"Community banks pride themselves in knowing their customers, their needs, and their dreams," The Boston Globe reports. "While these loans serve a purpose, what better way to serve their community than for a local bank to help its neighbors pay for college? Community banks are in a position to know and understand their clientele much better than the investment houses and pension funds that fueled the student loan securitizations. They can provide a financing solution to an underserved population of parents and students, and since these banks know their customers, their loans can be based upon the credit risk of the borrower, not the risk of the securitization marketplace."