Credit

LendingPoint, which caters to borrowers with damaged credit records, believes that traditional credit scores are overly pessimistic about the likelihood that certain borrowers will repay.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called for bipartisan action against Equifax during a Senate floor speech on Tuesday, criticizing the credit bureau for waiting several weeks after a massive data breach to reveal it to the public.

The Equifax breach has millions of Americans now thinking about freezing their credit to guard against identity theft. But those who act could be cutting themselves off from the nation's vast credit economy.

Normally tight-lipped about security moves, bankers tell how they are re-examining their systems for Equifax-like flaws and providing new cards, fresh accounts and reassuring advice for anxious customers.

Efforts to persuade regulators to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use alternative credit scores would stifle competition between the credit bureaus and FICO and do little to expand access to credit, according to industry analyst Chris Whalen.

Senate Democrats' legislative bid to reform the credit reporting industry is tempered and balanced, according to analysts, which could help it gain traction in the GOP-controlled Congress.

The Alabama bank will add the nonprofit's financial-advice centers for underbanked consumers to 88 branches over the next four years, in addition to the 12 it already housed.

The bill would create a federal obligation for credit reporting agencies to offer free credit freezes and prevent them from selling consumer information while a freeze is in place.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., sent a letter to the top executives at TransUnion and Experian on Wednesday asking them what steps they are taking to safeguard consumer data in light of the Equifax breach.

The reaction to major data breaches has always been to protect card data. But the non-card data that Equifax handled deserved just as much attention, if not more.

TransUnion Chief Financial Officer Todd Cello said Tuesday the firm kept call centers open through the weekend to deal with the flood of calls from anxious consumers.

Banks should not point blame at the credit bureau but rather should step up and demonstrate their commitment to their customers. If you punt the problem to Equifax, it suggests you don’t really care.

Senate Finance Committee leaders sent a letter to Equifax CEO Richard Smith scrutinizing the scope of the company's data breach and its response.

Lawmakers signaled Monday that Congress will likely have a swift and powerful response to revelations that the credit reporting company Equifax was hacked, exposing 143 million people to identity theft.

An artificial intelligence model predicted creditworthiness more accurately than traditional models in an experiment conducted by the auto lender. The technology someday could be used to find hidden gems among loan applicants — emphasis on the someday.

A credit service provider agreed to exit the industry on Wednesday after a yearlong lawsuit with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In the coming year, bankers in Puerto Rico will need to keep an eye on how steep cuts in government spending will affect the island’s consumers, says José Rafael Fernández, CEO of OFG Bancorp.

Auto, personal and credit card originations have fallen as delinquencies have risen, but researchers called the slowdown a temporary rebalancing by lenders.

Balances 90 days past due are noticeably higher in 2017, new N.Y. Fed data shows. Though the trend has a lot to do with positives like economic expansion and easier access to credit, officials say it deserves careful attention.

The largest banks are approving small-business loan applications at the fastest rate since the recession, a sign that that they are willing to assume more risk and taking seriously the threat of competition from online lenders.