| The “R” Word and an Economic Stimulus Plan
Home sales have plummeted. Lots of real-estate agents are experiencing their own recession. In southeastern Michigan the auto industry is doing so poorly that if feels more like a depression. Nationwide, not only are there record home foreclosures, but delinquency rates on auto loans and credit card debt are increasing at a worrisome rate. Retail sales are down modestly year over year. If this isn't a recession, it sure seems like one.So what is a politician to do when confronted by these disquieting economic conditions in January of an election year? Ride to the rescue, of course. Thus, on Thursday, January 17, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared before a congressional committee to appeal for an "economic stimulus" package. The very next day, President Bush and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson echoed Bernanke's remarks.
TBank goes international
Thanachart Bank (TBank) says it has adjusted its business position from a niche bank to an international one, targeting more corporate loans following its partnership with Canada's Scotiabank. The medium-sized bank has been concentrating on auto loans for more than 20 years, and auto hire-purchase loans make up 78.41 per cent of its overalll loan portfolio. Last year, Scotiabank became TBank's strategic partner by acquiring 24.99 per cent of Thanachart Capital, which owns 74.92 per cent of the bank. TBank now plans to "go international" with support from its new shareholder, Scotiabank, which will give it an advantage over others in the foreign banking business. With this strategy, TBank will generate better returns, said Thanachart Capital president and CEO Suphadej Poonpipat.
How the failure of subprime mortgages hurts the overall economy
Given the huge piles of consumer and business debt out there, many U.S. residents seem to think easy credit is their birthright. That cozy feeling that a loan is always within reach is getting rudely shaken. An international credit crunch is upon us. The subprime mortgage crisis spawned it, but everything from home-equity loans to business lines of credit may be touched before it's over. Sectors as disparate as auto-parts suppliers and developers of riverfront condos in Detroit are feeling the pinch of tighter credit, battering an already weak Michigan economy. "The unwinding of debt is all encompassing. It's from the little homeowner out there to the big corporation," said Larry Moss, senior vice president for the Raymond James investment firm in Birmingham. .
'Yo-yo tactic' prompts loan officer to question automobile sales ...
In October, she selected an unused, white Nissan Altima at North Texas Nissan in Corinth, signed the paperwork with salesman Brian Hall, turned over her old car as a trade-in, and took her new car home."I just fell in love with the car," said Judy Miller, a senior loan officer with Maverick Residential Mortgage in Gainesville.Miller had the car for two weeks when Ruth, one of Hall's assistants at the dealership, called to tell her the bank could not accept the terms she and Hall had agreed on."I was told that everything was a done deal, and I would begin making payments on my car on Nov. 26," she said. "I was shocked."Miller explained to Ruth that she had a copy of her signed contract."They couldn't just change the terms," Miller said she told the assistant.Then Ruth told Miller about a car contract provision Miller had never heard of."She informed me that the dealership had done a 'spot delivery' and that they could, in fact, change whatever they wanted," Miller said.Miller had the option of agreeing to a new contract with new terms or bringing back the new Nissan.Miller turned to the Internet where she said she found lots of auto dealership horror stories."I could not believe what I was reading," she said.
PriceMyLoan Partners With Vistature Technologies
COSTA MESA, Calif. and IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Vistature, a provider of data workflow interfaces for the financial industry, and PriceMyLoan (PML), an automated underwriting and loan pricing technology company, have partnered to develop integrations of PriceMyLoan to various LOS and third-party systems. The Vistature integration takes advantage of service-oriented architecture (SOA) technology to offer lenders a solution for the seamless transfer of PriceMyLoan data into existing LOS (Loan Origination Systems). PML is an advanced automated underwriting and loan pricing system designed specifically for correspondent lenders. The web-based, private-label system generates highly-accurate loan eligibility and pricing results for conventional, Alt-A and non-prime loan products.
Let's not get our wires crossed
The green-fronted Kuwait Finance House Auto mall on Bah-rain's main showroom highway is a bank that sells cars. Here, the motorist can pick the model that takes his fancy and, at the same time, fix up the Islamic financing and Islamic insurance to buy it - a sign of the rate at which Islamic banking is growing. Opened in June last year to meet rising demand in the Gulf archipelago, the bank offers murabaha-based purchase plans, a method of Islamic financing that lets customers buy automobiles without taking an interest-based loan. .
DeNaples' priest had deep debt
On a take-home pay of $880 a month, the Rev. Joseph Sica amassed debts of $218,000.
And he owed the vast bulk of the money -- $148,000 -- to a bank headed by his friend, Louis DeNaples, owner of Mount Airy Casino Resort.
How Sica qualified for credit cards, auto and personal loans on a Roman Catholic priest's income, and what he spent all the money on, are mysteries unaddressed by the bankruptcy court papers that document his financial hole.
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Payday loans have benefits, risks
Judy Killion of Garden City said she wanted to pay her electric bill so she wouldn't be left in the dark. Her daughter, Amber Zahnter, also of Garden City, said she wanted to pay rent and utilities but was having a hard time meeting those obligations. Neither said they expected a loan from a payday or auto title lender would lead them further into debt. Killion said her problems began in 2000 when she was living in a trailer at Meadow Lark. Her electric bill was higher than normal -- $300 -- and she didn't have the money. Friends told her about payday loans. Killion borrowed $200 from Check Into Cash, which now does business as Ace Express, and a $100 loan from Money Lenders, which is no longer in business. She said the lenders explained the contract to her and answered her questions regarding the loan, but she wasn't aware of late fees and the companies didn't mention them.
Commerce Bank Selects the DealerTrack Specialty Solutions Network to ...
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRAK) today announced that Commerce Bank, N.A., a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH) , has signed an agreement to participate on DealerTrack's online specialty financing platform. DealerTrack is a leading provider of on-demand software and data solutions for the automotive and specialty retail industries. Once implemented, recreational vehicle (RV) and marine dealers nationwide will use the DealerTrack Specialty Solutions platform to electronically submit consumer loan applications as well as complete the loan contracts with Commerce Bank. "Commerce Bank maintains a significant presence in the recreational lending industry, and we value the relationships we have with our dealers," said Leonard Metzger, Commerce Bank senior vice president of dealer financial services.
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