Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for February, 2011

Auto Loan Delinquencies Should Stabilize Sometime This Year

Automakers are finally getting some good news. First, auto sales are on the rise. Last month all of the major automakers posted double digit sales. Leading the way was General Motors with a 49% sales increase, followed closely by Toyota who saw a 42% increase. The second piece of good news is that defaulting auto […]

Controversial Car-Title Lending Bill Moves Forward in VA

The Virginia House passed a bill Monday that has tweaked many noses, including those of neighboring states. The bill, which now must go back to the state Senate for a vote, would allow car-title lenders to make loans to out-of-state drivers. The problem is that many of the surrounding states have banned this type of […]

US Banks Could Soon Face Sanctions for Foreclosure Violations

Last fall federal investigators began looking at 14 of the largest banks in the US, including Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan and more. Allegations had been made that the banks had wrongfully foreclosed on homes across the country. As a result Attorney Generals in all 50 states and the Federal Government began […]

Study: New Laws Have Not Diminished Credit Availability

New regulations put in place for credit card companies last year are having a positive impact on consumers, according to a study from research group Center for Responsible Lending, and at the same time credit available has not shrunk as previously feared. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) act passed in 2009 was […]

UPS Store Now Offering $22.5 Million in Franchise Loans

United Parcel Service’s UPS Store, which is the largest retail shipping outlet in the world, just announced that it is making funds totaling $22.5 million available for franchising UPS stores. Both new franchise loans as well as loans for new buyers of current locations will be offered. The business loans will be arranged by Bancorp […]

Demand Falls as Mortgage Rates Jump

Mortgage interest rates jumped up this week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association , and as a result home loan applications took a dive, a sign that the housing market is not reviving on pace with the rest of the economy. The MBA reported that the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage broke […]

Student Loan Default Rate Rises Even More

Earlier this month new data releases by the Department of Education revealed that the default for student loans has gone up. For those students who started repayment on their loans in 2008, defaults were up to 13.8% compared to 11.8% of years prior. The percentage shows those students who defaulted on their loan during the […]

Consumer Group Calls for More For-Profit College Regulation

For-profit colleges received another poor review for their student loan practices in a recent study from the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project. The report titled “Piling It On: The Growth of Proprietary School Loans and the Consequences for Students” dings for-profit schools for creating private student loans with high fees and […]

Banks Start to Ease Lending Standards for Large Corporations: What about Small Businesses?

Banks are finally starting to ease lending standards at least for large corporate clients, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve. According to the survey, banks have felt an increase in competition over the last few months and as a result they are reacting and making some loans easier to get. While big […]