Consumer lending

A federal appeals court ruled that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits not just outright discrimination but also the discouragement of prospective applicants for credit.

The high court will determine how much deference judges should give to regulators in interpreting laws passed by Congress. The upcoming ruling has especially big implications for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has drawn the banking industry's ire.

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.

In recent years, the wealth gulf between white and Black families has only grown. But there is hope that advances in fintech, such as wider adoption of artificial intelligence, can help.

The retail giant has scrapped its credit card partnership with Capital One, its second public spat in recent years with a partner bank. Analysts say it may be a sign that Walmart wants to launch its own credit card on what it hopes will be a financial super-app.

Gen Z is buying homes at higher rates than previous generations, and finding creative ways to save money in the process.

Late payments on VA loans were up markedly within the first quarter, in contrast to other products, according to new Mortgage Bankers Association data.

The number of borrowers who are at their credit limits is approaching its pre-pandemic level, and the percentage of balances that are sliding into delinquency has hit its highest rate in more than a decade, according to new research. Still, card companies are generally expressing optimism about their credit outlooks.

Net charge-offs at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank increased by more than 80% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. BofA executives say that the rising losses were in line with the bank's risk appetite.

What recent patterns in FHA delinquencies, distressed loan outcomes, foreclosures and the rates at which loans are prepaying or underwater can reveal about where the market is headed.