Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for February, 2015

U.S. Auto Loan Balance Reaches All-time High

Americans collectively owe more on new and used car loans now than ever before, according to the latest report from Experian Automotive, but delinquencies have remained low as consumers have managed their payments well. The Experian State of the Automotive Finance Market report found that the total auto loan balance for new and used vehicles […]

Rising Student Loan Debt Keeps Recovery in Slow Motion

Although Americans are managing almost all other debt better these days, student loan debt is a major exception, according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. During the last quarter of 2014, 11.3 percent of student loans were delinquent, up from 11.1 percent the previous quarter. At the same time, […]

2014 Mortgage Foreclosures Sunk 15%

Completed foreclosures on U.S. properties fell 14.9 percent in the 12 months ended December 2014, according to foreclosure data firm CoreLogic, dropping to 563,294 foreclosures, hitting the lowest point since December 2007. For just the month of December, there were 39,000 completed foreclosure, down 13.7 percent from December 2013’s 46,000 foreclosures. That’s is also down […]

Small Businesses Ramped Up Borrowing in December

U.S. small businesses borrowed more from lenders in December, according to data from business credit information firm PayNet, a result of the improving economy at home and the dramatic drop in oil prices. The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index rose 10 percent in December 2014 to a reading of 129.8, from 117.6 in November. […]