As the nation’s largest private student lender among U.S. banks, Wells Fargo today announced its new private student loan modification program (PSLM) to assist customers experiencing financial hardship or distress.

Through the program, Wells Fargo private student loan customers experiencing a hardship will have their financial situation reviewed on an individual case-by-case basis to determine eligibility for a short- or long-term loan modification, as appropriate. If eligible, Wells Fargo will lower the customer’s interest rate to achieve a student loan payment that is determined to be affordable based on the customer’s income level.

“The private student loan modification program demonstrates our commitment to helping our customers achieve financial stability and success,” said John Rasmussen, head of Wells Fargo’s Education Financial Services. “We remain focused on providing a broad range of resources and programs to assist individuals in financing their dreams of higher education.”

When a Wells Fargo private student loan customer’s financial situation is preliminarily assessed by a PSLM representative, and the hardship qualifies the customer for the program, Wells Fargo will work with the customer to gather supporting financial documents that may include paystubs, or other types of income documentation, along with information surrounding the customer’s complete financial picture to evaluate the severity of the financial hardship. Once documentation is received and the customer is approved for the PSLM program, the customer will receive a loan modification agreement by overnight mail delivery, which the customer signs and returns.

Wells Fargo customers who are experiencing a severe financial hardship should visit https://www.wellsfargo.com/student/repay/ or call 1-800-378-5526 to learn more about the options to successfully repay a Wells Fargo private student loan, including what to do in cases of hardship or emergency.

In addition to the PSLM program, Wells Fargo offers free online resources to help customers prepare, plan, and finance their higher education, which include: 5 Steps to Financial Aid; Student LoanDown Blog; Wells Fargo Community; CollegeSTEPS; CollegeSTEPS Magazine; Campus Countdown; Private Student Loan Calculator; and Get College Ready.

Since entering the student loan marketplace in 1968, Wells Fargo continues to manage one of the most successful financial portfolios in the private student loan marketplace as a result of prudent underwriting and providing quality, timely information, transparency, and service for each of its 1.3 million customers.

About Wells Fargo Education Financial Services

Wells Fargo Education Financial Services has been in the student lending business since 1968 and currently serves 1.3 million student, parent and family customers in all 50 states. Wells Fargo provides private student loans directly to consumers, through the Internet and at more than 6,000 Wells Fargo banking stores to help customers finance their education. Wells Fargo Education Financial Services also provides customers with tools to help them succeed financially while in school and prepare them for when they finish college. Through the Wells Fargo Foundation, we partner with nonprofit organizations and stakeholders to strengthen our goal of providing high quality assistance to those individuals who are working to achieve their educational dreams. Learn more about Wells Fargo Education Financial Services.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.6 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,700 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2014 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.