Analytics

During the second quarter ended June 30, the ratio of bankcard borrowers 90 days or more delinquent on one or more of their credit cards was 0.92%, down 19 basis points from 1.11% the previous quarter and down 25 basis points from 1.17% in the second quarter of 2009, according to TransUnion.

Average credit card charge-offs in July declined sharply, falling below 10% of outstanding receivables for the first time since April 2009, Moody’s Investors Service announced Aug. 25.

Tight supply has sent prices for the freshest portfolios of charged-off consumer debts soaring in recent weeks to as much as 12 cents on the dollar.

The week after Wells Fargo & Co. announced the closing of its storefront subprime lending unit, Citigroup Inc.'s chief executive delivered an impassioned defense of keeping alive his similar operation, CitiFinancial.

The credit outlook at the top six card issuers is getting brighter, with both chargeoffs and delinquencies falling again in July.

Fannie Mae has announced that lenders selling the company mortgages are not required to run a second credit report before a borrower closes a home loan application.

The percentage of U.S. homeowners with so-called "underwater mortgages" dropped in the second quarter as more homes entered the foreclosure process - even as price declined slowed, according to Zillow.com, a real estate Web site.

U.S. credit card borrowers shed $4.5 billion in debt in June, continuing the pattern of reducing overall outstanding receivables that began in the fall of 2008, according to a Federal Reserve G.19 report on consumer credit released Friday.

U.S. credit card borrowers shed $4.5 billion in debt in June, continuing the pattern of reducing overall outstanding receivables that began in the fall of 2008, according to a Federal Reserve G.19 report on consumer credit released Aug. 6.

Asta Funding Inc., a publicly owned debt buyer, reported net income of $3.1 million for its third quarter ended June 30 as compared to net income of $1.5 million for the year-ago period. Revenues for Q3 were $12.1 million as compared to $17.2 million in the year-ago period.

Owners Resource Group, a private equity firm in Austin, Texas, acquired Gila Corp., a large municipal and government debt collector through its Municipal Services Bureau arm, according to a press release.

Experian's latest monthly Business Benchmark Report shows that businesses of all sizes were relatively stable in the first half of 2010, with only slight variations in the average percentage of dollars delinquent and percentage of dollars severely delinquent.

U.S. consumer credit charge-off rates continued declining in June, continuing a trend underscoring the improving health of card issuers’ portfolios.

Despite rising concern in some sectors about a second economic downturn taking hold this year, it is unlikely that a so-called “double-dip recession” would cause credit card charge-off rates to spike again, Moody’s Investors Service notes in a July 26 report.

There are no sure bets. Global regulators' wager that higher risk-based capital requirements will make the banking system safer is no exception.

Banks are looking for more data to help them make lending decisions, beyond the simple matter of whether prospective borrowers pay their bills on time.

Editor's Note: The following is a news release provided by the National Consumer Law Center. A link to the full report "The Debt Machine: How the Collection Industry Hounds Consumers and Overwhelms Courts," is included. Collections & Credit Risk is interested in hearing feedback from the collection and debt-buying industries. Contact Darren Waggoner at 815.463.9008 or write to darren.waggoner@sourcemedia.com. Please note if you do not want your comments published.

A Federal Trade Commission report concludes that the system for resolving consumer collection disputes is broken, and recommends litigation and arbitration reforms to improve efficiency and fairness to consumers.

U.S. consumer confidence declined in June as uncertainty about the economy increased, according to survey data Discover Financial Services released last week.

U.S. consumer confidence declined in June as uncertainty about the economy increased, according to survey data Discover Financial Services released July 7.