Credit

Policymakers speak of expanding consumer choice, but for the vast majority of borrowers and investors, standardizing choices that make the most financial sense has greater merit.

The credit bureaus will change the way they include information about tax liens and civil judgments in credit reports. This could spur lenders' use of alternative credit data.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Experian sold consumers an "educational" credit score and falsely claimed in advertisements that the score was used by lenders to make credit decisions.

In the shift to online and mobile shopping, one group often left out is the 65 million Americans with poor or no credit. But as more retail categories like furniture move online, a growing number of e-commerce merchants is adding instant finance options for the subprime crowd.

Shopify is making Klarna’s instant-financing offering available to merchants using Shopify’s e-commerce platform in nine international markets.

Selling a participation in a line of credit to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority reduced the company's nonperforming assets by 9%.

Equifax has introduced a software product that is said to give lenders instant access to a wide range of consumer data in a single platform, a long-term goal of many data providers.

Tala, based in Santa Monica, Calif., makes its loan decisions after analyzing data on the mobile phones of users in Kenya and the Philippines.

First half: Brett King says the OCC fintech charter is overdue. Second half: fintech and refugees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking feedback on the benefits and risks of using alternative data sources, such as rent or utility payments, that would allow lenders to build a credit history for unbanked consumers.