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More student loan borrowers are walking away from their debt in bankruptcy, Biden administration says

More people with federal student loans have been able to walk away from their debt in bankruptcy court due to a Biden administration policy change announced last November.

In the fall of 2022, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice released updated bankruptcy guidelines to make it easier for struggling borrowers to get their student loans erased in court. Previously, it was difficult, if not impossible, for people to part with their education debt in a normal bankruptcy proceeding.

“I am thrilled that our one-year review indicates that our efforts have made a real difference in borrowers’ lives,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, in a statement on Thursday.

In the first 10 months of the new policy, student loan borrowers filed more than 630 bankruptcy cases, a “significant increase” from recent years, the departments said.

“The vast majority of borrowers seeking discharge have received full or partial discharges,” they said.

Outstanding student debt in the U.S. exceeds $1.7 trillion, and around 7% of student loan borrowers have a balance of more than $100,000. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, some 10 million borrowers were in delinquency or default.

Student debt had a high bar for bankruptcy discharge

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