Credit

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated income inequality in America, and that has implications for banks and other lenders. Among those suffering most: renters, front-line workers and minority small-business owners.

The bank's earlier decision to stop accepting applications for the consumer loan product had sparked a backlash among customers and lawmakers.

The expanded credit access in its automated mortgage decisioning goes into effect in mid September.

Comerica, which focuses on the energy sector, reported strong payment trends last quarter, while M&T, which concentrates more on real estate, showed deterioration. The divergence reflects varying exposures to sectors hit hard by the COVID-19 recession.

While customers of the nation’s largest bank are spending more, an unusually small percentage of their purchases are becoming debt. Executives warn that the bank’s predicament could persist for the rest of the year.

Bankers insist borrowing will pick up on the back of a post-pandemic economic recovery. But so far there are few signs of a rebound, and analysts are skeptical one is imminent.

Wells Fargo said it’s shutting down all existing personal lines of credit and will no longer offer the product to its customers.

Tens of millions of consumers diligently pay their rent, utilities and other bills every month yet have no credit history. Supplementing traditional credit scoring with such data will promote equity and upward economic mobility, says the CEO of Experian North America.

Kikoff, whose investors include Golden State Warriors' star Stephen Curry, provides applicants with a no-fee $500 revolving line of credit they can use to purchase personal finance books and courses from its online store. The company then reports this payment activity to some credit bureaus.

Democrats are pushing for a public-sector alternative to the three main credit bureaus, but Republicans argue that the government is ill-equipped to safely handle consumer data and produce accurate reports.

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court said that a majority of plaintiffs in a class action were not entitled to damages because the credit reporting company did not share faulty information with banks, landlords or other third parties.

Policymakers need to stop attacking credit bureaus and take action against credit repair firms that use dubious tactics to wipe bad debt from consumers' credit reports. Such schemes both impair banks' ability to accurately underwrite loans and further hurt real victims of identity theft.

A growing number of companies like Klarna, Sezzle and Circle let consumers split large purchases into smaller transactions paid over time. But they say they need to offer more than one product to set themselves apart and build customer loyalty.

Thousands of Americans volunteered to check the accuracy of their credit reports and many discovered mistakes, according to new research from Consumer Reports. The results provide fresh ammunition to critics of the major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Only 0.9% of mortgage borrowers are currently at least 90 days delinquent. That figure could rise as high as 3.8% once pandemic-related deferrals lapse — still well below the 6% mark reached after the Great Recession, according to research by the New York Fed.

Five payments of $20 seems less detrimental to a wallet than a one-time $100 fee, says Four's Chaim Lever.

Despite strong payment volume and revenue, Affirm's earnings suffered due to stock compensation and an adjustment on its purchase of PayBright in January.