Sallie Mae will lend to fewer students

WASHINGTON -- Student lender Sallie Mae said Wednesday it lost $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter as borrowing costs rose and it set aside $575 million to cover bad loans. To address the growing number of delinquencies and defaults on loans not backed by the government, Sallie CEO Albert Lord said the company is shying away from lending to students it considers unlikely to graduate or attending schools with inferior graduation rates.