Number of the Week: Student Loan Bubble

Phil Izzo:

368%: The jump since 2007 in the measure of consumer credit held by the government comprised primarily of student loans.

If a student loan bubble were to pop, the government, not private banks, would be the one standing around with gum in its hair.

Issuance of student loans has soared in recent years, hitting $867 billion at the end of 2011, according to an analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, more than credit cards or auto loans. The jump has led some to classify the student-lending market as a bubble, comparing it with the housing mess that nearly brought down the banking system in 2008.

But there are some big differences between student loans and housing. For starters, mortgage credit absolutely dwarfs lending for higher education -- by nearly a 10-to-1 ratio. Troubles in an $8 trillion market pose a much higher systemic risk.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 27, 2012 1:16 AM
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