First Marblehead Corp. a Boston-based large packager of student loans, has been ordered by the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision to lower risk by reducing its concentration of private student loans, a move it said could cause a "significant" loss.

According to a regulatory filing, the Boston-based company agreed to special OTS oversight, and its Union Federal Savings Bank unit in Rhode Island agreed to a cease-and-desist order from the regulator.

First Marblehead said market disruptions have left it unable to securitize new private student loans since September 2007. As a result, it said Union Federal has more of the loans on its books than had been expected when the OTS approved First Marblehead’s purchase of the bank in late 2006.

The agreements set minimum capital and deposit requirements for the bank, and require Union Federal within 60 days to submit a new business plan covering the 2010 to 2012 fiscal years.

Union Federal must also get OTS approval before awarding any "golden parachute" payments to departing officials.

First Marblehead has struggled since the credit crisis began. It was hit hard when The Education Resources Institute Inc, which guaranteed some of its loans, filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2008, and major client Bank of America Corp. said the following month it would stop making private student loans. (Reuters)