Sara Lepro

Like the early-'90s floral dresses and flannel shirts that became fashionable again, two retro credit products — secured lines of credit and personal loans — staged a comeback in 2010.

Like the early-'90s floral dresses and flannel shirts that became fashionable again, two retro credit products — secured lines of credit and personal loans — staged a comeback in 2010.

To make its clients more viable prospects for lenders, Maxamum — for a $25 to $75 fee — reports their payment activity on recurring bills to MicroBilt's alternative credit bureau, PRBC.

Sunny forecast for San Diego housing market; white paper says conflicts of interest in servicing industry cause needless foreclosures; and more.

For lenders, a shortage of appraisers when the market rebounds would mean higher costs, longer turnaround times and poorer appraisal quality.

Toronto-Dominion Bank's planned acquisition of Chrysler Financial underscores the melding of traditional lenders and captive finance companies.

Prosper Marketplace has decided it no longer wants to be the eBay of lending and is abandoning the auction-style model it has used to establish interest rates for its loans.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard filed a lawsuit against Bank of America Friday, claiming the company's handling of loan modifications constitutes consumer fraud.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard filed a lawsuit against Bank of America Friday, claiming the company's handling of loan modifications constitutes consumer fraud.

FBR report: GSEs get asset dispositions right, banks do not; foreclosure filings fall in November; Moody's: 2011 should show extent of servicing problems.

The name 'Wiki' may seem an odd fit for a financial company these days, but a new peer-to-peer loan company, WikiLoan, hopes to make it work.

The name 'Wiki' may seem an odd fit for a financial company these days, but a new peer-to-peer loan company, WikiLoan, hopes to make it work.

Florida home sold at auction already sold a week earlier in short sale; First Guaranty chairman takes a crack at explaining mortgage crisis for the layman.

Money360 is touting itself as a peer-to-peer lending service focusing on connecting wealthy loan-seekers with sophisticated investors, with loans ranging from $200,000 to $5 million.

A report from Fitch Ratings says the manufactured housing sector, which historically has had "problematic performance," has been relatively stable in 2010.

Think Finance wanted to give underbanked consumers access to credit when they needed it, while helping them avoid a bad cycle of debt. To accomplish this, the online payday lender developed the Elastic card, a prepaid debit card with a line of credit of up to $500, that rewards consumers with lower fees for exhibiting good behavior, like making payments on time.

Think Finance wanted to give underbanked consumers access to credit when they needed it, while helping them avoid a bad cycle of debt. To accomplish this, the online payday lender developed the Elastic card, a prepaid debit card with a line of credit of up to $500, that rewards consumers with lower fees for exhibiting good behavior, like making payments on time.

Move Inc. has launched a website that helps match borrowers with Cornerstone Mortgage; Pentagon Federal is offering a hybrid ARM

Just three years after Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Money entered the U.S. market with the purchase of a peer-to-peer lending company, Branson has quietly bowed out of consumer banking here — at least for now.

WikiLeaks, the controversial website that released thousands of classified State Department cables this week, says it plans to reveal potentially damaging documents from a major U.S. bank early next year.