. The
Servicer will execute and deliver to FMC (or its nominee) and the Owner Trustee
annually on or before July 31 of each year, and at such other times as FMC
(or
its nominee) and the Owner Trustee (or either of them) are required to provide
certification to the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 in connection with servicing related activities: (i)
a
Report on Assessment of Compliance Statement, as required by paragraph (a)
of
Item 1122 of Regulation AB of the Securities and Exchange Commission
(“Regulation
AB”),
in
the form attached hereto as Exhibit B;
and
(ii) a Servicer Compliance Statement, as required by Item 1123 of
Regulation AB, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C.
In
addition, annually on or before July 31 of each year, the Servicer will
cause a registered public accounting firm to execute and deliver a Registered
Public Accounting Firm Attestation Report, as required by paragraph (b) of
Item
1122 of Regulation AB. All costs associated with the performance of the
obligations under this paragraph 9 shall be by the Issuer.
[Signature
Pages Follow]
Please
acknowledge your acceptance and agreement to the foregoing by signing
below.
Very
truly yours,
THE
FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORPORATION
|
|||
By:
|
|||
Name:
|
|||
Title:
|
ACCEPTED
AND AGREED:
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AGENCY
|
|
By:
|
|
Name:
|
|
Title:
|
|
THE
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE STUDENT LOAN TRUST [TRUST NAME]
|
|
By:
|
[OWNER
TRUSTEE], not
in its individual capacity but solely as Owner Trustee
|
By:
|
|
Name:
|
|
Title:
|
Exhibit
A
Exhibit
B
FORM
OF
REPORT ON ASSESSMENT OF COMPLIANCE STATEMENT
[DATE]
[ACCOUNTANT’S
ADDRESS]
The
National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 20__-_
[ADDRESS]
In
connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K of The National Collegiate
Student Loan Trust 20__-_ for the fiscal year ending June 30, 20__ (the
“Report”)
and as
required by Item 1122 of Regulation AB of the Securities and Exchange Commission
(“Regulation
AB”),
the
undersigned, a duly authorized officer of the [SERVICER] (the “Servicer”),
does
hereby certify and represent as follows:
1. |
A
review of the activities of the Servicer for the period that is the
subject of the Report has been made under the supervision of the
undersigned;
|
2. |
The
applicable criteria required in paragraph (d) of Item 1122 of Regulation
AB, as listed on Schedule A, attached hereto, (the “Servicing
Criteria”)
were used to assess compliance of the
Servicer;
|
3. |
To
the best knowledge of the undersigned, based on such review, the
Servicer
has substantially fulfilled all its material obligations under the
applicable Servicing Criteria;
|
4. |
To
the best knowledge of the undersigned, based on such review, the
undersigned has identified no material instances of noncompliance
of the
Servicer with the applicable Servicing Criteria; and
|
5. |
The
registered public accounting firm of [FIRM] has issued an attestation
report on this Report on Assessment of Compliance for the period
that is
the subject of the Report.
|
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this Report of the Servicer
as of
______________, 20__.
[SERVICER],
as Servicer
|
|
By:
|
|
Name:
|
|
Title:
|
Schedule
A
Pursuant
to Instruction 1 of Item 1122 of Regulation AB, the following list of Servicing
Criteria has been “Reviewed” or deemed “Not Applicable” by the Servicer, as
marked.
Reviewed
|
Not
Applicable
|
||
General
Servicing Considerations
|
|||
1122(d)(1)(i)
|
Policies
and procedures are instituted to monitor any performance or other
triggers
and events of default in accordance with the transaction
agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(1)(ii)
|
If
any material servicing activities are outsourced to third parties,
policies and procedures are instituted to monitor the third party’s
performance and compliance with such servicing activities.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(1)(iii)
|
Any
requirements in the transaction agreements to maintain a back-up
servicer
for the Pool Assets are maintained.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(1)(iv)
|
A
fidelity bond and errors and omissions policy is in effect on the
party
participating in the servicing function throughout the reporting
period in
the amount of coverage required by and otherwise in accordance
with the
terms of the transaction agreements.
|
X
|
|
Cash
Collection and Administration
|
|||
1122(d)(2)(i)
|
Payments
on pool assets are deposited into the appropriate custodial bank
accounts
and related bank clearing accounts no more than two business days
following receipt, or such other number of days specified in the
transaction agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(2)(ii)
|
Disbursements
made via wire transfer on behalf of an obligor or to an investor
are made
only by authorized personnel.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(2)(iii)
|
Advances
of funds or guarantees regarding collections, cash flows or distributions,
and any interest or other fees charged for such advances, are made,
reviewed and approved as specified in the transaction agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(2)(iv)
|
The
related accounts for the transaction, such as cash reserve accounts
or
accounts established as a form of over collateralization, are separately
maintained (e.g., with respect to commingling of cash) as set forth
in the
transaction agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(2)(v)
|
Each
custodial account is maintained at a federally insured depository
institution as set forth in the transaction agreements. For purposes
of
this criterion, “federally insured depository institution” with respect to
a foreign financial institution means a foreign financial institution
that
meets the requirements of Rule 13k-1(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange
Act.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(2)(vi)
|
Unissued
checks are safeguarded so as to prevent unauthorized access.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(2)(vii)
|
Reconciliations
are prepared on a monthly basis for all asset-backed securities
related
bank accounts, including custodial accounts and related bank clearing
accounts. These reconciliations are (A) mathematically accurate;
(B)
prepared within 30 calendar days after the bank statement cutoff
date, or
such other number of days specified in the transaction agreements;
(C)
reviewed and approved by someone other than the person who prepared
the
reconciliation; and (D) contain explanations for reconciling items.
These
reconciling items are resolved within 90 calendar days of their
original
identification, or such other number of days specified in the transaction
agreements.
|
X
|
|
Investor
Remittances and Reporting
|
|||
1122(d)(3)(i)
|
Reports
to investors, including those to be filed with the Commission,
are
maintained in accordance with the transaction agreements and applicable
Commission requirements. Specifically, such reports (A) are prepared
in
accordance with timeframes and other terms set forth in the transaction
agreements; (B) provide information calculated in accordance with
the
terms specified in the transaction agreements; (C) are filed with
the
Commission as required by its rules and regulations; and (D) agree
with
investors’ or the trustee’s records as to the total unpaid principal
balance and number of Pool Assets serviced by the Servicer.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(3)(ii)
|
Amounts
due to investors are allocated and remitted in accordance with
timeframes,
distribution priority and other terms set forth in the transaction
agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(3)(iii)
|
Disbursements
made to an investor are posted within two business days to the
Servicer’s
investor records, or such other number of days specified in the
transaction agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(3)(iv)
|
Amounts
remitted to investors per the investor reports agree with cancelled
checks, or other form of payment, or custodial bank statements.
|
X
|
|
Pool
Asset Administration
|
|||
1122(d)(4)(i)
|
Collateral
or security on pool assets is maintained as required by the transaction
agreements or related pool asset documents.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(ii)
|
Pool
assets and related documents are safeguarded as required by the
transaction agreements
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(iii)
|
Any
additions, removals or substitutions to the asset pool are made,
reviewed
and approved in accordance with any conditions or requirements
in the
transaction agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(iv)
|
Payments
on pool assets, including any payoffs, made in accordance with
the related
pool asset documents are posted to the Servicer’s obligor records
maintained no more than two business days after receipt, or such
other
number of days specified in the transaction agreements, and allocated
to
principal, interest or other items (e.g., escrow) in accordance
with the
related pool asset documents.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(v)
|
The
Servicer’s records regarding the pool assets agree with the Servicer’s
records with respect to an obligor’s unpaid principal balance.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(vi)
|
Changes
with respect to the terms or status of an obligor's pool assets
(e.g.,
loan modifications or re-agings) are made, reviewed and approved
by
authorized personnel in accordance with the transaction agreements
and
related pool asset documents.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(vii)
|
Loss
mitigation or recovery actions (e.g., forbearance plans, modifications
and
deeds in lieu of foreclosure, foreclosures and repossessions, as
applicable) are initiated, conducted and concluded in accordance
with the
timeframes or other requirements established by the transaction
agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(viii)
|
Records
documenting collection efforts are maintained during the period
a pool
asset is delinquent in accordance with the transaction agreements.
Such
records are maintained on at least a monthly basis, or such other
period
specified in the transaction agreements, and describe the entity’s
activities in monitoring delinquent pool assets including, for
example,
phone calls, letters and payment rescheduling plans in cases where
delinquency is deemed temporary (e.g., illness or unemployment).
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(ix)
|
Adjustments
to interest rates or rates of return for pool assets with variable
rates
are computed based on the related pool asset documents.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(x)
|
Regarding
any funds held in trust for an obligor (such as escrow accounts):
(A) such
funds are analyzed, in accordance with the obligor’s pool asset documents,
on at least an annual basis, or such other period specified in
the
transaction agreements; (B) interest on such funds is paid, or
credited,
to obligors in accordance with applicable pool asset documents
and state
laws; and (C) such funds are returned to the obligor within 30
calendar
days of full repayment of the related pool assets, or such other
number of
days specified in the transaction agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(xi)
|
Payments
made on behalf of an obligor (such as tax or insurance payments)
are made
on or before the related penalty or expiration dates, as indicated
on the
appropriate bills or notices for such payments, provided that such
support
has been received by the servicer at least 30 calendar days prior
to these
dates, or such other number of days specified in the transaction
agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(xii)
|
Any
late payment penalties in connection with any payment to be made
on behalf
of an obligor are paid from the Servicer’s funds and not charged to the
obligor, unless the late payment was due to the obligor’s error or
omission.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(xiii)
|
Disbursements
made on behalf of an obligor are posted within two business days
to the
obligor’s records maintained by the servicer, or such other number of days
specified in the transaction agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(xiv)
|
Delinquencies,
charge-offs and uncollectible accounts are recognized and recorded
in
accordance with the transaction agreements.
|
X
|
|
1122(d)(4)(xv)
|
Any
external enhancement or other support, identified in Item 1114(a)(1)
through (3) or Item 1115 of Regulation AB, is maintained as set
forth in
the transaction agreements.
|
X
|
Exhibit
C
FORM
OF
SERVICER COMPLIANCE STATEMENT FOR
THE
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE STUDENT LOAN TRUST 20__-_
[DATE]
The
National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 20__-_
[ADDRESS]
In
connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K of The National Collegiate
Student Loan Trust 20__-_ for the fiscal year ending June 30, 20__ (the
“Report”),
the
undersigned, a duly authorized officer of the [SERVICER] (the “Servicer”),
does
hereby certify and represent as follows:
1. |
A
review of the activities and performance of the Servicer under the
Servicing Agreement dated as of [______________], as amended, between
the
Servicer and The First Marblehead Corporation (the “Servicing
Agreement”)
for the period that is the subject of the Report has been made under
the
supervision of the undersigned;
|
2. |
To
the best knowledge of the undersigned, based on such review, the
Servicer
has fulfilled all of its obligations under the Servicing Agreement
in all
material respects throughout the period that is the subject of the
Report;
and
|
3. |
To
the best knowledge of the undersigned, based on such review, there
have
been no failures to fulfill any such obligation in any material
respect.
|
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this Servicer Compliance Statement
as of [ ],
20__.
[SERVICER],
as Servicer
|
|
By:
|
|
Name:
|
|
Title:
|
Exhibit
B - XXXX Servicing Guidelines
[**]
EXHIBIT
C
SERVICE
LEVEL AGREEMENTS
FOR
XXXX LOAN PROGRAMS
SERVICED
AT
PENNSYLVANIA
HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AGENCY
(d/b/a
AMERICAN EDUCATION SERVICES)
Servicer
agrees to adhere to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) outlined below. Servicer’s
failure to adhere to the standards in this SLA shall result in the penalties
set
forth in Section 4.02 of the Agreement, under the terms and conditions set
forth
in that Section.
The
Servicer will provide First Marblehead Corporation (FMC) with monthly reports
setting forth Servicer’s performance relative to the below SLA
for the
month covered by the report, the month prior to the month covered by the
report,
and the Servicer’s year-to-date average performance level through the month
covered by the report. These reports will be made available to FMC no later
than
fifteen (15) business days following the last day of the month covered by
the
report.
I. Customer
Service Standards:
Telephone
and Internet Chat Standards:
· |
Average
Speed of Answer: [**]seconds
or less.
|
· |
Abandonment
Percentage: Average not greater than [**]%.
|
· |
Call
Blockage: [**]% or less.
|
· |
Call
Quality Assessment: Average rating not less than [**]% - utilizing
Servicer’s evaluation form as set forth and incorporated herein at Exhibit
1.
|
· |
Borrower
Satisfaction: Average rating in annual survey not less than
[**]%.
|
Correspondence
Standards
· |
Mail
sorted and distributed within: Servicer’s Service Objective: [**]%
within one business day not to exceed two business days on average.
|
· |
General
Borrower correspondence answered within [**] business days of receipt
on
average - Servicer’s Service Objective: [**] days. During peak processing
months of January through March, August, and October, correspondence
answered within [**] business days of receipt on average. (This standard
shall not apply to any correspondence involving death, disability,
or
bankruptcy Accounts.)
|
· |
Borrower
Email Correspondence: Answered within an average of [**] business
days of
receipt.
|
· |
School
Correspondence: Answered within [**] business days of receipt on
average -
Servicer’s Service Objective: [**] days. During peak processing months of
January through March, July, and September school correspondence
answered
within [**] business days of receipt on
average.
|
· |
Clearinghouse
Correspondence (Manual Processing Only): Answered within [**] business
days of receipt on average - Servicer’s Service Objective: [**] days.
During peak processing months of January through March, June, and
October
through November Clearinghouse correspondence answered within [**]
business days of receipt on average.
|
· |
Deferment
Processing: Processed within [**] business days of receipt on average
-
Servicer’s Service Objective: [**] days. During peak processing months of
February and August through November deferments processed within
[**]
business days of receipt on average.
|
· |
Forbearance
Processing: Processed
within [**] business days of receipt on average - Servicer’s Service
Objective: [**] days. During peak processing months of January through
March, August, November through December forearances processed within
[**]
business days of receipt on average.
|
· |
Miscellaneous
Account Reviews and adjustments completed within [**] business days
of
receipt on average - there are exceptions to this
process.
|
II.
Payment
Processing
· |
Non-Exception
Loan Payments: Posted within an average of [**]
business day of receipt - [**]% of the
time.
|
· |
Exception
Loan Payments: Processed/resolved within an average of [**] business
days
of receipt - [**]% of the time
|
III. Fraud
Prevention
Fraud
notification to FMC within [**] business days of initial
notification.
IV. Default
Prevention
· |
Collection
contacts (left message or right party contact only) as a % of all
delinquent accounts attempted per bucket:
|
o |
31
- 60 day bucket at least [**]%
|
o |
61
- 90 day bucket at least [**]%
|
· |
Promise
to pay rate not less than [**]% of all delinquent accounts attempted
greater than 30 days delinquent.
|
· |
Skip-trace
locate rate not less than [**]% of all accounts coded as requiring
skip-trace activities.
|
V. System
Requirements
· |
System
Availability (scheduled CICS system up time): [**]% or better. This
standard shall not include the measurement for web based applications,
batch processes, or scheduled CICS down time including but not limited
to
Sunday maintenance.
|
· |
Screen
Navigation - Servicer shall provide an average internal CICS response
time
of less than [**]. This measurement shall only be applicable to Servicer’s
provision of screen navigation and shall not be impacted nor include
measurement relative to users’ internet based access to the screens
because AES/PHEAA has no ability to control response times for users’ ISP
connections or internal network performance. Servicer shall report
the
internal average response time on a monthly basis for the CICSL0PA
system
including the availability percentage for that system for normal
scheduled
hours of usage.
|
VI.
Conversion
· |
Servicer
shall convert all Committed Student Loan origination data necessary
for
servicing hereunder onto its Servicing System within
[**] days of receipt of complete Student Loan files containing critical
and non-critical documentation from XXXX or from FMER on TERI’s
behalf.
|