Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for December, 2014

Student Loan Debt Holding Back Entrepreneurship

Rising student loan debt is affecting small business decisions among the nation’s younger population, according to data released last month by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Young entrepreneurs with student debt are less likely to start their own businesses, take out small business loans or even work in the field of their […]

TransUnion Forecasts Higher Auto Loan Balances, Delinquencies in 2015

Next year will be another good year for auto lending, according to predictions from credit agency TransUnion, with consumers borrowing more as the employment rate improves. TransUnion forecasts that the average auto debt per customer in the 2014 fourth quarter will pan out to be $17,480. If auto debt reaches that mark it will be […]

Big Banks Approving More Small Business Loans

Small business owners found more success getting loans from the nation’s big banks in November than the previous month, according to new data from Biz2Credit, but small banks and alternative lenders actually approved fewer loan applications. The November 2014 Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index found that big banks approved 20.8 percent of all small business […]

New Fannie, Freddie Rules Should Speed Housing Recovery

It should be easier to get a home mortgage loan going forward now that mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have clarified their rules for lenders. After the mortgage meltdown several years ago, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act that included ambiguously worded regulations that made mortgage lenders pull back on loan originations. Specifically, that […]

More Borrowers Enter the Credit Card Market As Delinquencies Remain Stable

New credit card customers are to thank for a large jump in outstanding credit card balances in the third quarter, according to the latest report from TransUnion, a sign that the economy is picking up greater momentum. Total outstanding credit card balances rose 4.3 percent in the third quarter from than same period in 2013 […]