Finance

10-year private student loan interest rates surge

Published

1 year ago

April 17, 2024

Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as “Credible” below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders who compensate us for our services, all opinions are our own.

The latest private student loan interest rates from the Credible marketplace, updated weekly. (iStock)

During the week of Apr. 8, 2024, average private student loan rates fell for borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher who used the Credible marketplace to take out 10-year fixed-rate loans and increased for 5-year variable-rate loans.

10-year fixed rate: 9.40%, up from 7.37% the week before, +2.03
5-year variable rate: 7.39%, up from 7.10% the week before, +0.29

Through Credible, you can compare private student loan rates from multiple lenders.

For 10-year fixed private student loans, interest rates rose by over two percentage points, while 5-year variable student loan interest ticked up by more than a quarter of a percentage point.

Borrowers with good credit may find a lower rate with a private student loan than with some federal loans. For the 2023-24 academic school year, federal student loan rates will range from 5.50% to 8.05%. Private student loan rates for borrowers with good to excellent credit can be lower right now.

Because federal loans come with certain benefits, like access to income-driven repayment plans, you should always exhaust federal student loan options first before turning to private student loans to cover any funding gaps. Private lenders such as banks, credit unions, and online lenders provide private student loans. You can use private loans to pay for education costs and living expenses, which might not be covered by your federal education loans.

Interest rates and terms on private student loans can vary depending on your financial situation, credit history, and the lender you choose.

Take a look at Credible partner lenders’ rates for borrowers who used the Credible marketplace to select a lender during the week of April 8:

Private student loan rates (graduate and undergraduate)

Who sets federal and private interest rates?

Congress sets federal student loan interest rates each year. These fixed interest rates depend on the type of federal loan you take out, your dependency status and your year in school.

Private student loan interest rates can be fixed or variable and depend on your credit, repayment term and other factors. As a general rule, the better your credit score, the lower your interest rate is likely to be.

You can compare rates from multiple student loan lenders using Credible.

How does student loan interest work?

An interest rate is a percentage of the loan periodically tacked onto your balance — essentially the cost of borrowing money. Interest is one way lenders can make money from loans. Your monthly payment often pays interest first, with the rest going to the amount you initially borrowed (the principal).

Getting a low interest rate could help you save money over the life of the loan and pay off your debt faster.

What is a fixed- vs. variable-rate loan?

Here’s the difference between a fixed and variable rate:

With a fixed rate, your monthly payment amount will stay the same over the course of your loan term.
With a variable rate, your payments might rise or fall based on changing interest rates.

Comparison shopping for private student loan rates is easy when you use Credible.

Calculate your savings

Using a student loan interest calculator will help you estimate your monthly payments and the total amount you’ll owe over the life of your federal or private student loans.

Once you enter your information, you’ll be able to see what your estimated monthly payment will be, the total you’ll pay in interest over the life of the loan and the total amount you’ll pay back.

About Credible

Credible is a multi-lender marketplace that empowers consumers to discover financial products that are the best fit for their unique circumstances. Credible’s integrations with leading lenders and credit bureaus allow consumers to quickly compare accurate, personalized loan options – without putting their personal information at risk or affecting their credit score. The Credible marketplace provides an unrivaled customer experience, as reflected by over 4,300 positive Trustpilot reviews and a TrustScore of 4.7/5.

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JPMorgan Chase is heading upmarket to woo America’s millionaires

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5 hours ago

May 27, 2025

Business Finance News

A living space in the new J.P. Morgan financial center branch format in Palm Beach.

Courtesy: JP Morgan

JPMorgan Chase thinks it has cracked the code on managing more money for America’s millionaires.

It’s not a new financial product, a novel software program or an enticing sign-up bonus. Instead, it’s a refurbished take on an old concept — the brick-and-mortar bank branch — along with new standards for service that are at the heart of its aspirations.

The bank is unveiling 14 of these new format branches — each acquired when JPMorgan took over First Republic in 2023 — in tony ZIP codes in New York, California, Florida and Massachusetts, including Napa, Palm Beach and Wellesley Hills.

It’s part of JPMorgan’s push to convince affluent Americans, many who already use Chase checking accounts or credit cards, that the bank is ready to manage their millions.

JPMorgan is the country’s biggest bank by deposits and assets and has a top share in areas as disparate as Wall Street trading and retail credit cards. But one of the only major categories where it isn’t a clear leader is in wealth management; peers like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America exceed it there.

While half of the 19 million affluent households in the U.S. bank with JPMorgan, it has just a 10% share of their investing dollars, according to Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking.

“We have this giant opportunity to convince customers to have their wealth management business with us in addition to their deposit relationship,” Roberts said in a recent interview.

Helped by its acquisition of First Republic, which was known for catering to rich families living on either coast, JPMorgan decided to launch a new tier of service. Called J.P. Morgan Private Client, it is anchored by the new physical locations, of which there will be 31 by the end of next year.

The service comes with its own mobile banking app, but its main appeal is the in-person experience: Instead of being handed off to multiple employees like at a Chase branch, J.P. Morgan Private Client members are assigned to a single banker.

“What First Republic did really well was deliver a concierge-level of service where if you have an issue, a person owned it for you and you didn’t have to worry about it,” Roberts said. “So with this experience we are going to deliver a more elevated concierge type of service, like you would expect at a high-end hotel.”

The price of entry: at least $750,000 in deposits and investments, though Roberts said the bank is aiming for those with around $2 million to $3 million in balances.

Quiet opulence

The new locations, dubbed J.P. Morgan Financial Centers, have a warm feel and an earth-tone color palette that intentionally sets them apart from the nearly 5,000 Chase branches operated by the bank.

During a recent visit to a Manhattan location, the vibe is family office-meets hotel, with soaring ceilings, living room-style seating areas and art-filled meeting rooms scattered over two floors.

Gone is the traditional row of bank tellers; there is instead a concierge desk and a solitary ATM machine. Instead of lollipops, visitors are offered squares of Dylan’s chocolate. The space is quiet, except for the crack of a Perrier being opened or the whir of an espresso machine.

JP Morgan’s Palm Beach Reception.

Courtesy: JP Morgan

The design elements and hushed environment are “really meant to illustrate that we’re there to have a more serious, less-transactional conversation about your wealth planning over the course of time,” said Stevie Baron, JPMorgan’s head of affluent banking.

Those conversations involve planning for long-term goals and examining clients’ portfolios to see whether they are on track to reach them, he said.

Elements of the new high-end branch format could find their way to regular Chase branches, especially the 1,000 or so that are in high-income areas, Baron said.

JPMorgan executives have said the bank’s branch network has already succeeded as a feeder into the firm’s wealth management offerings.

The new service tier — which sits above the bank’s Chase Private Client offering, which is for those with at least $150,000 in balances and is delivered in the regular branches — is expected to help JPMorgan’s retail bank double client assets from the $1.08 trillion it reached in March.

“Obviously it’s a big challenge, because clients already have their established wealth managers, but it’s something that we’ve been making really strong progress in,” Roberts said.

Come one, come all

But attempting to create a new, more luxurious brand from a mainstream one — think the difference between Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus — is not without its risks. Or at least, momentary confusion.

So far, the two flagship financial centers in New York and San Francisco opened late last year haven’t seen heavy foot traffic, Roberts admitted.

“Our biggest challenge is that we don’t have people walking in because they don’t really understand what they are,” Roberts said. “So we just need to get the awareness out there.”

While JPMorgan is leaning on the first part of its name, rather than Chase, to signal exclusivity for the new branches, that may deter people from walking through the doors and starting conversations.

“I just want this to be acknowledged: We’re never going to turn someone away. Any customer can come and leverage any of our branches at any time,” Roberts said.

“We want people walking in, having the experience, meeting with our experts and understanding how we can help support their financial goals over time,” she said.