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☆ It’s becoming harder to get — and keep — a car
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Cook did the math, made a pros and cons list, and bought a new car. Courtesy Greg CookHis car — the monthly payment, the fast-rising insurance, fuel and maintenance costs — takes up a 30% share of his monthly budget. And buying a car is no cakewalk either: Credit is increasingly harder to come by and rejection rates are spiking. Instead, consumers have been presented with a higher bar, including requirements for a heftier down payment and a higher credit score, he said. More restrictive lending typically equates to approval rates going down and rejection rates rising.

Persons: Greg Cook’s, he’d, I’ve, ”, Cook, Greg Cook, “, Jeremy Robb, “ Everyone’s, Robb, David Paul Morris, they’re, repossessions Organizations: CNN, Cox Automotive, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Federal, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: Oregon, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Richmond , California

☆ Fifth Third bank hit must pay penalties for repossessing cars and forcing auto insurance on customers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The CFPB said it was imposing penalties on the bank for illegally charging customers for unnecessary auto insurance policies. “Fifth Third Bank demanded borrowers pay for coverage they did not need or else face delinquency, additional fees and repossessions,” the agency said in a statement. For its illegal auto insurance activities, the bank must pay $5 million in redress to affected customers, the CFPB said. In 2015, the bank was ordered to pay $18 million to harmed Black and Hispanic borrowers in what CFPB charged was discriminatory auto loan pricing. And it was ordered to pay $3 million to harmed consumers and a $500,000 penalty for illegal credit card practices.

Persons: ”, Rohit Chopra, CFPB, incentivize, ” CFPB, Susan Zaunbrecher Organizations: New, New York CNN — Fifth Third Bank, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Third Bank, Bank, Fifth Locations: New York, Cincinnati , Ohio, Midwest

☆ A key indicator shows Americans' financial stress is mounting
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

LegalShield's Consumer Stress Legal Index showed consumer financial stress is continuing to rise. LegalShield on Tuesday said its Consumer Stress Legal Index rose to 66.7 in December, up by 0.4 points from the prior month, showing that US consumers' financial stress is at its highest level since November 2020. AdvertisementUS consumer financial stress has soared to its highest in three years. "The rise in consumer stress in contrast to increased spending may point to an even sharper rise in household debt in the coming months." The increase in consumers' financial stress comes even as GDP growth has stayed strong, the labor market remains robust, and holiday retail spending was high.

Persons: —, Matt Layton Organizations: Service, National Association of Business Economics, Federal Reserve Bank of New Locations: Federal Reserve Bank of New York

☆ Government’s NatWest meddling crosses risky line
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Meddling ministers crossed a line, and may struggle to retreat back onto the right side of it. Its shares fell a modest 3% on Wednesday morning – compared with 1% on average for Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), Barclays (BARC.L) and Virgin Money UK (VMUK.L). Rose’s strategy of cutting costs, continuing to scale back risky trading and focusing on core UK retail banking was working. Britain’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith said on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, that “it is right that the NatWest CEO has resigned”. Domestic rivals Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Virgin Money UK were down 2% on average.

Persons: Alison Rose, Rose, Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Nigel Farage, Andrew Griffith, Coutts, aren’t, Nigel Farage's, Paul Thwaite, George Hay, Pranav Kiran, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Economic, NatWest, BBC, Royal Bank of Scotland’s, UK Government Investments, . Mortgage, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, Virgin Money, Lloyds, Domestic, Thomson Locations: NatWest’s

☆ Junk fees, medical debt and artificial intelligence: CFPB chief lays out regulatory agenda
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Medical debtChopra said that tens of millions of Americans are battling medical debt. The crisis is compounded by debt collectors that add medical debt to credit reports as a means of coercion. The agency's crackdown on junk fees has prompted some policy changes at big banks, he added. "Many of them are getting rid of their reliance on junk fees and making their fees much more reasonable," Chopra said. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., has said the CFPB has "no authority" on the issue because junk fees is not a legal term.

Persons: Rohit Chopra, Tom Williams, Andy Barr, Chopra, servicers, We're, Experian, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Luetkemeyer Organizations: Consumer Financial Protection, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Cq, Inc, Getty, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Federal Reserve, Governors, CNBC, Education Department, U.S, Kaiser Family Foundation, Bank of America, Biden, GOP, Rep, Financial Services Locations: Ky

☆ Home foreclosures jumped 13% in the first half of 2023 to the highest level since before the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Foreclosures jumped 13% year-over-year in the first half of 2023, real estate data firm ATTOM reported. However, foreclosure activity in the second quarter was still 65% below pre-recessionary averages. This is the highest January-to-June foreclosure activity since 2019, outpacing the 165,530 filings that occurred in the first half of 2020, when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. "Although overall foreclosure activity remains below historical norms, the notable surge in foreclosure starts indicates that we may continue to see a rise in foreclosure activity in the coming years," ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in the recent report. According to ATTOM, foreclosure activity in the second quarter was 65% below the 278,912 averages of the pre-recessionary years.

Persons: Rob Barber Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, repossessions

WHY HAVE UK MORTGAGE RATES SOARED? There are two main types of mortgage rate - variable and fixed. Fixed rate mortgages lock in a particular interest rate upfront, usually for a period of two to five years. Banks say they have to reflect these market moves to avoid pricing mortgages at a loss. Critics say banks could do much more, particularly as they have passed rate rises through to savers much more slowly than mortgage rates have risen.

Persons: BoE, Banks, Nicholas Mendes, John Charcol, Mendes, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Roger Gewolb, Sinead Cruise, Iain Withers, Catherine Evans Organizations: Soaring, Bank of, WHO, Finance, ASK, Labour, Fair Finance, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Britain, Bank of England, States

☆ Bank of England hikes interest rates to 5%, stoking fears of a ‘mortgage bomb’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —The Bank of England raised interest rates by half a percentage point Thursday, after data this week revealed surprisingly stubborn inflation. Many mortgage holders due to refinance their loans this year and next bought their homes when interest rates were much lower and mortgage rates were closer to 1% or 2%. Capital Economics is forecasting a 12% decline in house prices between their August 2022 peak and 2024. If interest rates must stay higher for longer to tame inflation, house prices could fall more sharply. “If mortgage rates were to stay at 6% for several years, a house price fall of 25% would be likely,” Wishart said.

Persons: we’ve, Andrew Bailey, ”, Jake Berry, Rishi Sunak, ” Simon Pittaway, Tom Bill, Knight Frank, Bill, Banks, ” Bill, “, There’s, Andrew Wishart, ” Wishart Organizations: London CNN —, Bank of England, ” Bank of England, ” Financial, “, Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK Finance, CNN, Savings, Capital Economics Locations: United Kingdom, United States, Europe, —

☆ UK has little wiggle room on mortgage aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, June 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to provide relief for mortgage borrowers buckling under soaring interest rates. The problem is that mortgage relief dilutes the Bank of England’s fight against inflation, which remained stubbornly high at 8.7% in May. The UK government is to meet mortgage lenders to discuss helping households struggling with their home loans, finance minister Jeremy Hunt told parliament on June 20. However, Hunt ruled out introducing state-backed support to help mortgage borrowers facing higher costs due to soaring interest rates. Hunt said that offering government mortgage relief would be inflationary.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, –, Jeremy Hunt, BoE, Hunt, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, UK Finance, Conservatives, Labour Party, Bank of England’s, Conservative Party, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Spain, Poland

☆ A budget Canadian airline had 4 of its planes repossessed. Its CEO is blaming a conspiracy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Bianca Giacobone | Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In March, lessor Airborne confiscated four of Flair Airlines' planes because of late payments. A low-cost Canadian upstart airline had four of its planes repossessed by New York-based aircraft lessor Airborne Capital on March 11, forcing the carrier to cancel multiple flights and leaving a trail of disgruntled passengers behind. Flair Airlines CEO Stephen Jones blamed "behind the scenes" scheming between the airline's competitors and Airborne Capital for the repossession of four of Flair's Boeing 737 planes. It's not the first time Flair has clashed with other Canadian airlines. US investment firm 777 Partners owns a 25% stake in Flair Airlines, which was cause for concern for the CTA.

Persons: Stephen Jones, Flair, We've, Jones, — Flair, It's, —, Tim Donovan, Donovan, Prince Edward Island Organizations: Airborne, Flair Airlines, Flair, Morning, Capital, Airborne Capital, Boeing, The Canadian Press, Air Canada, BOC Aviation, Financial, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, National Airlines Council of Canada, Canadian Transportation Agency, Partners, CTA, National Airlines Council, Easter, Airways Magazine, Bonza Airlines, Dominican Republic Locations: New York, North America, Canada, Titusville , New Brunswick, Toronto, Saint John , New Brunswick, Charlottetown, Ottawa, Montreal, Florida, Dominican

"My belief is that we don't get inflation down to 2% without a recession," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. As the economy fluctuates, experts say there are several key risk areas that consumers may want to keep an eye on. That still leaves about 1.6 open jobs to every available worker, which is "very good," according to Andy Challenger, senior vice president at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Pricey car loan 'quickly becomes untenable'Auto loan delinquencies are already rising, particularly for borrowers with weaker credit profiles, McBride noted. In 2022, consumers paid $133.1 billion in credit card interest and fees, a 23.1% increase from the estimated $108.1 billion they paid in 2021.

☆ Wall Street warns the banking turmoil is coming for the commercial real estate sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

JPMorgan Asset Management's Jonathan Liang said Wednesday on Bloomberg that smaller banks now face an increased risk of credit losses because of their heightened exposure to the commercial real estate debt. And Goldman Sachs' global head of real estate client solutions, Jeffery Fine, recently said the commercial real estate market is in the middle of a "perfect storm" of higher rates, tight credit, and fast-maturing debt. The Goldman strategist said securing commercial real estate loans now is "almost impossible" since financing has just about shut down. What's your outlook for the commercial real estate sector in the next 6 months? This real estate investor commands a 311-unit portfolio.

☆ There's no such thing as a dumb question ... unless you're interviewing someone for a job
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hiring is never easy, but it's particularly difficult on Wall Street. Emmalyse's story is worth a read not only for Smart's advice but his candidness, a dying trait on Wall Street. These cloud tools are proving to be game changers. Fidelity and State Street are rolling out annuity options within their 401(k) products, The Wall Street Journal reports. As the weather starts to warm up, plenty of people are making the switch to iced coffee.

☆ US foreclosure filings jump 22%, and repossessions hit highest level in 3 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Foreclosure filings climbed 22% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, analytics firm ATTOM said. Foreclosure activity has increased for 23 consecutive months after a federal moratorium was lifted. Foreclosure activity has increased for 23 consecutive months after a federal moratorium was lifted, reaching 95,712 filings last quarter. Now Illinois, Delaware and New Jersey are undergoing the highest foreclosure rates, ATTOM said. But while foreclosure rates are on a continued uptick, they are still significantly below historic levels.

☆ Cramer: Here's why I plan to trim some stocks at this stage of the bull market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

Back when bulls were everywhere From the time the great bull market began in 1982 until the financial collapse of 2007, we pretty much assumed stocks would always go higher. We often forget what the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009 was all about. A runaway bull market in all but banks — which are actually fueling the rally with their own ineptitude. My closing take, though, is that we have at last shaken off the ghosts of the Great Recession. But accept we are in a bull market and recognize that those who don't know it yet never will.

☆ Home prices could drop 10% 'in many places' this year, said a 50-year real-estate veteran who's witnessed many booms and busts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

One real-estate veteran sees the housing market cooling down further after a multiyear bull run. As prices fall, he added, there will also likely be a mass exodus of real-estate agents. For instance, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Phoenix have all seen their median home prices decline by 10% or higher since the housing market peaked last year. Liniger, who in 1973 established ReMax, which now has 140,000 real-estate agents in 110 countries, has witnessed numerous economic peaks and valleys over his 50-year career in real estate. Real-estate agents may flee the industryHowever, the housing bust of 2008 led to severe attrition of real-estate agents, and that exodus from the industry could be repeated this time around, Liniger said.

☆ Wells Fargo might owe you money—here's how to get it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

If you had a Wells Fargo account between 2011 and 2022, you might be one of the 16 million customers who qualify for damages, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As part of a $3.7 billion settlement, Wells Fargo has agreed to pay more than $2 billion directly to customers harmed by "illegal activity," ranging from incorrect overdraft fees to wrongful foreclosures, according to the CFPB. Wells Fargo customers who might be affected include those with car loans, mortgages or bank accounts. For bank account holders, some were incorrectly charged overdraft fees on debit and ATM withdrawals, as well as having money unfairly "frozen" if Wells Fargo suspected a single deposit was fraudulent. The total amount of damages owed to each affected customer will vary, according to numbers provided by the CFPB.

☆ Consumers kept the economy hot in 2022. Now they’re losing steam
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Consumers armed with plenty of pandemic-induced pent-up demand and bountiful financial buffers kept the economy churning throughout much of 2022. “But I think there are reasonable worries that may not last.”Consumer spending remained resilient throughout much of 2022. But the household savings rate now sits at 2.4%, the lowest level since 2005 and the second-lowest rate going back more than 60 years. As of September 30, credit card delinquencies remained near historic lows with a 2.07% rate, according to Federal Reserve data. Persistently high inflation has consumers leaning more on credit cards and other forms of financing.

☆ Wells Fargo ordered to pay $3.7 billion for ‘illegal activity’ including unjust foreclosures and vehicle repossessions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Federal regulators fined Wells Fargo $1.7 billion on Tuesday for “widespread mismanagement” over multiple years that harmed over 16 million consumer accounts. Chopra described Wells Fargo as a “repeat offender” and said Tuesday’s fine is just an “initial step” towards holding the bank accountable. That suggests Wells Fargo may not be out of the penalty box with regulators anytime soon. Those failures caused Wells Fargo to wrongfully repossess some borrowers’ vehicles, to improperly charge fees and interest and to fail to refund certain fees, regulators say. Regulators said Wells Fargo has also been ordered to pay almost $200 million in refunds to those harmed by the bank’s mortgage servicing accounts.

☆ Car repossessions are on the rise in warning sign for the economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Shannon-Pettypiece-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Shannon Pettypiece | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

WASHINGTON — A growing number of consumers are falling behind on their car payments, a trend financial analysts fear will continue, in a sign of the strain soaring car prices and prolonged inflation are having on household budgets. The percentage of auto loans that were 30 days delinquent was at 2.2% in the third quarter compared with 2.35% delinquent over the same period in 2019, according to data from Experian. By contrast, just over 4% of auto loans went into default in 2009. Another risk to car buyers’ finances is the growing length of auto loans, many of which now exceed seven years. It can also mean higher interest costs over the life of the loan on top of already inflated vehicle prices.

☆ Don't expect a wave of short sales and foreclosures during this housing downturn — homeowners have too much equity
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today's market has tighter lending standards, more assistance programs, and historic levels of homeowner equity compared to downturns of the past. "Historically, normal foreclosure activity means about a single percent of loans are in foreclosure," he told Insider. These initiatives paired with high levels of home equity — roughly $29 trillion as of the second-quarter of the year, according to the Federal Reserve — are likely to prevent an upcoming wave of short sales and foreclosures, Sharga suggests. The spike in foreclosure activity between 2021 and 2022 stems from the expiration of temporary financial safety nets enacted through the CARES Act. But even with this prospect, Sharga suggests that a substantial uptick in foreclosures or short sales is unlikely as many recent homebuyers have positive equity in their homes.

Charles Roe, director of mortgages for banking industry group UK Finance, told lawmakers that lenders were reintroducing mortgage products at lower prices. However, Ray Boulger, senior mortgage technical manager at broker John Charcol, said he was disappointed at the slow progress lenders were making. PRICE FALLS FORECASTAverage two-year and five-year fixed mortgage rates have fallen around 0.2 percentage points from their recent peak, but still remain above 6%, Moneyfacts data shows. "It was 2008 the last time mortgage rates were at 6%, there's a whole cadre of people who have never experienced this...and are very worried," said Joanna Elson, Chief Executive, The Money Advice Trust. The lender has started to reduce fixed mortgage rates for existing customers, while rates for new customers were under review, he added.

☆ India's Mahindra's lending arm sees vehicle recovery sliding 75% on RBI order
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People walk past a screen displaying Mahindra and Mahindra logo before the start of a news conference in Mumbai, India May 30, 2016. REUTERS/Danish SiddiquiBENGALURU, Sept 23 (Reuters) - India's Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services (MMFSL) (MMFS.NS) said on Friday its monthly vehicle recovery would temporarily fall by about 75%, a day after the country's central bank directed the company to stop using third-party services for repossessions. The company's shares tumbled as much as 10% to 201.35 rupees as of 0414 GMT, their biggest intra-day percentage slide in 17 months. The Reserve Bank of India late on Thursday directed the company to stop using third-party services for recoveries until further orders, citing "material supervisory concerns." The halt on vehicle recovery by the third-party agencies is not expected to have any material impact on its financials, the company said.

☆ Russian law creates new hurdle for foreign plane lessors
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Russian airlines have almost 780 leased jets, with 515 leased from abroad. Lawyers say a three-way legal battle between airlines, lessors and insurers could last for a decade. Major Russian airlines Aeroflot and S7 also declined comment. The Russian Federal Aviation Agency said 776 planes were registered abroad as of Feb. 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia's state aviation authority recommended last week that airlines with foreign-leased aircraft suspend flights abroad, making it harder for lessors to make repossessions.

You may be eligible for payment assistance toward your mortgage, car payment, credit card, personal loan, or private student loan. 34 banks helping customers impacted by the coronavirusAlly BankMortgagesYou can defer mortgage payments through Ally for up to 120 days. ChaseMortgagesChase is offering mortgage payment assistance. Car paymentsTo request payment assistance for a car loan or other type of consumer loan, visit Regions' loan assistance page or call 1 (866) 298-1113.Credit cardsTo request payment assistance for a credit card, visit Regions' loan assistance page or call 1 (866) 298-1113. Personal loansWebster is offering personal loan payment assistance on a case-by-case basis.

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