• SLM average debt/equity ratio for 2023 was 2.94, a 5% decline from 2022.
• SLM average debt/equity ratio for 2022 was 2.8, a 20.69% increase from 2021.
• SLM average debt/equity ratio for 2021 was 2.32, a 6.42% increase from 2020.

Debt/equity ratio can be defined as a measure of a company's financial leverage calculated by dividing its long-term debt by stockholders' equity.