Credit

Some say Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are too slow to investigate grievances, prompting more complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But the big three say other forces are at work.

Kerry Killinger, former CEO of Washington Mutual, says the asset bubbles and increased consumer debt that contributed to his company's failure are reappearing.

The Texas company kept allowances steady, citing lingering concerns over the pandemic and commercial real estate. Yet it plans to open 25 offices in Dallas after a similar expansion in Houston drove asset and customer growth.

The new feature allows users to add thin-file spouses and teens on one account.

The new feature allows users to add thin-file spouses and teens on one account.

Variables unique to the past year, such as the effect of government stimulus, are not fully considered in typical credit scores. For a more complete picture, the industry should accelerate a digital transformation in scoring models.

Without the application of tested safeguards, using such data can run the risk of worsening the very problems of credit access that we seek to solve.

Complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau jumped 54% to 542,300 in 2020. Concerns about credit reports have long outnumbered those in other categories and jumped significantly as a share of the total from 2019.

To drive the recovery we need to move beyond traditional data and models to incorporate new transaction and payment information that is more timely, more insightful, and more inclusive, FinRegLab's Melissa Koide and FICO's Larry Rosenberger write.

Bank economists predict further improvement in the quality and availability of consumer and business credit now that a third stimulus package has been approved. Still, COVID-19 vaccine distribution will determine how quickly the U.S. economy rebounds.