Transunion

Refinancing pushed mortgage originations higher as rates eased, and home equity lending kept growing, but rising delinquencies signal mounting borrower stress.

The incident appears connected to recent social engineering campaigns, including attacks tied to Salesforce.

Borrowers also showed a higher tendency to tap into home equity, with related originations rising at the fastest rate in three years, Transunion said.

Moderating interest rates in the first quarter led to changing fortunes from 2022 and 2023, a Transunion report said.

But despite increasing anxiety over rising costs, an overall majority of consumers also express optimism about their own improving financial prospects in the upcoming year, according to Transunion.

Federal Housing Administration-backed lending was the only mortgage type to grow in volume at the end of last year, but the pace of decline among originations overall also slowed.

Compared to their older counterparts with similar limited credit history, Gen Z and millennial borrowers were also more likely to move into higher tiers of creditworthiness between 2021 and 2023, according to new research.

The majority of users are looking for new credit lines and others want to improve their scores. Credit monitoring by consumers may be a good indicator of both, Transunion found.

The company has linked tradeline information to lien data in ways designed to help mortgage portfolio managers keep pace with property values as they change.

Volumes dropped below 900,000 in the first three months this year, while the cumulative loan balance nationwide also declined on a quarterly basis for the first time since 2015.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it found deficiencies in how credit-reporting companies handle complaints about consumer data.

But refinances came in 50% below levels from a year ago, with rate-and-term activity falling by over 40% in the third quarter of last year, according to TransUnion.

Democrats are pushing for a public-sector alternative to the three main credit bureaus, but Republicans argue that the government is ill-equipped to safely handle consumer data and produce accurate reports.

Positive payment behaviors in conjunction with CARES Act measures kept mortgage delinquencies from rising, but the number of borrowers facing hardship grew exponentially from last year, according to TransUnion.

The rescue bill enabled banks to protect loans in forbearance from an immediate hit to a borrower’s credit report, but experts say affected consumers may have trouble getting loans after the pandemic ends.

Congressional Democrats want forceful action to prevent damage to millions of Americans' credit scores during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the credit bureaus argue that the tools needed to protect consumers are already in place.

While boosting origination volume for lenders and providing financial benefits for borrowers, the refinance boom could have adverse effects down the road, according to TransUnion.

No Republicans voted for the package of bills intended to overhaul the credit reporting system, casting doubt on its chances in the GOP-controlled Senate.

The percentage of home loans with late payments is unlikely to fall much further in 2020 when mortgages made to lower credit-score borrowers could rise slightly, according to TransUnion.

The percentage of recent mortgage borrowers with subprime credit scores still resides in the single digits, but nearly doubled what is was in 2013, according to TransUnion.