Analytics

A new customer segment – the “first-time defaulter” – has emerged in the past two years and is presenting challenges for banks, according to a survey examining the future of consumer lending conducted by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services.

Think Finance wanted to give underbanked consumers access to credit when they needed it and help them avoid a bad cycle of debt.

FICO announced on Wednesday the results of its quarterly survey of bank risk professionals indicate a credit gap that has hindered U.S. consumer spending is likely to continue well into 2011. Also, lenders are unlikely to meet the credit demands of small businesses in the near term.

U.S. consumers’ credit scores dipped slightly during the recession and the total number of credit card accounts per household declined, but average credit scores remain well within the prime range, according to new data from Experian PLC.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis received a $1.13 million grant from the Federal Trade Commission to examine the accuracy of information kept by the major U.S. credit reporting agencies.

Consumer confidence rose in November to its highest mark in five months, a sign that people are hopeful about improving labor market conditions, according to a report released today by The Conference Board, an industry group.

Visa Europe recently announced a partnership with the University College Dublin Centre for Cybercrime Investigation to help fight card-not-present fraud online, Visa Europe reported earlier this month.

U.S. consumer credit card charge-off and delinquency rates fell once again in October as recession-related credit card losses continued to abate, according to new data Moody’s Investors Service released Nov. 22.

With the U.S. unemployment rate stuck at 9.6%, and the economy growing at an anemic 2% annual rate in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Caine & Weiner, an international provider of accounts receivable management solutions, surveyed businesses in every major industry to determine the impact on cash flow.

With fewer borrowers delinquent on one or more accounts, U.S. consumers' credit risk level dropped in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 to a mark not seen since the first quarter of 2009, according to TransUnion's Credit Risk Index (CRI) released Wednesday.

Total U.S. bankruptcy filings rose 11% during the first nine months of this year compared with the same period a year ago. Data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts show there were 1,222,589 filings through September versus 1,100,035 in the first nine months of 2009.

VantageScore Solutions LLC in January will provide U.S. lenders with a major update of its credit-scoring model, this time using an unprecedented number of consumer credit files to more accurately reflect borrower risk following the economic downturn, the company recently announced.

U.S. consumers’ average credit scores stabilized in recent months, as credit card debt fell by 7% through the first 10 months of the year, according to data Credit Karma released Wednesday.

U.S. consumers’ average credit card debt fell by 7% through the first 10 months of the year, while average credit scores in recent months stabilized, according to new data Credit Karma released Nov. 10.

The total number of consumer statute lawsuits filed in the Oct. 16-31 period reached 503, a slight increase from 497 in the first half of October and bringing the month's total to 1,000, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

U.S. consumer borrowing rose in September by the largest amount in two years, thanks to a surge in non-revolving credit such as college loans and auto financing.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 9 will hear oral arguments in a case that may determine whether card issuers may handle customer disputes through arbitration or potentially more costly class-action lawsuits, industry experts say.

The average charge-off rate on U.S. consumer credit cards in September fell to an 18-month low after a hiccup in August caused a one-month rate increase, Fitch Ratings reported Nov. 2.

Fitch Ratings said U.S. credit card defaults slid in September to a two-and-a-half-year low, continuing a downward trend as the economy heals, according to Dow Jones.

Often pooled into a one-size-fits-all label, smaller merchants have diverse views and awareness of Payment Card Industry data-security standards, the results of a recent survey suggest.