Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for August, 2011

Consumers Make Progress With Timely Credit Card Payments

In the latest quarter, consumers stayed current on their credit card payments at an impressive rate, according to data from credit reporting bureau TransUnion. Of all credit card accounts during the second quarter of 2011, only 0.6 percent were delinquent by 90 days or more, representing the lowest rate in 17 years. This number is down 19 percent from the first quarter this year and down 35 percent from the same period of 2010. A major reason for the falling rate is simply that Americans are shedding their credit card debts. The New York Federal Reserve Bank said recently that... more »

Consumers Continue to Keep Up With Car Loans

Here’s a little good news in a dour financial market: Americans are doing better and better at making their car payments on time. A new survey from credit reporting agency TransUnion says that the percentage of borrowers who were 60 days late or more on their auto loans fell during the second quarter of this year for the seventh quarter in a row. During the period of April to June, only 0.44 percent of all all auto loans were delinquent by 60 days or more, down from 0.53 percent during the same time last year. “The numbers indicate that consumers... more »

Lenders Struggle with Mortgage Refinancing Boom

Mortgage rates have reached historically low levels, with the average 30 year fixed loan interest rate coming in at 4.15% – and has resulted in large volumes of homeowners looking to refinance their mortgages to secure a lower interest rate. Lenders are struggling to keep up with the number of refinance applications coming in. The Mortgage Bankers Association shows the number of mortgage refinance applications have increased 83% since February. Some lenders are holding their mortgage rates higher than the average simply to slow down the number of people applying for mortgage refinances. During the housing market bust, many lenders... more »

Lending Standards Eased Slightly Again in Latest Quarter

Banks loosened their lending standards on several types of loans during the past three months, according to the Federal Reserve’s survey of senior loan officers . Those finding the easiest access to loan capital are large and medium-sized businesses, as well as car buyers. In the survey, which polled 55 domestic and 22 foreign banks, 21.8 percent of all banks said that they eased their lending standards for large companies in the third quarter from the second. And 20 percent said they had made it easier for auto loan applicants to get approved. “In spite of the equity market volatility,... more »

Business Lending Standards Ease In Second Quarter

A recent Federal Reserve survey shows that lending for some businesses throughout the country got easier during the second quarter. In a time when lending has been difficult to come by for many businesses seeking credit this is good news. The survey which was conducted by the Federal Reserve received responses from 55 domestic banks during the time frame of July 12th through July 26th. Of the banks surveyed 20% of them confirmed that they had eased lending standards to large and middle size businesses mainly for those that had applied for industrial and commercial loans. The same survey also... more »

Refinances Fuel Spike in Mortgage Activity

Even as more bad news on the economy came pouring in, mortgage loan applications continued to grow in number. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, its market composite index, its measure of total loan application volume, increased 21.7 percent during the week ended August 10, from the previous week. Broken down into parts, a 30.4 percent increase in refinance loan applications was off-set slightly by a 0.9 percent decline in home purchase applications. “Amid substantial market turmoil last week, mortgage rates dropped to their lowest levels of the year, and refinance applications jumped more than 30% to their highest levels... more »

What S&P’s Downgrade of America’s Credit Means for College Students

The news these days are mired with stories about the debt ceiling and politics, but these events may mean very little to the average college student. But the consequences of the political and economic atmosphere will have very dire effects, and it will hit college students close to campus.   It starts with Standard and Poor’s reassessment of America’s credit rating, dropping it from a AAA rating to a AA+. S&P justified their decision to downgrade with a statement they released, stating:   The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the administration recently agreed... more »

Debt Deal Cuts Student Savings

If the current debt ceiling deal is passed by Congress on Monday as scheduled, graduate students around the country will soon be faced with pricier college loans. In an attempt to safeguard Pell grants for low-income undergraduate students, the proposed legislation would eliminate a popular interest-subsidy loan for graduate and professional students. At the present, the government pays the interest on these loans while students are in school and for six months thereafter. If the law is approved, as of July 1, 2012, graduate and professional students will be responsible for all of that interest. Neither the accrued interest or... more »