I don't have a citation, but I think they might be referring to the fact that the government sometimes outsources this collection of students loans. E.g., the

I don't have a citation, but I think they might be referring to the fact that the government sometimes outsources this collection of students loans. E.g., the government backs a Sallie Mae loan, you default, the government pays Sallie Mae, the government wants to collect, the government sells the debt to Sallie Mae to collect it. It's this that gives at least the perception that the originator of the loan has it in their best interest to have at least a portion of their loans go into default, as they can then purchase the debt from the government. Edit: I think some of this has changed post Sallie Mae's split into Naviant and Sallie Mae, but perhaps this perception still exists?