News

Holly K. Johnson Joins Private Student Lending Leader Monogram as Regional Relationship Manager

Johnson Will Join Monogram to Provide Loan Solutions to Financial Aid Offices that Empower Student Success

SEATTLE and BOSTON-March 18, 2024 - Holly K. Johnson, an experienced business development leader within the private student lending industry, has joined Monogram LLC as a Regional Relationship Manager, where she is charged with growing the firm's presence in the Western U.S.

Based in Seattle, Johnson brings more than 30 years of dedicated experience to her role at Monogram, a leading provider of private student lending programs, including the Custom Choice Loan® and Union Federal® Loan platforms. She will educate financial aid officers on private loan solutions to empower student success.

"I am excited that Holly has joined Monogram and I know financial aid officers will appreciate her energy, empathy, and expertise. She is excited to learn about individual school needs, answer questions about alternative loan solutions and help financial aid officers make borrowing easier for students," said Lisa Albers, Director, Business Development, Monogram.

"I am thrilled to play a role in the future of student lending at Monogram," said Johnson. "It's great to be part of a company that succeeds by listening and responding to both school and borrower needs. I am excited to sit down with financial aid officers to understand and support further product innovation."

Before coming to Monogram, Johnson was Regional Lead Client Relationship Manager with Discover Student Loans.

Her addition is the latest in a series of milestones for Monogram, which is expanding and evolving. Company news will continue to be available at monogramllc.com. Johnson is reachable at hjohnson@monogramllc.com.

About Monogram

About Monogram Monogram makes financial resources accessible for students and their families to pursue higher education. The leader in data-driven private student lending products and programs, Monogram works closely with banks and financial aid offices to empower students with the loans that best meet their needs.

With more than $7 billion in loans under management, Monogram's advanced loan origination platform, robust credit databases and comprehensive loan-performance analytics enable banks, affinity groups and other organizations to offer innovative private student loan products to their customers.

For more than 30 years, Monogram and its predecessor, Cognition Financial, have originated and managed more than $30 billion in private student loan assets. For more information, please visit www.monogramllc.com.

Private Student Loan Innovator Monogram to be Featured at NASFAA Leadership Conference, February 4-7 in Washington

Provider of Custom Choice® and Union Federal® Loans to Meet Financial Aid Leaders at Exhibit Booth 112

BOSTON and WASHINGTON-January 30, 2024 - Monogram LLC, a leader in private student lending programs, such as the Custom Choice Loan® and Union Federal® Private Student Loan solutions, will be a featured exhibitor at the 2024 NASFAA Leadership & Legislative Conference & Expo, Feb. 4-7 in Washington, sponsored by The National Association of Financial Aid Administrators.

The company, which has helped more than one million students finance their education, will be at booth 112.

Over the past 30 years, the Monogram team has originated and managed more than $30 billion in private student loans. A pioneer in student lending technologies, its third-party platform is in widespread use today. The company credits its relationships with 800+ financial aid offices to its staying power, its ability to tailor its loan programs to support the diverse needs of students, and its focus on both service and innovation.

While each product/loan program is distinctly customized, they all offer key borrower advantages such as term flexibility, the ability to quickly pre-qualify with no credit score impact, and valuable education and guidance for students and their co-signers.

"We are financial aid administrators' full partners," said Steve Winnie, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. "We continue to incorporate their feedback in the design of our industry-leading platform and new loan products."

To meet with Monogram at the conference, please contact Julie Lawton, Regional Manager at JLawton@monogramllc.com, Kathleen Roebuck, Regional Manager, at KRoebuck@monogramllc.com, or Steve Winnie at SWinnie@monogramllc.com.

About Monogram

About Monogram Monogram makes financial resources accessible for students and their families to pursue higher education. The leader in data-driven private student lending products and programs, Monogram works closely with banks and financial aid offices to empower students with the loans that best meet their needs.

With more than $7 billion in loans under management, Monogram's advanced loan origination platform, robust credit databases and comprehensive loan-performance analytics enable banks, affinity groups and other organizations to offer innovative private student loan products to their customers.

For more than 30 years, Monogram and its predecessor, Cognition Financial, have originated and managed more than $30 billion in private student loan assets. For more information, please visit www.monogramllc.com.

Carlyle Announces Acquisition of $415 Million Private Student Loan Portfolio and Strategic Investment in Monogram

NEW YORK, NY, and BOSTON, MA [January 24, 2024] - Global investment firm, Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) today announced the acquisition of a $415 million private student loan portfolio, and strategic investment into Monogram LLC ("Monogram"), a leading provider of finance solutions for students and their families. Led by the former management team of Cognition Financial and backed by Carlyle, Monogram will partner with Carlyle to originate, acquire, and manage high-quality third-party private student loan assets.

The Monogram platform provides a fully outsourced, end-to-end private student loan solution for lenders. The platform is designed to be flexible and helps lending partners target risk profiles that align with their portfolio objectives. Product offerings include customizable private-label programs, school sales and marketing support, active portfolio management, and loan loss protection. The Monogram management team has been in the private student loan business for more than 30 years, originating and managing over $30 billion in private student loan assets. Monogram currently has more than $7 billion in private student loans under management.

"There is an opportunity for private markets to fill the gap left by traditional lenders reducing their lending to families to finance their higher education goals," said Akhil Bansal, Managing Director and Head of Credit Strategic Solutions at Carlyle. "Carlyle is excited to partner with Monogram to deliver attractive and competitive financing solutions to the private student loan market."

"Monogram has the data and analytics capabilities previously part of First Marblehead and Cognition Financial, and a management team with more than a century of expertise in the student loan industry," said Seth Gelber, Chief Executive Officer of Monogram. "Now, with the financial backing of Carlyle, we're better positioned to help all types of borrowers."

"I started in this industry nearly three decades ago and I've never been more excited about our future than I am now. Demand for well-structured education finance products is as high as it has ever been," said Daniel Meyers, Executive Chairman of Monogram.

This transaction was led by Carlyle's Credit Strategic Solutions ("CSS") team, a group within the Global Credit business focused on private fixed income and asset-backed investments. The highly experienced team leverages the knowledge, sourcing, structuring, and breadth of the entire Carlyle investment platform to deliver tailored asset-focused financing solutions to businesses, specialty finance companies, banks, asset managers, and other originators and owners of diversified pools of assets.

As of September 30, 2023, CSS has deployed more than $1.5 billion year to date.

About Carlyle

Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $382 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2023, Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,200 people in 28 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on X @OneCarlyle.

About Monogram

Monogram makes financial resources accessible for students and their families to pursue higher education. The leader in data-driven private student lending products and programs, Monogram works closely with banks and financial aid offices to empower students with the loans that best meet their needs.

With more than $7 billion in loans under management, Monogram's advanced loan origination platform, robust credit databases and comprehensive loan-performance analytics enable banks, affinity groups and other organizations to offer innovative private student loan products to their customers.

For more than 30 years, Monogram and its predecessor, Cognition Financial, have originated and managed more than $30 billion in private student assets. For more information, please visit www.monogramllc.com.

Media:

Kristen Greco Ashton
Carlyle
Kristen.ashton@carlyle.com

Dawn Ringel
Incenter Marketing for Monogram
Dawn.Ringel@incenterls.com