1.	Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited, consolidated financial statements of Navient have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Navient and its majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries and those Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”) for which we are the primary beneficiary, after eliminating the effects of intercompany accounts and transactions. In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods have been included. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Operating results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the year ending December 31, 2017 or for any other period. These unaudited financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (the “2016 Form 10-K”). Definitions for certain capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q can be found in our 2016 Form 10-K.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the balances as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2016 to be consistent with classifications adopted for 2017, and had no effect on net income, total assets, or total liabilities.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Revenue Recognition

On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The new guidance supersedes current U.S. GAAP guidance on revenue recognition and requires the use of more estimates and judgements than the current revenue standards. The new guidance does not apply to revenue associated with financial instruments, including loans, that are accounted for under other U.S. GAAP. Accordingly, we do not expect the new revenue recognition guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations associated with our loan portfolios including net interest income.

We plan to adopt the new standard as of January 1, 2018, the effective date. The new standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. Our implementation efforts to date include the identification of revenue and review of related contracts within the scope of the new standard. We have not yet identified nor do we anticipate material changes in the timing of revenue recognition. However, our review is ongoing as we continue to evaluate both contract revenue and certain contract costs.

Classification and Measurement

On January 5, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, “Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities,” which reconsiders the classification and measurement of financial instruments. The new standard requires certain equity instruments be measured at fair value, with fair value changes recognized in earnings. In addition, the standard requires a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the reporting period of adoption. It will be effective for the Company as of January 1, 2018. We have concluded that adopting this new accounting standard will be immaterial to our consolidated financial statements and footnote disclosures.

Leases

On February 25, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases,” which requires the identification of arrangements that should be accounted for as leases by lessees. In general, for lease arrangements exceeding a twelve-month term, these arrangements must be recognized as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet of the lessee. A right-of-use asset and lease obligation will be recorded for all leases, whether operating or financing, while the income statement will reflect lease expense for operating leases and amortization/interest expense for financing leases. The balance sheet amount recorded for existing leases at the date of adoption must be calculated using the applicable incremental borrowing rate at the date of adoption. The standard requires the use of the modified retrospective transition method, which will require adjustment to all comparative periods presented. It will be effective for the Company as of January 1, 2019. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently assessing the impact that adopting this new accounting standard will have on our consolidated financial statements and footnote disclosures, but expect it to be immaterial.

Stock Compensation

On March 30, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, “Compensation — Stock Compensation,” which identifies areas for simplification involving several aspects of accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, an option to recognize gross stock compensation expense with actual forfeitures recognized as they occur, as well as certain classifications on the statement of cash flows. The new standard also requires that all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies that pertain to employee stock-based incentive payments be recognized within income tax expense in the consolidated statements of income, rather than as previously reported within additional paid-in capital. The new standard was adopted on January 1, 2017 and is expected to have an immaterial impact on our consolidated financial statements and footnote disclosures. In the first quarter of 2017, this new standard resulted in a $3 million reduction to income tax expense.

Allowance for Loan Losses

On June 16, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments — Credit Losses,” which requires measurement and recognition of an allowance for loan loss that estimates remaining expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date. Our current allowance for loan loss is an incurred loss model. As a result, we expect the new guidance will result in an increase to our allowance for loan losses. The standard is to be applied through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. The standard is effective for the Company as of January 1, 2020, and will primarily impact the allowance for loan losses related to our Private Education Loans and FFELP Loans. Early adoption is permitted on January 1, 2019. This standard represents a significant departure from existing GAAP, and may result in material changes to the Company’s accounting for the allowance for loan losses. We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting this accounting standard on our consolidated financial statements and footnote disclosures.

Intra-Entity Transfer of Assets

On October 24, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-16, “Income Taxes — Intra-Entity Transfer of Assets Other and Inventory,” which requires recognition of the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of non-inventory assets when the transfer occurs. The new standard is effective for the Company as of January 1, 2018. We are currently assessing the impact that adopting this new accounting standard will have on our consolidated financial statements and footnote disclosures, but expect it to be immaterial.

Goodwill Impairment

On January 26, 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, “Intangibles — Goodwill and Other,” which eliminates the two-step process that required identification of potential impairment and a separate measure of the actual impairment. The annual assessment of goodwill impairment will be determined by using the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the reporting unit. The new standard will be effective for the Company as of January 1, 2020. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently assessing the impact that adopting this new standard will have on our consolidated financial statements and footnote disclosures.