US Senate passes student loan stabilization bill

WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed a bill aimed at stabilizing the $85-billion student loan industry by allowing the Education Department to intervene and inject liquidity into the market.

The Senate unanimously passed a bill that was approved by the House of Representatives on April 17. The legislation would affect major student loan providers such as Sallie Mae (SLM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Wachovia (WB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and many others. (Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh)