Auto Lending – and Late Payments – Increase in First Quarter
May 15th, 2013 @ 7:13 PM by Amber NelsonLooser lending standards likely contributed to a jump in late car payments and repossessions in the first quarter, according to data from Experian Automotive. The number of auto loan borrowers who were delinquent on their payment by 30 days or more in the first quarter rose 1.3 percent from the same quarter in 2012, and delinquencies of 60 days or more climbed 12.4 percent. Repossessions soared even higher with a 16.9 percent increase to 0.50 percent from 0.43 percent from the year before. By comparison, repos reached a peak in the first quarter of 2010 at 0.71 percent. “Obviously, we... Read full article »
- Posted in Auto Loans Used Car Loans
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American Consumers Cut Credit Card Spending
May 8th, 2013 @ 11:54 AM by Amber NelsonAmericans scaled back on their credit card purchases in March, while overall consumer credit use rose much less than expected, according to the latest report from the Federal Reserve. Total consumer credit increased by just $7.97 billion in March to a total of $2.81 trillion, the smallest monthly gain in eight months. Most economists had predicted that consumer credit would grow by at least twice that amount. Revolving credit, which mostly accounts for credit card use, fell 2.4 percent in March, the first decline this year, droppping by $1.71 billion. In February, revolving credit rose $453 million. Economists now say... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.
Small Businesses Cut Back on Borrowing As Fed Promises More Purchases
May 1st, 2013 @ 10:54 PM by Amber NelsonU.S. Small businesses are borrowing less, according to a leading Index, a disappointing sign for the economy in the next few months. The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, a measure of total financing to small U.S. Firms, fell to 98.5 in March from 105.4 in February. Compared with March 2012, the index is unchanged. March marks the third straight month of borrowing declines. The PayNet index is a general predictor of economic growth three to six months in the future. When businesses are taking out more loans it usually means they are expanding, buying real estate and equipment and... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.
Foreclosures Almost Back To Pre-Recession Levels
Apr 24th, 2013 @ 9:07 PM by Amber NelsonCompleted foreclosures fell to their lowest level since the start of the Great Recession, according to foreclosure data firm RealtyTrac, a welcome sign of housing recovery. Roughly 44,0000 U.S. homes were repossessed in March, a major drop from the peak in September 2010 when lenders seized 100,000 homes. And total foreclosure filings – including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank reposessions – fell to 442,117, down 12 percent in the first quarter from the previous one and 23 percent compared with the year before. Filings have not been been lower since the second quarter of 2007, just as the mortgage... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.
- Posted in Bad Credit Home Loans, Mortgages
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Consumers With Student Debt Shy Away From Home and Car Buying
Apr 17th, 2013 @ 10:47 AM by Amber NelsonYoung American consumers with student debt are not taking on mortgages and auto loans as readily these days, according to a new report from the New York Federal Reserve. Those with student loans have traditionally been those with college degrees and larger incomes, resulting in more major purchases likes homes and cars. For example, back in 2003 roughly 31 percent of 30-year-old home buyers had student debt, compared with about 29 percent who did not have student debt. During the housing boom that gap widened from 2 percent to about 4 percent, but as the Great Recession hit and Americans... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.
Falling Delinquencies Point to Stabilizing Economy
Apr 10th, 2013 @ 9:35 AM by Amber NelsonU.S. consumers did a better job of keeping up with their loans at the end of last year, according to the American Bankers Association, signaling that the economic future looks brighter than the near past. During the fourth quarter of 2012, delinquencies – payments that are 30 days late or more – fell in many of the categories the ABA tracks. Bank card delinquencies, for example, dropped to an 18-year low, sinking to 2.47 percent of all accounts from 2.75 percent from the previous year. The historical average is 3.87 percent. “Consumers continue to carefully manage their finances in an... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.
Auto Sales Rise Aided By Low Interest Rates and Looser Credit
Apr 3rd, 2013 @ 2:58 PM by Amber NelsonU.S. sales of new cars jumped in March as auto lenders lowered their interest rates and loosened their loan credit standards. Total new vehicle sales rose 3.4 percent compared to the previous year to 1.5 million last month, according to Autodata. They hit an annualized pace of 15.3 million, up from 14.1 million in March 2012. “The industry is being fueled by cars, credit and confidence,” says Bob Carter, a Toyota senior vice president in a USAToday article. “People are back in the mood to buy a car.” That statement is backed up by the latest data from Experian Automotive,... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.
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Big Banks Raise Small Business Lending to Two-Year High
Mar 27th, 2013 @ 8:27 PM by Amber NelsonWhile credit restrictions still remain tight, the nation’s banks are starting to hand out small business loans more freely these days, according to business lending data company Biz2Credit. And big banks, in particular, have finally started to show more willingness to lend. The Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index, surveying 1,000 loan applications each month, increased in February. For big banks, those with more than $10 billion in assets, their rate of small business loan application approval rose to 15.9 percent, up from 15.3 percent in January and 11.7 percent from the previous year. That is the highest percentage in over... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.
February Credit Card Delinquencies Fall to New Record Low
Mar 20th, 2013 @ 10:09 AM by Amber NelsonAmerican consumers shaped up on their credit card payments in February, according to new data from Fitch Ratings Agency, bringing delinquencies to their lowest point on record. Fitch’s index measuring credit card accounts that were late by 60 or more days fell to 1.61 percent, the lowest since the beginning of the prime index in 1991. In its press release, Fitch says that delinquencies are now 65 percent below their peak in 2009 in the midst of the Great Recession. Charge-offs – balances that credit card companies write-off because they are so delinquent they don’t expect borrowers to repay them... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.
- Posted in Credit Card Debt, Other Loans
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Foreclosure Repossessions Fall to Five-Year Low
Mar 13th, 2013 @ 8:58 PM by Amber NelsonThe number of U.S. homes repossessed by lenders in February fell to the lowest level since 2007, according to a new report from foreclosure data company RealtyTrac, even as the number of homes entering the foreclosure process increased. The report showed that 45,038 homes were repossessed in February, down 11 percent from January and down 29 percent from one year earlier. Monthly completed foreclosures are now less than half of their recession peak of 102,000 homes in March 2010. (To put things in perspective though, the current pace is still more than double the normal historical average of 20,000 a... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.
Sequester Reduces Student Loan Aid Programs
Mar 6th, 2013 @ 1:20 PM by Amber NelsonAs the federal government’s budget sequester took effect on March 1, students across the country may have to beef up on more loans in order to pay for their schooling. Several college financial aid programs have been significantly reduced in the budget cuts. Two of the largest reductions will hit the Federal Work-Study (FWS) and the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs with cuts of $49 million and $37 million, respectively. In terms of what this will mean for students, a Reuters article cited the following example: The University of California, Davis, is expecting at least $180,000 in cuts to... more »
Amber Nelson is a seasoned mortgage industry writer and a regular contributor to Loan.com and Mortgage101.com.