Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for the ‘Other’ Category

Mortgage Applications Stall as Rates Increase

Long-term U.S. mortgage interest rates rose in the latest week, according to data from Freddie Mac, without having much effect on home loan application volume. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.75% with 0.6 point, up from 3.73% the week before. One year ago, the average rate was much higher at […]

Big Banks Approve Small Business Loans in Record Numbers

March was a good month for getting a small business loan approved, according to data from Biz2Credit. The number of applications approved by big U.S. banks rose one-tenth of a percent to 27.3%, the highest percentage on record. “Approvals by big banks continue to climb,” said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora. “With strong financials from 2018, […]

Long-term Student Loan Defaults Reach 40%

U.S. borrowers who have had student loan debt for 15 to 20 years are defaulting at rates much higher than previously thought, according to a recent report, a sign that current college students may default on their loans at even more outrageously high rates. A report from the Brookings Institute, released earlier this month, studied loan […]

American Credit Card Debt Tops New High

U.S. consumers pushed their credit card debt to a new record high in November, according to a survey from the Federal Reserve , and yet credit card delinquency rates remain near historic lows. The Fed reported that outstanding revolving debt – made up mostly by credit card borrowing – rose to $1.023 trillion in November, […]

Subprime Borrowers Find More Access to Credit

Consumers with less than stellar credit are now having an easier time acquiring things like credit cards and auto loans, according to a new report from credit reporting agency Equifax, as lenders turn up their credit spigots in hopes of increasing market share. The report found that banks increased their credit card lending to subprime […]

White House Set To Review Energy Department Loans

The White House is being criticized over an Energy Department loan made for over a half million dollars to Solyndra, Inc, a company that has now filed for bankruptcy. According to a Washington Post article the White House will be conducting an independent review of other loans made to companies similar to Solyndra in hopes […]

Will We See Higher Interest Rates This Year?

The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee April 26 – 27 meeting were released today, revealing that Federal Reserve officials have started talking about an exit policy for its aggressive market support measures. That means interest rates are bound to rise, but how soon can we expect a jump in rates? “While the Fed […]

Chrysler to Repay Government Loans in Full

Chrysler, the auto dealer many thought might not make it out of the recession, seems to finally be standing on near solid ground. During the first quarter of this year, Chrysler finally saw the first quarterly profit since 2006. Chrysler is the last of the three big auto makers to reach the profit margin. During […]

New Debit Card Fee Regulations Spur Lawsuit

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the Fed’s Board of Governors are being sued over new debit card fee regulations passed by Congress. TCF National Bank, backed in Minnesota, filed the suit claiming the rules, which limit the amount of money banks can charge for card transactions, are unconstitutional. “The purpose of sound regulation is […]

Home Prices near You: Are They Rising or Falling?

Home prices in most of the United States have declined steeply over the past few years, with an estimated loss of $6 trillion. However, it’s not doom and gloom everywhere. In some parts of the country, median home prices have actually increased. So where have home prices improved? Our friends at Quicken Loans put together […]