“Rate of past due auto loans rises in 2nd quarter (San Francisco Chronicle)” plus 4 more

Rate of past due auto loans rises in 2nd quarter (San Francisco Chronicle)
Consumer loans up 3.3% (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Personal debt dips for first time (BBC News)
Low-interest loans offered for storm victims (New Bern Sun Journal)
Discarded personal info. found in Dumpster (KGO-TV Bay Area)

Rate of past due auto loans rises in 2nd quarter (San Francisco Chronicle)

Posted: 31 Aug 2009 11:02 PM PDT

For the quarter ended in June, the national rate of auto loans that were 60 days past due was up 7.35 percent, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. While still a relatively low 0.73 percent, the rate rose from 0.68 percent at the same time a year ago.

Auto loan delinquencies did improve in the second quarter compared with the first quarter of 2009, when the rate was 0.83 percent.

The trend was similar to delinquency rates for credit cards and mortgages released earlier this month by TransUnion. Both of those types of credit showed marked jumps from last year, but indicated improvement from the first quarter.

Yet for auto loans, the rate's improvement in the second quarter from the first may just be seasonal, said Peter Turek, automotive vice president in TransUnion's financial services group. Consumers often catch up on past-due bills in the months between April and June as tax returns arrive and pressures from holiday spending ease.

In fact, TransUnion expects the rate to reach 0.90 percent by the end of the year, due in part to the weak labor market.

"We'd like to believe that there are hopeful signs," Turek said of the slight improvements. But he said it's too early to tell if the second-quarter delinquency rates overall indicate a stronger economy. "We're going to have to watch the rest of the movie to see the ending."

Turek noted that 42 states saw delinquencies drop from the first quarter to the second quarter, but only 10 showed year-over-year improvement.

The biggest year-over-year improvement came in Washington, D.C., where the rate plunged 70 percent to 0.42 percent from 1.41 in the 2008 period. Rhode Island's delinquency rate slid 41 percent, and Nebraska's fell 12.5 percent.

Auto loan delinquency for the second quarter was highest in Mississippi, at 1.29 percent, and Louisiana, at 1.27 percent. California was next with 1.2 percent.

The lowest delinquency rates were found in Alaska, at 0.33 percent, North Dakota, at 0.37 percent and Wyoming, 0.39 percent.

Average auto debt nationally decreased slightly to $12,560 in the second quarter, from $12,869 a year ago. That decline represents in part a tightening of credit, along with a reluctance among consumers to take on new debt amid the recession, Turek said.

However, given the popularity of the Cash for Clunkers program, he expects average auto debt will increase in the second half of the year. "It will be interesting to see, as those loan amounts start showing up in the credit files, what happens with those loans," he said.

TransUnion produces its reports by culling data from approximately 27 million anonymous, randomly sampled, individual credit files, representing approximately 10 percent of U.S. consumers with credit accounts.

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Consumer loans up 3.3% (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 09:22 AM PDT

THE BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS reported that the outstanding consumer loans extended by banks as of end-June reached P398.6 billion, up 3.3 percent from the end-March level.

If compared with year-ago level, the end-June 2009 figure was 13.1 percent higher.

The amount covered loans extended by universal, commercial and thrift banks.

Consumer loans include those used for the purchase of real estate property, mostly residential and automobiles, as well as credit card receivables.

The BSP said real estate loans amounted to P164.8 billion as of end-June, up 2.8 percent from P160.38 billion as of end-March. The continued rise in real estate loans indicated sustained growth in demand for residential units, monetary officials said.

Credit card receivables of banks stood at P109.9 billion, up 3 percent from P106.8 billion quarter-on-quarter.

Officials said the rise in credit card loans extended by banks helped spur consumption in the second quarter.

Auto loans reached P86 billion as of end-June, up 5.5 percent from P81.6 billion as of the end of the first quarter.

The rise in car loans was consistent with the vehicle manufacturing industrys projections that demand for new automobiles would rise this year despite the lingering crisis, which was earlier feared to dampen consumer demand.

Other consumer loans reached P37.68 billion, up 1.9 percent from P36.97 billion, the BSP said.

Earlier, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said consumer spending, aided partly by loans from banks, helped boost the economy in the second quarter.

In the first quarter, personal consumption was anemic, resulting in a mere 0.6 percent gross domestic product growth.

During the first three months of the year, officials explained, many Filipino households, especially those dependent on remittances sent by a family members working overseas, spent less and saved more amid fears of layoffs offshore.

In the second quarter, however, households were more confident to spend in view of reports about the gradual recovery of the global economy from the crisis. Some employers offshore that laid off workers due to the crisis were starting to rehire their workers, officials said.

The BSP said remittances, a closely watched economic indicator, fuels demand for real estate, auto loans and other goods and services.

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Personal debt dips for first time (BBC News)

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 02:07 AM PDT

The total amount of personal debt in the UK has fallen for the first time since records began in 1993, the Bank of England has said.

Personal borrowing fell by £600m in July, taking the total owed by individuals down to £1.457 trillion.

There was a drop in both mortgage debt and other forms of borrowing such as bank loans.

The number of mortgages approved in July rose again to 50,123, suggesting property sales will continue to rise.

"Total net lending to individuals fell by £0.6bn in July, showing a net repayment for the first time in the series," the Bank said.

The amount outstanding on mortgages fell by £400m as people repaid more than they borrowed during July.

According to the Bank of England, the number of monthly mortgage approvals has crept up slowly this year, suggesting the appetite for lending is picking up a bit.

But that seems to be outweighed by homeowners who want to reduce their mortgage borrowing. Anyone on a tracker or variable rate mortgage has seen a big reduction in monthly outgoings.

So the question arises, what to do with the extra cashflow? Investing in shares or property may seem unattractive, so too the return on some deposit accounts. For some, paying off debt then appears to be the best option.

In theory, paying off some of the £1.4 trillion mountain of consumer debt is desirable. But a tendency for people to reduce debts rather than spending may not be helpful to an economy still in recession.

The amount accumulated on what is called consumer credit, such as loans and hire purchase agreements, dropped by a net £200m, once a small rise in credit card borrowing of £92m was taken into account.

"Today's news will not make happy reading for policy makers who have taken significant steps over the last year to encourage greater volumes of lending throughout the economy," said Benjamin Williamson at the centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

Homeowner Richard Otten told the BBC that the interest payments on his mortgage had fallen in the past 18 months from £1,800 a month to just £200, but instead of spending the saved cash he had been using it to pay off his home loan quicker than planned.

"I left my repayments as they were, so what's in practice happening is that I'm paying off capital much faster than I would otherwise have been doing, and therefore the length of my mortgage is reducing very significantly," Mr Otten said.

Still subdued?

The increasing number of mortgages approved, but not yet lent, is widely seen as a good indicator of future trends and indicates that the revival in sales seen this year will continue into the autumn.

July's increase in mortgage approvals was the sixth monthly rise in a row and took the number of approvals to nearly twice the level recorded last November.

If sales continue to rise then prices may continue their recent pick-up as well.

"The mortgage market continues to show signs of some sort of recovery when compared to the first few months of this year," said Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association (BSA).

However, he pointed out that activity was still much lower than in previous years.

"The BSA expects the mortgage market to remain similarly subdued over the remainder of 2009," said Mr Coles.

Dwindling savings

With the Bank of England's bank rate still at a historical low of 0.5%, the BSA warned that interest rates were so low that this year savers might take more money out of their savings accounts than they put in.

Withdrawals from building society accounts have outstripped new deposits every month since March.

Even taking into account interest added to people's accounts, July was the third month in a row that savings balances held by building societies customers had fallen.

Adrian Coles warned that this process would hinder the ability of banks and building societies to lend money to potential home buyers.

"Total UK savings balances might struggle to increase by £11bn in 2009, much lower than the £60bn increase in balances in 2008," he said.

"These figures include interest added to accounts. If this amount of interest were not included, such a low forecast for 2009 suggests that savers will actually withdraw more money than they deposit this year across the entire savings market," Mr Coles added.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) warned that the reduced number of lenders in the market would also put a cap on any increased mortgage borrowing.

"The fundamental issue remains the withdrawal of many lenders from the mortgage market over the past year and the reluctance of new participants to play a meaningful role in delivering finance to potential homebuyers," said Rics chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.

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Low-interest loans offered for storm victims (New Bern Sun Journal)

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 02:50 PM PDT

HAVELOCK — The U.S. Small Business Administration is making low-interest disaster loans available to Havelock residents and business owners who sustained damage from the Aug. 12 flood.

A disaster loan outreach center will be set up at the Havelock Tourist and Event Center to issue loan applications, answer questions and explain the application process.

Hours will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. The center will be closed for Labor Day but will operate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sept. 10.

More than 50 homes and businesses in Havelock had damage from the Aug. 12 storms, which dumped nearly 10 inches of rain on the city in about five hours. Parts of Brown Boulevard, McCotter Boulevard and Pineview Street were among the most flooded areas, but anyone in the area who had flood damage is eligible to apply.

No citywide damage estimate has been figured, but officials estimate the flooding caused at least tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

Gov. Beverly Perdue requested a disaster declaration from the SBA on Aug. 25. The declaration covers Craven, Carteret, Pamlico, Jones, Lenoir, Pitt and Beaufort counties.

Loans of up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, while homeowners and renters will be eligible for up to $40,000 in loans to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

Businesses and nonprofit organizations can borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged real estate, machinery, equipment, inventory and other assets.

Money for mitigation, based on 20 percent of verified damage, to help residents take measures to minimize any potential future damage is also available.

Interest rates on the loans are as low as 2.750 percent for homeowners and renters and 4 percent for business owners, with terms up to 30 years. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant's financial situation.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Oct. 30. The deadline to return economic injury applications is May 31.

Those unable to get to the Havelock Tourist and Event Center can also call the SBA at (800) 659-2955 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Online, residents can apply at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. E-mails can be sent to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications can be downloaded at http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

Completed applications can be returned to the tourist center by Sept. 10 or mailed to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

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Discarded personal info. found in Dumpster (KGO-TV Bay Area)

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 01:20 PM PDT

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said today that the personal financial information of hundreds of people in the Bay Area found discarded in a Dumpster this month does not appear to have been used for identity theft.

Hundreds of pages of improperly discarded paperwork were found Aug. 1 in the trash on Country Club Drive in unincorporated South San Francisco, Lt. Ray Lunny said.

Lunny said it appears the documents were to be shredded or destroyed but were dumped instead.

The paperwork included mortgage, titles and other personal information generated between Jan. 1 and July 1, 2006, the sheriff's office said.

Anyone who has noticed discrepancies with mortgages or loans should contact their mortgage or title company, the sheriff's office said.

Among the mortgage, lending and title companies listed on the paper work are Alliance Title; American Prime Funding; Funding Suite; Financial Title Company; Ticor Title Company; Orange Coast Title Company; and Bella Homes and estates.

Many of the companies are no longer in business, the sheriff's office said.

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office has the paperwork and intends to destroy it. Anyone who has been a victim of identity theft should contact local law enforcement.

Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to call detective Stephanie Josephson at (650) 821-6204 or the sheriff's office's anonymous tip line at (800) 547-2700.

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