A seminar held Friday helped NIU students explore options for federal loan consolidation.

Federal loan consolidations are loans made available to borrowers, who can combine several education loans into one loan with a single monthly payment.

Students may benefit from loan consolidation because payments are not due until shortly after their graduation, said Michael Van Cura, financial center manager and vice president of the St. Charles Citibank.

Students also are able to extend repayment terms if they need more time to pay off their loans due to economic issues or other problems.

Financial education specialist Jim Moore was the speaker for the seminar and provided tips for those interested in loan consolidation.

Moore said he gives these seminars to inform people, not to promote Citibank.

“I’m not here to push products, but to push knowledge that can help people 20 to 30 years down the road,” he said.

Van Cura agreed with Moore’s sentiments.

“We plan on continuing these seminars in the spring and plan on visiting other colleges, as well,” Van Cura said.

Although Citibank is not near NIU, Van Cura said he hopes to change that.

“We currently have 75 branches right now and are still growing,” Van Cura said. “It would be great to have a Citibank here somewhere down the road.”

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