Final answer:
Sallie Mae is a private financial institution that services private student loans and is publicly traded.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sallie Mae is a financial institution that provides student loans. It was originally created as a government entity for processing federal student education loans but has since become a private company. Sallie Mae only services private student loans now.
Regarding whether it is traded or not, Sallie Mae is a publicly traded company. Publicly traded means that its shares are available for purchase by the general public on a stock exchange.