[8][9][10] In August 2006, Sallie Mae acquired Upromise, a company that provides rebates to buyers of certain brands, which can be applied to college savings accounts.

[12] The deal fell through in September 2007, with the buyers blaming adverse changes to the business's outlook as a result of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007[13] and the tightening of global credit markets following the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis.

[16] On April 6, 2009, Sallie Mae announced that it would move 2,000 jobs back to the U.S. within the next 18 months as it shifts call center and other operations from overseas.

[23] Sallie Mae announced a partnership with Mpower Financing in April 2021, to expand access to higher education for international and DACA students.

Sallie Mae also operates offices in New Castle, Delaware; Newton, Massachusetts; Indianapolis, Indiana; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Sterling, Virginia.

[27] Prior to Franke, Raymond J. Quinlan served in the role, having joined the board in 2014 to replace previous chairman Anthony P. Terracciano—formerly president of First Union Corporation (now Wells Fargo).

[28] Quinlan was also the chief executive office of Sallie Mae from May 2014 until March 2020, when current CEO Jonathan Witter assumed the position.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, then a professor at Harvard Law School and sharp critic of what she characterizes as unfair lending practices, questioned Sallie Mae's dual role as lender and collector of student loans.

[34] In February 2007, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched an investigation into alleged deceptive lending practices by student loan providers, including The College Board, EduCap, Nelnet, Citibank, and Sallie Mae.

[35] On April 11, 2007, Cuomo ended his investigation of Sallie Mae and announced that Sallie Mae had voluntarily agreed to change its lending standards to satisfy a new code of conduct for student loan practices established by Cuomo, and to donate $2 million (USD) to a fund devoted to educating college-bound students about their loan options.

In December 2007, a class action lawsuit was brought against Sallie Mae in a Connecticut federal court[39] alleging that the company discriminated against African American and Hispanic private student loan applicants by charging them high interest rates and fees.

[42] On January 31, 2008, SLM Corporation paid $35,000,000 to settle a lawsuit for failing to adequately reserve for losses in Sallie Mae's non-traditional portfolio.

[46] On November 9, 2005, former Sallie Mae employee Michael Zahara filed a federal lawsuit against the company, alleging that it had a pattern and practice of granting forbearance in a purposeful effort to increase total student loan debt.