| Forecasts & Statistics |
| Product Trends |
| Industry Trends |
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| Bankruptcies Still Falling Through First Quarter, 2000 |
| Personal bankruptcies continued trending downward in the first quarter of this year. Data compiled by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts indicate that 302,879 non-business petitions were filed during the first 3 months of this year, a 5.8% drop compared to the first quarter of 1999. |
| Higher Bank Card Delinquencies Reflect Deeper Penetration |
| Perhaps the most striking trend in the credit card market over the past two decades has been the deep penetration of the bank credit card product across all income and age groups. The chart displays the dramatic increase between 1983 and 1998 in the percent of U.S. households who own at least one general purpose credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express). |
| Economics and Election-Year Politics |
| Long before the coining of the infamous political catch-phrase "It's the economy, stupid," professional forecasters have tried to link the economic climate to election outcomes. Now that the candidates of the two major parties are chosen well before their summertime political conventions, economists can put forth their election forecasts side-by-side with their economic forecasts and revise them with each new round of monthly economic statistics. |
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| Payday Loans |
| Payday loans are single-payment, short-term loans that are also called "payday advance or check loans." Essentially, a consumer writes a check on his or her bank account for the amount desired, plus a fee. |
| On-Line Marketing Works Best for Credit Card Products |
| A recent release from CardTrak suggests that online marketing of financial services is economical only in the case of credit cards. PSI Global reports that 23 percent of consumers searching for mortgage loans applied online, while only 16 percent of shoppers for auto loans applied online. |
| Play Ball! |
| MasterCard and the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority are jointly offering one million "limited"-edition MetroCards. These feature pictures of four New York Mets players to commemorate the 2000 Subway Series to be held July 7-9. |
| The Passing of a Credit Card Pioneer |
| In the early days in this country credit was seldom available to the average consumer. To the extent that it was available, it was typically secured. General Motors Acceptance Corporation was a pioneer in the automobile industry in the 1920's and greatly helped General Motors to increase its market share in relation to that of Ford. |
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| Card Fraud in Europe |
| Credit and debit card fraud in the U.K. reached new heights last year. Moreover, "the picture is expected to deteriorate further during 2000 and beyond" according to an article in the European Card Review. |
| White Goods |
| Are you financing "white goods;" that is, major home appliances, such as stoves and ovens? If so, the decline in your portfolio is explained by major shifts in consumers' life styles. |
| American Express |
| Attention given to the suit of the Justice Department against Visa and MasterCard should not distract attention from American Express. It has been doing very well both in the U.S. and abroad. |
| Commercial Paper on the Web |
| As we know, commercial paper consists of unsecured promissory notes with maturities ranging from one to 270 days with denominations of $100,000 or more. Large corporations, including many financial institutions, issue them. Presently, about $1.4 billion of commercial paper is outstanding, up from $0.6 billion at the end of 1994. |
| Just for Kids |
| Are your kids restless, bored and irritating? Send them to www.ustreas.gov/kids. |
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| Disclosure of Credit Scores |
| One more signal of the pressure on creditors to disclose credit scores surfaced in May when the California Senate voted 31-1 in favor of a bill that would require disclosure of scores to consumers shopping for mortgages. Faced with mounting pressure from consumer groups, legislators and its own creditor customers, the largest commercial scorecard builder in the U.S., Fair Isaac & Co., announced in early June that it would begin disclosing the types of factors that influence consumer credit scores as well as the relative importance of factor categories. |
| House Passes Electronic Signature Bill |
| By an overwhelming margin of 426 to 4, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act on June 14th. The legislation gives contracts signed online the same legal status as paper contracts signed in-person and will remove what many consider to be a major obstacle to conducting business over the internet. |