A mortgage company has emerged as the third organisation bidding to run a privatised loans scheme, prompting the NUS to seek guarantees on service standards. National Home Loans ended months of speculation this week by revealing that it had joined Barclays and the Clydesdale Bank in submitting bids to the Department for Education and Employment. Ministers are due to make a decision on the bids later this month and an operational scheme could be in place by the 1997-98 academic year.