N.Y. Banking Law § 710: Definitions

§ 710. Definitions. 1. "Applicant" shall mean any person applying for

a license under this article.

2. "Borrower" shall mean any resident of this state who has received a

student loan or agreed in writing to pay a student loan or any person

who shares a legal obligation with such resident for repaying a student

loan.

3. "Borrower benefit" shall mean an incentive offered to a borrower in

connection with the origination of a student loan, including but not

limited to an interest rate reduction, principal rebate, fee waiver or

rebate, loan cancellation, or cosigner release.

4. "Exempt organization" shall mean any banking organization, foreign

banking corporation, national bank, federal savings association, federal

credit union, or any bank, trust company, savings bank, savings and loan

association, or credit union organized under the laws of any other

state, any public postsecondary educational institution or private

nonprofit postsecondary educational institution or any person licensed

or supervised by the department and exempted by the superintendent

pursuant to regulations promulgated in accordance with this article.

5. "Person" shall mean any individual, association, corporation,

limited liability company, partnership, trust, unincorporated

organization, government, and any other entity.

6. "Servicer" or "student loan servicer" shall mean a person engaged

in the business of servicing student loans owed by one or more borrowers

residing in this state.

7. "Servicing" shall mean:

(a) receiving any payment from a borrower pursuant to the terms of any

student loan;

(b) applying any payment to the borrower's account pursuant to the

terms of a student loan or the contract governing the servicing of any

such loans;

(c) providing any notification of amounts owed on a student loan by or

on account of any borrower in conjunction with performing such

activities as described in paragraphs (a), (b), or (d) of this

subdivision;

(d) during a period where a borrower is not required to make a payment

on a student loan, maintaining account records for the student loan and

communicating with the borrower regarding the student loan on behalf of

the owner of the student loan promissory note;

(e) interacting with a borrower with respect to or regarding any

attempt to avoid default on the borrower's student loan, or facilitating

the activities described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subdivision in

conjunction with performing such activities as described in paragraphs

(a), (b), or (d) of this subdivision; or

(f) performing other administrative services with respect to a

borrower's student loan in conjunction with performing such activities

as described in paragraphs (a), (b), or (d) of this subdivision.

8. "Student loan" shall mean any loan to a borrower to finance

postsecondary education or expenses related to postsecondary education.

9. "Federal student loan" means (a) any student loan issued pursuant

to the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program; (b) any student loan

issued pursuant to the Federal Family Education Loan Program, which was

purchased by the government of the United States pursuant to the federal

Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act and is presently owned by

the government of the United States; and (c) any other student loan

issued pursuant to a federal program that is identified by the

superintendent as a "federal student loan" in a regulation.