Bigger Picture

How Federal Student Loan Servicers Actually Make Money: The Three-Contract System That Doesn’t Reward Repayment

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Federal student loan servicers, Maximus, and the U.S. Treasury are paid under three completely different contracts. Only one of them is structured around the borrower repaying, and that one pays the same whether the borrower thrives or barely hangs on. The July 1, 2026 overhaul cements all three for a decade. The 60-second version The … Read more

How First Brands’ $11 Billion Collapse Exposed the Disclosure Gap in Private Credit

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The auto-parts bankruptcy that wiped out billions wasn’t really a fraud story. It was a story about how a $3 trillion private debt market grew up without a 10-K. The 60-second version First Brands Group, a Cleveland-based auto-parts roll-up doing $5 billion a year in sales, filed for Chapter 11 in September 2025. By January … Read more