Credit scores and consumer spending habits have changed since the beginning of—and even throughout—the COVID-19 pandemic. FICO scores are up, credit card balances and delinquencies are down, and many consumers are refinancing or paying down debt thanks to low interest rates, stimulus money, and assistance programs. A transmissible virus has…
Dinny LechmanSeptember 21, 2021
After a year since COVID struck the U.S., FICO credit scores are up—a lot. For the past decade, the average FICO score has grown at around one point per year. In 2020, despite record unemployment, the average FICO score in the U.S. climbed seven points—from 703 in 2019 to 710…
Megan HornSeptember 8, 2021
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requires financial institutions to maintain, report, and publicly disclose loan-level information about mortgages. The reported data: Helps show whether lenders are serving the needs of their communities Is used to inform government decisions and policies Sheds light on potentially discriminatory lending patterns HMDA data…
Megan HornAugust 6, 2021
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) released its Q1 2021 data. Here are some key performance indicators: Total loans outstanding increased $49 billion, or 4.4%, over the year ending in the first quarter of 2021 to $1.17 trillion. Total assets rose by $311 billion, or 19%, over the year to…
Megan HornJuly 13, 2021
At the beginning of 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, credit unions along with the rest of the world, saw threats to safety and soundness. Not only financial safety and soundness but threats to physical safety and soundness. The response at credit unions was multi-faceted. First it was ensuring the…
Dinny LechmanJuly 7, 2021
The auto market has seen drastic shifts since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts are being seen in auto values and on car lots across the country. There are several factors at play, all converging to shakeup the market. Here’s what’s causing the shift and what it means…
Megan HornJune 11, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it the most uncertain credit risk environment we’ve seen in at least a decade. Shuttered economies and historically high unemployment brought concern about borrower ability to repay, and assistance provided by governments and financial institutions clouded long-term solvency even further. In an uncertain credit environment,…
Dinny LechmanMay 7, 2021
Credit cards saw a record setting reduction in balances during the pandemic, with total outstanding credit card debt dropping over 10% from Q4 2019 to Q4 2020. This trend is counter intuitive to what you may have expected during an economic recession where unemployment hit all-time highs. But this recession…
Dinny LechmanApril 9, 2021
When the COVID-19 pandemic began last year, it threw our world into upheaval. If asked a year ago, I would not have predicted that real estate values would experience record growth. Will this growth continue, or will it cool off? Here are five reasons values are likely to continue trending…
Dinny LechmanMarch 4, 2021
The NCUA will soon be releasing their Supervisory Priorities for 2021. Based on past priorities, evolving NCUA guidance, and the current economic environment here is what we think will be most important to examiners in 2021. CARES Act In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCUA released an update to…
Dinny LechmanJanuary 8, 2021