Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for June, 2011

Kiva Launches MicroLending For U.S. Small Businesses

Kiva.org, an online microlending company has partnered with Visa Inc. and former president Bill Clinton to implement its international lending model to help U.S. small business owners. Kiva began in 2005 and has helped small-time entrepreneurs get funding for their businesses by connecting them with lenders who pool their resources for the loans, sometimes contributing […]

Small Business Borrowing Moves Upward In May

A sign that the US economy might see some improvements in the coming months, US small business borrowing moved upward during the month of May. Compared to a year ago, lending took a surge to the highest level small business lending has seen since July of 2008. According to an article on Reuters: The Thomson […]

Credit Card Late Payments Hit Pre-Recesion Lows

The Associated Press reported last week that late payments and defaults on credit cards are falling to lows not seen since the beginning of the economic meltdown. For accounts behind 30 days or more, American Express posted an annualized late payment rate of 1.6 percent of all its balances in May, which is a vast […]

Mortgage Fraud Rises During First Quarter

According to a new report releases by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) during the first quarter this year reports of mortgage fraud rose sharply, up a total of 31%. During the first three months of the year there were 25,485 new cases reported where last year during the same time period the number was […]

Fannie Mae Offers Incentives to Buy Foreclosed Homes

In an attempt to knock down its rising stockpile of foreclosed properties, mortgage finance company Fannie Mae is now offering incentives to both buyers and real estate agents who take these homes off the market. For eligible properties, the government-run entity will give homebuyers up to 3.5 percent of the purchase price for closing costs, […]

Relief May Be In Site For Some Student Loan Holders

An article on USNews.com reports that there are new bills in front of both the congress and the Senate that could relieve the burden of student loans for some borrowers. The two bills would allow for private or commercial student loans to be forgiven in cases of bankruptcy. College students today are faced with high […]

New For-Profit College Rules – Are They Enough?

New rules proposed last week by the Obama Administration are designed to protect students and federal dollars from abuse at for-profit colleges. Data uncovered in the past several years has shown that students attending for-profit colleges have the highest post-graduation default rates of any higher education group. According to Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), students at […]

Second Mortgage Holders Much More Likely To Have Underwater Mortgages

According to an article on the Wall Street Journal website, a recent study released by the real estate data firm CoreLogic Inc. shows that if you have a second mortgage on your home, you are much more likely to be an underwater borrower. Nearly 40% of all underwater mortgaged homes are those that carry more […]

Small Business Lending Surges in April

The latest survey from PayNet Inc shows that small business loans increased significantly in April over the past year, a hopeful sign for the economy in an otherwise dismal news week. The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, a measure of total loan volume to small businesses, jumped up 17 percent compared with April 2010, […]