Welcome to Federal Credit Fridays! The U.S. government is one of the largest lenders and credit guarantors on earth. Its portfolio is estimated at over $3.6 trillion, as measured by loan assets and the face value of loan guarantees. The government uses credit for a wide variety of policy missions, including housing, higher education, small businesses, rural and urban economic development, infrastructure, and export promotion, among others. This podcast will familiarize you with the vast world of federal credit, and we hope that you’ll learn about similarities and differences between these programs as well as the importance of their work to achieving policy missions within the framework of public-private collaboration.
Federal Credit Fridays: Student Loans & Smarter Systems
In the latest episode of Summit Consulting’s Federal Credit Fridays podcast, Partner Sarah Cunningham leads a compelling conversation with guests Jay Hurt and Doug Criscitello about the future of student loans—the federal government’s largest direct loan portfolio, now topping $1 trillion in outstanding debt.
The discussion centers around how agencies can modernize their approach to credit programs by embracing shared services, using consistent terminology, and integrating technology with a human-centered design. The group emphasizes that while many federal credit functions are similar across agencies, inconsistent language often obscures those commonalities—hindering efficiency and collaboration.
Jay Hurt highlights the need for a “consistent service catalog” to enable real cost savings and functional alignment across the government. Sarah and Doug explore the idea of a federal credit shared services marketplace, where agencies could choose support tailored to their specific needs—offering more flexibility and innovation.
As Sarah puts it, “We need to be smart, thoughtful, and intentional—leveraging technology while keeping the human experience at the center.”
🎧 Tune in to hear how smarter systems and shared solutions could reshape the future of student lending and federal credit programs.
