Mortgage Delinquencies Still High at 6.67% in Q2: TransUnion

Mortgage delinquencies – borrowers 60 or more days past due – posted a 14.8 percent increase in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the same quarter last year, according to credit reporting bureau TransUnion. The national mortgage delinquency rate was 6.67 percent — a level marginally lower than the 6.77 percent rate reported for the first quarter of this year.

FTC Rule Bans Upfront Fees on Some Debt Relief Services

A new telemarketing sales rule prohibits for-profit companies that sell debt relief services over the telephone from charging an upfront free, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Starting Oct. 27, these companies must settle or reduce a customers’ credit card or other unsecured debit before collecting a fee.

Citigroup 2Q Earnings Down 37%; Trading Revenue Declines

Hurt by a big drop in trading revenue, Citigroup reported a 37 percent slide in second-quarter profit to $2.7 billion, or 9 cents a share, compared to $4.28 billion, or 49 cents, a year ago. Results topped Wall Street expectations of 5 cents a share, but a murky outlook pushed shares lower Friday for Citigroup, the No. 3 U.S. bank by assets.

Bank of America 2Q Profit Slips; But Credit Losses Declining

Lower costs to cover bad loans helped Bank of America beat estimates with second quarter net income of $3.12 billion, or 33 cents a share, down slightly from $3.22 billion reported a year ago. But future uncertainty pushed financial stocks downward today as Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank ranked by assets, faces uncertainty in months ahead as Wall Street oversight reform takes hold.

Bank Credit Card Delinquencies Fall to 2002 Level, ABA Says

Bank-issued credit card delinquencies dipped slightly in the first quarter of 2010 – the first time such late payments have fallen below 4 percent since the second quarter of 2002, according to the American Bankers Association.

U.S. Consumer Bankruptcies Up 14% in First Half of 2010

U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings totaled 770,117 in the first six months of 2010 – a 14 percent increase over the 675,351 filings from the same period a year ago. The consumer filings for January-June of this year mark the highest total since 2005, when Congress enacted the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act in an attempt to slow down the rate of filings

Auto Loan Delinquencies Keep Slowing Down: TransUnion

The auto loan delinquency rate – at least 60 days overdue – continued to slide in the first quarter of 2010, down to 0.66 percent, according to the credit reporting agency TransUnion. The delinquency rate fell 18.52 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009, and 20.48 percent from the first quarter of 2009.

Credit Card Debt, Late Payments Fall in 1Q , TransUnion Says

Consumers lowered the credit card balances on average almost 11 percent over the past 12 months, and fewer were late on their payments in the first quarter, pushing down the 90-day delinquency rate nearly 16 percent over a year ago, TransUnion said today. The quarterly analysis of credit card trends based on 27 million anonymously sampled credit files shows that Americans continue to reduce card balances through economic hard times, possibly helped along by credit card reform that took effect Feb. 22.

FTC: Credit Card Debt Settlement Tips, Red Flags

The Federal Trade Commission today is urging caution for those with mounting credit card debt who seek companies that promise “pennies on the dollar” solutions. There is no guarantee that a debt settlement company can convince a credit card issuer to accept only a partial payment for the full, legitimate debt, the FTC said.

Faster Pace in 2010: FDIC Says Bank Failures at 37

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported the failure of 7 more banks this week, bringing this year’s total to 37, representing a pace that will easily surpass last year’s total of 140 bank collapses. Through the end of March last year, 21 banks had failed.
Crippling loan losses propelled by a still peaking commercial real estate crisis prompted the FDIC to act against banks in Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Ohio and Utah.

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