U.S. Foreclosure Activity Grows Despite Government Moratorium

Today, ATTOM Data Solutions released its first-quarter U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for 2021, which shows that foreclosure filings were up 9% from the previous quarter but down 78% from a year prior. A total of 33,699 foreclosure filings within the first quarter includes default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions.

ABA Report Consumer Delinquencies Rose in Fourth Quarter of 2020

WASHINGTON —

After two consecutive quarters of declines, consumer credit delinquencies rose in the fourth quarter of 2020 as the toll of the pandemic-induced recession weighed on the economy, according to results from the American Bankers Association’s Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. Overall, delinquencies rose in each of the 11 loan categories tracked by ABA.

Illinois Extension on Garnishment and Wage Deduction Limits Continues Through April 30

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has again extended Executive Order 2020-25 , which suspends the issuance of garnishment, wage deductions and post-judgment citations to discover assets. Per the extension, these restrictions will now remain in effect through April 30, 2021.

Consumers Shifted Credit Payment Behaviors in the U.S. and Other Global Markets as a Result of COVID-19

In times of crisis, repayment prioritization of credit products often provides a clearer view of how consumers are meeting the financial burdens they face. A new TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) Global Payment Hierarchy study found that the COVID-19 pandemic had a pronounced effect – in a short period of time – on how people paid their debts, particularly when faced with financial stress.

OPERATING LOANS DRIVE DECLINE IN AG LENDING

With federal pandemic aid in their hands, farmers and ranchers borrowed far less money than usual from ag bankers during the opening months of this year for equipment, livestock, and operating expenses, according to a Federal Reserve survey of commercial lenders. “The volume of non-real-estate farm loans was about 10% less than a year ago, continuing a recent trend of reduced loan demand,” said a Kansas City Fed summary of the data on Thursday.

RMAI Honors Outstanding Member and Executive Director

April 14, 2021 (Sacramento, CA) – Against all odds, the Receivables Management Association International held its 2021 Annual Conference in Las Vegas, April 12-25, 2021. With more than 500 in-person attendees and more than 150 virtual attendees, leaders from RMAI capitalized on the event by honoring an outstanding member and RMAI’s executive director.

Sinema, Romney propose bill to tackle student loan debt

Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill to tackle student loan debt. The Earn to Learn Act will allow low-income students to pay for college-related expenses through a college-matched savings program

FCC questions carriers on status of free robocall blocking tools

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday took its next steps to bat down robocalls, including letters to carriers about free robocall blocking tools. In addition to writing to major phone companies and third-party developers, the FCC issued a Public Notice (PDF) seeking input on a variety of robocall-related questions and status updates on carrier efforts to help block unwanted calls.

Protecting consumers through a pandemic: 2020 Fair Lending Report to Congress

The month of April marks Fair Lending Month, Fair Housing Month, and Financial Capability Month. In recognition of this, today the Bureau released its annual Fair Lending Report to Congress. The report highlights our work in 2020 to promote the Bureau's fair lending mission of ensuring fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory access to credit while also protecting consumers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic consequences. As the report explains, in 2020:

Judge orders Munster debt collection firm to pay $1.4M in fines, consumer restitution

MUNSTER — The Indiana attorney general's office has won a $1.4 million default judgment against a Glenview, Illinois-based debt collection firm that allegedly engaged in abusive and deceptive business practices out of its Munster office. According to court records, New Britain Financial LLC and its owner, Nelson Macwan, allegedly committed multiple violations of the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, including threatening consumers with lawsuits, arrest, garnishments and liens without holding judgments against the consumers.

$50K student loan forgiveness would cancel debt of 84% of borrowers, Biden told

Armed with new data on what they’re calling America’s "student loan time bomb," members of Congress and advocacy groups are turning up the heat on President Joe Biden to cancel as much as $50,000 in federal student loan debt for every borrower.

Cybersecurity: Victims are spotting cyberattacks much more quickly – but there’s a catch

The amount of time cyber criminals are spending inside compromised networks is dropping. But while that might sound like a positive development, one reason hackers are spending less time inside networks is because of the surge in ransomware attacks.

Mortgage refinance demand hits lowest level in over a year, and homebuyers retreat, too

It was a mixed week for rates, which started high and then fell slightly, but the damage was done early. Total mortgage application volume decreased 3.7% for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250 or less) decreased to 3.27% from 3.36%, with points decreasing to 0.33 from 0.43 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.

CFPB Takes Action Against SettleIt, Inc. for Steering Consumers into High-Cost Loans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action today against an online debt-settlement company for taking advantage of consumers, failing to disclose its relationship to certain creditors, and steering consumers into high-cost loans offered by affiliated lenders. The CFPB filed a complaint in federal district court alleging that SettleIt, Inc. engaged in abusive acts or practices under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA) and violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).

Mortgage Loans In Forbearance Are Down To 4.66 Percent

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Forbearance and Call Volume Survey reported that the total number of loans currently in forbearance is down to 4.66% of servicers portfolio volume, for the week ending April 4, 2021. This marks a 24 basis point decline from the previous week's total number of loans in forbearance.

Pressure mounts for Biden to forgive student debt

While the latest Covid stimulus package and a new massive infrastructure bill are the main topics of conversation in Washington of late, President Joe Biden continues to be under mounting pressure to take action on student loan forgiveness, too. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., held a hearing Tuesday afternoon on the burden of student loan debt and urged Biden to cancel the loans as soon as possible.

US Mortgage Delinquency Rates At The Lowest Levels Since The Start Of The Pandemic

CoreLogic's latest Loan Performance Insights report for January 2021 revealed that US mortgage delinquency rates are down for the fifth consecutive month, to the lowest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the report, in January 2021 5.6% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency.

CFPB and FTC Issue Joint Statement on Preventing Illegal Evictions

CFPB Acting Director, Dave Uejio, and FTC Acting Chairwoman, Rebecca Slaughter, recently issued a joint statement on the agencies’ efforts to stop illegal evictions and protect consumers facing economic hardship due to Covid-19.

Convoke Introduces Consumer Call Recording Fulfillment

ARLINGTON, Va., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Convoke, a leader in SaaS solutions for the debt collection market, is pleased to announce significant updates it has made to its collections intelligence platform. Each year, Convoke develops and releases multiple new and expanded features to its platform to support its clients' evolving needs.

Student loan forgiveness: New Education Department data highlights benefits of cancellation

New Education Department (ED) data reveals how student loan borrowers would benefit from various levels of debt forgiveness, providing more material for Democratic lawmakers urging President Biden to cancel student debt and setting the stage for a Senate student debt hearing on Tuesday.

California Supreme Court Confirms Call-Recording Statute Applies to Parties and Nonparties Alike

California Penal Code Section 632.7, part of California's Invasion of Privacy Act, prohibits the recording of a communication between a cellular or cordless telephone and another telephone without the consent of all parties.

Historical U.S. Credit Card Delinquency Rate Study

Credit card delinquency rates, as measured by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for accounts that are 90 days or more late in making payments, have ebbed and flowed with economic conditions over the decades but reached their all time peak during the financial crisis in Q4 of 2009 when they reached an eye-popping 11.0%.

Eviction, Foreclosure Disputes Being Handled Online

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 17 Ohio courts will be experimenting with handling evictions, foreclosures, small claims and family cases online.

As Major Credit Card Issuers Pulled Back Amid COVID, Startups Stepped In

While major credit card issuers tightened lending standards and slashed credit limits amid COVID-19, some financial technology startups took a different tack.

Acting FTC Chairwoman Slaughter Appoints Marta E. Wosińska as Director of Bureau of Economics

Acting Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter announced that she has appointed Marta E. Wosińska as Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Economics.

Fed Data Shows Big Banks’ Loan-to-Deposit Ratio At 36-Year Low

The Federal Reserve’s latest weekly survey showed that the 25 largest banks in the U.S. reduced their loan-to-deposit ratio by 53.9 percent, the lowest in the 36 years that the data has been collected, Bloomberg reported on Monday (April 12). Together, the banks dropped loan holdings by 8 percent in the past year through March, the Fed data show. Total loans fell by $447 billion to $5.45 trillion, and total deposits increased 16 percent to $10.13 trillion. The share of safe assets dropped to 35.6 percent in the week that ended March 31 from 36.0 percent the previous week, the Fed reported, per Bloomberg. Safe assets are low-risk investments like cash, Treasuries and securities. Total assets dropped to $20.91 trillion from $21.04 trillion. 

Looming student loan forgiveness? A provision in the March stimulus bill could set the stage for debt cancellation

In recent weeks the U.S. Department of Education has announced two rounds of student loan forgiveness, wiping out $1.3 billion held by Americans with permanent disabilities and another $1 billion held by defrauded students. In the grand scheme of things, those loan forgiveness announcements are relatively small compared to the total $1.7 trillion student loan debt held by borrowers. But broader forgiveness could be on the way: Last week White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said that President Joe Biden has asked the Secretary of Education to explore if the executive branch has the legal authority to wipe out as much as $50,000 per borrower in student loan debt.

Paying rent with a personal loan: What to know

Millions of Americans lost their jobs during the pandemic and a recent poll found that many of them are now struggling to pay rent. The poll found that over 30% of households have used up most or all of their savings, and 19% are struggling to pay their rent.  

Fixed-rate student loan refinancing rates sink, move closer to record low

Rates for well-qualified borrowers using the Credible marketplace to refinance student loans into 10-year fixed-rate loans hit another low during the week of April 5, 2021. For borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher who used the Credible marketplace to select a lender, during the week of April 5:

Student loan forgiveness: What $10,000 in cancellation would look like by U.S. state

As the president mulls Democrat calls to cancel up to $50,000 in federally-backed student loan debt via executive order, a new analysis shows how $10,000 in forgiveness would affect borrowers in each U.S. state. Analyzing Education Department (ED) data as of September 2020, Student Loan Hero estimated that $10,000 forgiveness would cost roughly $315 billion and erase the entire balances for 34% of borrowers. (A payment pause on qualifying loans has been in effect since March 2020 and will last at least through September 2021.)

A year of COVID-19 brought record consumer debt and collection complaints

After more than a year of COVID-19, the nation’s collective ability to cope with dual public health and economic crises has diminished many consumers’ ability to remain financially stable. While this February’s national employment report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a net gain of 379,000 jobs and white unemployment dropped to 5.6%, there was no corresponding improvement for Black and Latino workers. Instead, unemployment was respectively higher at 9.9% and 8.5%.

Collection and Recovery Solutions 2021 (CRS2021)

Resource Management Services, Inc.