Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for May, 2016

Younger Buyers Return to the Auto Loan Market

Although the Great Recession may have kept many Millennials from buying cars for several years, today those younger consumers are returning to the auto loan market in ever-increasing numbers, according to data from LendingTree. During the past year, 34 percent of all auto loan requests have come from Millennials – those aged 18 to 34 […]

New Mortgage Documents Get Borrowers’ Attention

A pair of new federally mandated mortgage loan disclosures are having the intended effects – getting borrowers to review their loan terms before closing, according to a new industry survey. As of last October, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau required mortgage lenders to discard the old HUD-1 mortgage disclosure document and instead provide borrowers with […]

Google Puts the Kibosh on PayDay Loan Ads

Google has decided to ban advertisements for payday loans on its search engine pages in an effort to protect its consumers, according to recent statements. Payday loans, as defined by Google, are loans with an APR of 36 percent or higher and are due within 60 days of issuance. Google’s users will still be able […]

Banks Expect To Tighten Business Lending Standards in 2016

A significant share of bankers expect to require higher standards on business loans during the rest of 2016, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve, a sign that the overall economy could slow in coming months. In the April 2016 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, the Fed reported that […]