Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, together with Sens. Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley and Mazie Hirono, sent a letter to KKR & Co. Inc. seeking information about the firm's recently announced multi-year strategic partnership with private student loan lender Sallie Mae. The inquiry frames the deal as a borrower protection and transparency issue, citing concerns that private equity ownership could worsen abusive or discriminatory practices in private student lending. The senators linked the request to a February 2026 report from their offices and other Democratic senators that found half of the private lenders surveyed had either sold student loans to private equity firms or planned to do so. The letter also points to KKR's past involvement with Education Management Corp., which the U.S. Department of Justice had charged over alleged illegal recruiting, consumer fraud and other violations, and it cites a broader history of problematic conduct by private lenders including inaccurate billing, excessive withdrawals, misrepresented unemployment protections and wrongful denial of certain discharges. The senators asked KKR Chief Executive Officers Henry Kravis, George Roberts, Joseph Bae and Scott Nuttall to respond to the information requests by July 13, 2026.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs2026-06-30
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs ranking member seeks KKR information on Sallie Mae partnership
Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and three other senators asked KKR for information on its new partnership with Sallie Mae. The letter cites concerns about private equity involvement in student lending, including past findings that many private lenders have sold or may sell loans to private equity firms. KKR was asked to respond by July 13, 2026.