Banking

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.

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.

Alternative lenders like Apollo, Ares and HPS are increasingly providing larger loans to borrowers, and potentially taking away share from the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets.

The global pandemic and stalled trade negotiations have discouraged farmers and ranchers from taking on more debt and made banks uneasy about extending more credit.

Besides reauthorizing the Paycheck Protection Program, Congress should upgrade the loan forgiveness process, offer businesses the chance to take out a second loan and ensure the pricing satisfies lenders, bankers say.

Community bank earnings are usually easy to understand, but loan deferrals and modifications as well as the complexities of the Paycheck Protection Program are skewing financial statements.

No two properties are alike, so lenders are tailoring their approaches for modification, forbearance and repayment of loans to a sector devastated by the pandemic.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors, banking law scholars and consumer advocacy organizations filed amicus briefs siding with the New York State Department of Financial Services in its court battle with the federal regulator.

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.