(a) Establishment

The Secretary, in consultation with the Director, shall designate a Private Education Loan Ombudsman (in this section referred to as the “Ombudsman”) within the Bureau, to provide timely assistance to borrowers of private education loans.

(b) Public information

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The Secretary and the Director shall disseminate information about the availability and functions of the Ombudsman to borrowers and potential borrowers, as well as institutions of higher education, lenders, guaranty agencies, loan servicers, and other participants in private education student loan programs.

(c) Functions of Ombudsman

The Ombudsman designated under this subsection shall—

(1) in accordance with regulations of the Director, receive, review, and attempt to resolve informally complaints from borrowers of loans described in subsection (a), including, as appropriate, attempts to resolve such complaints in collaboration with the Department of Education and with institutions of higher education, lenders, guaranty agencies, loan servicers, and other participants in private education loan programs;

(2) not later than 90 days after the designated transfer date, establish a memorandum of understanding with the student loan ombudsman established under section 1018(f) of title 20, to ensure coordination in providing assistance to and serving borrowers seeking to resolve complaints related to their private education or Federal student loans;

(3) compile and analyze data on borrower complaints regarding private education loans; and

(4) make appropriate recommendations to the Director, the Secretary, the Secretary of Education, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives.

(d) Annual reports

(1) In general

The Ombudsman shall prepare an annual report that describes the activities, and evaluates the effectiveness of the Ombudsman during the preceding year.

(2) Submission

The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted on the same date annually to the Secretary, the Secretary of Education, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives.

(e) Definitions

For purposes of this section, the terms “private education loan” and “institution of higher education” have the same meanings as in section 1650 of title 15.