WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The New Jersey attorney general said on Friday he issued civil subpoenas to 61 colleges, 17 student loan firms and a state authority seeking information on potential misconduct in the student loan market, a target of widening investigations nationwide.

Attorney General Stuart Rabner said he is looking into "allegations that lenders have made improper payments to have colleges promote specific loan companies to students."

"Our investigation was launched to determine whether colleges have been improperly steering students to preferred lenders that don't have the best rates," he said.

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