Analytics

Experian PLC this week unveiled an income model to help lenders comply with the new Federal Reserve Board rule clarifying elements of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act. The new rule requires issuers to consider only credit card applicants’ individual, not household, incomes (see story).

Discover Financial Services has benefited from making fewer bad loans, but much of its growth actually may come from products other than credit, according to executives at the company.

The average charge-off rate on U.S. consumer credit cards inched upward in February, ending a streak of five consecutive months of declines. But the uptick is the result of “seasonal patterns” and is unlikely to affect the general trend of improving card-portfolio health, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The average charge-off rate on U.S. consumer credit cards inched upward in February, ending a streak of five consecutive months of declines. But the uptick is the result of “seasonal patterns” and is unlikely to affect the general trend of improving card-portfolio health, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

FreeScore LLC now offers an iPhone app that consumers can use to receive their credit scores and calculate mortgage rates.

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger's office announced an agreement Thursday that shuts down Eugene, Ore.-based law firm McGavic & Finney PC, which was the subject of dozens of complaints about its collection practices. In addition to closing down the firm, the settlement requires founding partner Derrick E. McGavic to pay $70,000 and surrender his license to practice law.

American Express Co. cardholders borrowed less on using their cards in February compared with the two previous months, AmEx reported in a March 15 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Younger credit cardholders are more likely than the general population to apply for a new card in the next year, new survey data from Auriemma Consulting Group suggest.

The number of personal bankruptcy filings in February rose to 102,686, up 11% from January but down 8% from a year earlier, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Bankruptcy Research Center.

U.S. consumer credit card defaults declined again in January, reaching their lowest levels in more than two years as the economy gradually stabilized and more consumers were able to meet their payment obligations, according to new data from Fitch Ratings Inc. and Standard & Poor’s.

For the 11th consecutive year, identity theft topped the Federal Trade Commission’s annual list of consumer complaints. Credit cards ranked 10th in 2010, according to the FTC, which released the list March 8.

Consumers shed $4.2 billion in credit card debt in January, erasing the previous month’s uptick that likely was caused by relatively robust holiday credit card spending, according to data the Federal Reserve Board released March 7.

Consumers shed $4.2 billion in credit card debt in January, erasing the previous month’s uptick that likely was caused by relatively robust holiday credit card spending, according to data the Federal Reserve Board released Monday.

The number of personal bankruptcy filings rose 11% to 102,686 in February compared to a month earlier, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Bankruptcy Research Center, but so far the rise has slowed from 2010.

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., which buys defaulted consumer debt from credit card issuers and other lenders, on March 3 reported total revenue of $47.5 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, up 154% from $18.7 million a year earlier. The company’s net loss dropped 65.3%, to 7 million from $20.2 million.

It's a bit of news some might describe as too good to be true. A Javelin Strategy & Research survey of consumers found that the number of identity fraud victims fell 28% last year from about 11 million to eight million and total annual fraud decreased 34% from $56 billion to $37 billion.

With fewer credit cards in their wallets after the recession, U.S. consumers are tapping more of the total credit lines available on the cards they do have while racking up less overall debt than they were a year ago, according to data Experian released March 2.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve are reviewing proposed amendments to the Risk-Based Pricing Rule requiring creditors, as of July 21, 2011, to disclose credit score information to consumers when a score is used in setting or adjusting credit terms.

Small-business owners complain that it's tougher to get loans from banks these days. But now, thanks to a new Small Business Administration program, some won't need banks at all. They will be able to get government-guaranteed loans directly from nonprofits that specialize in economic development.

Following a recent report on Missouri's "top scams" by the state's Attorney General Chris Koster, the Missouri Collectors Association issued a statement to clarify that debt collection is a legitimate, legal activity governed by federal and Missouri law.