The Federal Government reimburses guarantee agencies for defaulted loans, hence the term guaranteed student loan'. The holder is the organization that owns your loan, and to whom you owe repayment. In some cases the lender and the holder are the same. However, most lenders sell student loans to other institutions to help free up money to loan to other students. The new institution that buys the loan is now the holder.
Secondary markets are companies that buy loans from lenders.
In this regard, they become the holder of the loan. The originator is the institution that processes your loans and sends the loan proceeds to your school's financial aid office. Many loan programs now offer what is called 'life of loan servicing,' meaning that even if a borrower's loans are sold, the same organization will service them throughout repayment.