Given his sanguine view of the political risk, Snowling largely reprises some of the same story he told us in October of 2001.

FORBES: Thanks To The Democrats: Sallie Looks Cheap

Matt Snowling, an analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey, said the announcement was not entirely unexpected, as the company said it was very close in tying up a deal during last week's earnings call, but removes a fairly significant overhang the company had worried about.

FORBES: Sallie Mae Gets Cash, For A Price

Snowling ticks off other advantages for Sallie: low interest rate risk (given government guarantees), profit growth expectations in the 15% range, a rich return on equity (net income divided by average book value) of 38%, and a cheap valuation relative to history and the broader market.

FORBES: Thanks To The Democrats: Sallie Looks Cheap