Banking

Conditions have improved for the first time since November.

Credit card balances declined most sharply as consumers cut back their spending due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdown orders, the New York Fed said Thursday. But delinquencies also fell across all debt categories, thanks to government and lender relief efforts.

While Black homeownership just rose to its highest level in 16 years, it's still the lowest of any racial demographic and 29 percentage points behind white people.

So far, only Tulsa County has opted in, but the Indian Nation Council of Governments is working with officials across the state to get other counties on board.

Deferrals on residential mortgages and home-equity loans have been a common theme at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

An industry coalition wants to ensure borrowers who took out certain types of loans to fund their education aren’t locked out of access to historically low mortgage rates.

KeyBank, Regions and others are using self-service portals, robotic processing automation and virtual assistants to digitize the collections process and make it more humane in anticipation of rising delinquencies.

Great leaders emerge from failure in the world of financial services and fintech is no exception. Moven founder Brett King shares his take on persistence and how it's worked for him.

From guidelines for remote appraisal alternatives to the ways that forbearance affects borrowers' ability to get new loans, here are five examples of mortgage requirements that have been in flux since the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

The enhanced jobless benefits in the coronavirus relief law enacted in March helped limit delinquencies and maintain consumer spending, analysts say. In their follow-up stimulus plan, Senate Republicans want to cut those benefits from $600 to $200 a week.

Home-renovation loans to add features such as offices and pools could be one source of lending as credit unions struggle with overall sluggish loan demand.

Many commercial property owners are locked out of existing coronavirus relief by financing terms that bar them from taking new loans. Under a House bill, they would receive government-backed equity investments.

Other regionals set more aside for loan losses than the Cleveland bank did in the second quarter, and its ratio of reserves to total loans is slightly lower, too. But Key executives say the portfolio is balanced and holding up well despite the pandemic’s economic toll.

With coronavirus moratoriums still in place, foreclosures fell to the lowest level since at least 2000, while serious delinquencies ballooned by 1.2 million in June, according to Black Knight.

Delinquencies have been ticking up since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and Capital One is warning of more pain unless the government provides additional relief to tenants and landlords.

The measures currently ensuring mortgage companies have sufficient cash to cover advances aren't necessarily sustainable, warns Ted Tozer, a senior fellow at the Milken Institute and a former government official.

The coronavirus relief law allows forbearance plans for up to a year on federally backed mortgages, but House Democrats say homeowners have had difficulty getting relief.

The Pittsburgh bank says fewer borrowers are asking for help and that many borrowers who received assistance are making payments again. But with the coronavirus pandemic still raging in much of the country, CEO William Demchak and other bankers are tempering their optimism.

The Minneapolis company said 75% transactions have been handled online since the pandemic hit.