First Marblehead cuts dividend

Student loan services provider First Marblehead Corp. said today that it is cutting its quarterly cash dividend 56 percent and said it will not securitize any loans during the quarter.

Shares of First Marblehead fell $2.07, or 11.5 percent, to $15.89 in morning trading. The stock earlier traded at a new 52-week low of $15.75, after ranging from $16.92 to $57.56 over the past year.

First Marblehead cut its quarterly cash dividend to 12 cents per share, from 27.5 cents per share last quarter. The dividend is payable Dec. 21 to shareholders of record on Dec. 17.

First Marblehead said it chose not to securitize any pools of student loans during the current quarter because of the volatility in the capital markets.

"We are exploring non-securitization and securitization alternatives for future quarters to enhance our business model and provide long-term capacity to the private student loan market in a manner that benefits our shareholders," Jack Kopnisky, First Marblehead's chief executive and president, said in a statement. (AP)