Credit card lenders paid colleges $83.5 million

There were 1,044 lender agreements in 2009, 40 percent of which were made with colleges themselves, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank. Another 33 percent were made with alumni associations. These agreements are made to both fund school or organization activities and services, while simultaneously increasing the amount of credit card debt lenders handle.

The report said these agreements resulted in about 53,200 new accounts that will result in credit card debt being opened last year. In all, there are about 2 million accounts nationwide thanks to these agreements.

Three major issuers, FIA Card Services, U.S. Bank National Association and Chase Bank, are the most active in these agreements, the report said. However, FIA alone accounted for 87 percent of all of them.

Many college students are now opening a number of accounts, and the average senior graduates with several thousand dollars in credit card debt.