“Personal loan defaults rise in Russia (UPI)” plus 4 more |
- Personal loan defaults rise in Russia (UPI)
- Russians' overdue loans to banks rise $3 bln in six months (Russian Information Agency Novosti)
- Citigroup Q4 loss narrows, loans seem to stabilize (Washington Post)
- Jury still out on lawsuit loans (Las Vegas Business Press)
- Financiera Independencia Announces Subscription of 79,904,401 Shares in Rights Offering Process and Commences Second ... (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
| Personal loan defaults rise in Russia (UPI) Posted: 19 Jan 2010 07:03 AM PST MOSCOW, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Defaulted personal loans in Russia jumped by $3 billion to $8.5 billion July through December, an Economic Development Ministry official said. "As of mid-2009, more than 860,000 cases of individual overdue debts to banks alone worth more than $5 billion were in court procedures," said Ivan Oskolkov, head of the corporate management department at the Ministry, RIA Novosti reported Tuesday. In the years leading up to the recession, Russia had encouraged mortgage borrowing, which increased the number of low-income Russians signing long-term loans, the news service said. Oskolkov said a bill that would allow citizens to restructure personal debts of $1,700 or more could be ready for consideration in the State Duma this year after 10 years of preparation. "The draft is now in the government for the first time in the history of its development," he said. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Russians' overdue loans to banks rise $3 bln in six months (Russian Information Agency Novosti) Posted: 19 Jan 2010 02:03 AM PST Russian overdue individual debts on bank loans increased by 100 billion rubles ($3 billion) in the past six months to about 250 billion rubles ($8.5 billion) as of December 2009, a government official said Tuesday. "As of mid-2009, more than 860,000 cases of individual overdue debts to banks alone worth more than 150 billion rubles [$5 billion] were in court procedures," Ivan Oskolkov, head of the Economic Development Ministry's corporate management department, said in an interview with Izvestia daily. Oskolkov said the actual amount of individual overdue debts could even be larger as it also included unpaid taxes and informal loans that citizens extended among themselves in personal written pledges. As the economic and financial meltdown caused by the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States spread quickly around the globe, severely affecting emerging economies, including Russia, many Russians have lost their jobs or proved unable to repay loans on time. Russia, which has an outdated housing stock, launched an ambitious program of housing mortgage lending several years ago to encourage individuals to obtain loans from banks to buy new housing. The move, however, was ill-timed as the program encouraged low-income people to take on long-term loans to buy new apartments, analysts said. A sharp increase in overdue loans registered on the balance sheets of Russian banks amid the economic and financial crisis has prompted Russia's monetary authorities to tighten reserve requirements for banks, obliging them to set aside larger provisions for loan impairment to remain financially healthy. Oskolkov said the Russian government had for the first time after the fall of the Soviet Union, when it transited to a market economy in the early 1990s, prepared a bill better known as the law on individual bankruptcy, allowing citizens unable to repay on time 50,000 rubles ($1,700) or more to restructure their liabilities. The work on the bill lasted several years, Oskolkov said. "The draft is now in the government for the first time in the history of its development. Its finalization in the government won't take much time. I believe it will be examined in early 2010, after which a decision will be made on submitting it to the State Duma for consideration," he said. Moscow, January 19 (RIA Novosti)
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| Citigroup Q4 loss narrows, loans seem to stabilize (Washington Post) Posted: 19 Jan 2010 09:12 AM PST Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said loan performance outside of the United States looks strong, adding to investors' perception that the bank is recovering after a toxic assets forced it to seek three different U.S. government rescues. "They've crept out of the abyss like everyone else," said Henry Asher, president at Northstar Group, whose clients own Citi shares. "They have a long way to go before they start reporting significant profits," Asher added. The bank is still facing significant headwinds. When asked about the outlook for loan losses on a conference call with analysts, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said that losses could increase in the first quarter, and after that, the economy will be a key variable. "U.S. consumer credit remains an issue," Pandit said. The bank said its quarterly loss narrowed to 33 cents a share, compared with a loss of $17.3 billion, or $3.40 a share, a year earlier. The loss matched analysts' average estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Citigroup shares rose 11 cents, or 3.2 percent to $3.53 in early afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading. Pandit is under heavy pressure to turn around Citigroup. He has been at Citi's helm for more than two years, during which the third-largest U.S. bank has posted nearly $30 billion of net losses. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a major Citigroup shareholder, said in a recent television interview that Pandit must deliver in 2010. Some investors were quick to note that the bank might not be turning around quickly. Matt McCormick, portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel, said: "It's not an impressive quarter in my view." Investors are still worried about further credit losses ahead, as well as the impact of sweeping changes to banking regulation, McCormick said. LOWER LOAN LOSSES Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Jury still out on lawsuit loans (Las Vegas Business Press) Posted: 18 Jan 2010 03:02 PM PST Jury still out on lawsuit loansState Bar of Nevada sends mixed messages on subject A car, house, or stocks and bonds are typically what's thought of as appropriate collateral for loans. Much to the chagrin of the State Bar of Nevada, however, the ubiquitous car accident lawsuit and other types of civil litigation can be used as financial instruments as well. This once little-known practice is gaining in popularity, too. "There are hundred of attorneys in Nevada who refer clients to me," he said. "I think a lot of lawyers are a lot more accepting of the lenders now." Attorney Glen Howard said he doesn't refer clients to any one company, but will give clients information. "I give them the options of different places and tell them to be very careful who you are dealing with. ... They have to look up the information on the Internet," he said. The cautious attitude on the part of some attorneys likely stems from the conflicting messages coming from the State Bar on the subject. Initially, a State Bar ethics committee opinion said the practice of Nevada lawyers' referring clients to third-party lenders was acceptable. However, the State Bar Counsel, which enforces the rules, has since come out against lawyers referring clients' to settlement lenders. Such a referral would run afoul of the State Bar's rules. Those prohibit lawyers from having others do things for their clients if the attorneys themselves are not allowed to. And lawyers are not allowed to financially assist their clients, said State Bar Assistant Bar Counsel Phil Pattee. In the event a client gets a loan against their settlement on their own, the lawyer is still required to honor the lien on the case. The State Bar has not received any complaints from clients involving such settlement loans. The contradicting stances might have confused lawyers, Pattee said. "If some attorney said they were acting on this (ethics committee ruling) in good faith, we might have trouble pursuing them." Preferred Capital charges interest rates in the "upper 30s" and assesses no fees. That is reasonable by hard-money, high-risk loan standards, Garelli said. He claims some of his unlicensed competitors have been known to charge interest as high as 180 percent. "They avoid licensing by saying they are doing 'advances.' " Other settlement loan companies contacted did not respond to request for comment. The Department of Business and Industry had no complaints on record against its licensees. Some lawyers and clients admitted to being leery of many lawsuit lenders. They considered Preferred one of the reputable companies. "I called a couple other places and they didn't sound good, and my lawyer referred me to (Preferred Capital)," said Renee Locke, a customer of the Las Vegas Preferred Capital Lending office. Locke spent more than 30 years as a casino dealer before being disabled by an on-the-job injury two years ago. She has been fighting for a workers compensation settlement since and scraping to get by, she said. "I am on disability and it is hard to get banks to lend me money," Locke said. She has now taken out five loans. The former dealer also turns to payday lenders, but says her overall experience was better at Preferred. "They were so nice to me, and they didn't try to take a lot of my money," she said. "Sometimes I'd ask for $3,000 and they'd just give me $1,500. And I don't have to pay it back until my case is done." Typically, the newer the case, the smaller the loan amount, Garelli said. He likes to keep loans to 10 percent or less of the total estimated value of the case. Longtime personal injury attorney Ed Bernstein is opposed to settlement loans. He will try to talk his clients out of leveraging their settlements for cash advances. "If a client took out a loan for $20,000 on a $100,000 case, in a few years after interest and fees, the client owes $100,000," he said. "Where's the incentive to show up in court when you have to pay that $100,000 back to someone else?" Contact reporter Valerie Miller at vmiller @lvbusinesspress.com or 702-387-5286. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Posted: 19 Jan 2010 02:15 PM PST MEXICO CITY, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Financiera Independencia, S.A.B. de C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R. (BMV: FINDEP) ("Independencia" or the "Company"), a Mexican microfinance lender of personal loans to lower income segment individuals, announced today that on January 15, 2010 it completed the Rights Offering Process of the 85,000,000 share capital increase first announced on November 30, 2010. A total of 79,904,401 shares were subscribed at the issue price of Ps.10.00 per share. The remaining 5,095,599 shares not yet subscribed will be offered for subscription to all of the Company's shareholders in a Second Round of Rights Offering Process at the issue price of Ps.10.00 per share. Under the Second Round Process, the Company's shareholders shall have the right to subscribe and pay, additionally and proportionally among them, as many shares as it may be necessary in order to exercise a right to increase their equity holding percentage proportionally. The shares to be subscribed during the Second Round Process shall be subscribed and paid for no later than February 5, 2010. Proceeds of the capital increase will be used to finance the Ps.530 million acquisition of Financiera Finsol, S.A. de C.V., SOFOM., E.N.R., the second largest group lending microfinance institution in Mexico, and group of related entities, including Finsol Brazil, as announced on November 30th, 2009. Proceeds will also be used to provide up to Ps.300 million of capital to strengthen the balance sheets of the companies to be acquired. About Financiera Independencia: Financiera Independencia, S.A.B. de C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R. (Independencia), is a Mexican microfinance lender of personal loans to individuals. Independencia provides microcredit loans on an unsecured basis to individuals in the low-income segments in Mexico in urban areas of both the formal and informal economy. As of September 30, 2009, Independencia had a total outstanding loan balance of Ps.4,793.1 million, operated 198 offices in 143 cities throughout 31 of Mexico's 32 federal entities and had a total labor force of 9,586 people. The Company listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange on November 1, 2007, where it trades under the symbol "FINDEP". More information can be found at www.independencia.com.mx Some of the statements contained in this press release discuss future expectations or state other forward-looking information. Those statements are subject to risks identified in this press release and in Financiera Independencia's filings with the Mexican Stock Exchange. Actual developments could differ significantly from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information is based on various factors and was derived using numerous assumptions. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and, except as may be required by applicable law, we do not have an obligation to update or revise them, whether as a result of new information, future or otherwise. This press release does not constitute an offer for the sale of or a solicitation of offers to purchase any securities. The shares expected to be issued in the capital increase will not be registered under the US Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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