Student-loan debt collectors accused of misleading borrowers would get protection under a proposal from the Trump Administration, Bloomberg News reported. The Department of Education may issue a statement that federal law prohibits state governments from regulating companies that collect student debt on the department’s behalf, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. The proposal, which would reverse the department’s position in 2016, could aid publicly traded companies such as Navient Corp. and Nelnet Inc., which collect monthly payments and counsel borrowers. Former President Barack Obama, whose administration tried to tighten oversight of the companies, was too aggressive in those efforts, Mick Mulvaney, the new chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has said. More than 1 million Americans annually default on loans made directly by the department, federal data show.
