Consumer lending

Upstart Holdings implemented underwriting and pricing changes in response to higher delinquency and CNL rates on securitizations issued since Q1 2021.

Goldman Sachs provided more details on its pullback from its once-grand ambitions to expand into consumer finance. Though parts of that strategy will remain, the New York bank will halt its personal loan business and postpone offering a checking account for its wealth management customers.

Foreclosure starts also increased by over 19% between October and November but remain below pre-pandemic levels.

In an appeals court filing, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wrote that a federal judge "ignored regulatory text, history and context" when she ruled against a PNC customer. The consumer argues that the bank shouldn't have pulled funds from his checking account after he was tardy in making payments on his home equity line of credit.

The San Francisco bank joined Bank of America, U.S. Bancorp and Huntington Bancshares, which have previously introduced similar products. The Pew Charitable Trusts said the loans are a more affordable option for cash-strapped consumers than payday loans and overdraft fees.

A ballot initiative that places additional restrictions on debt collectors and decreases the interest rates that can be charged on medical debt passed Tuesday by an overwhelming margin. Consumer advocates say it will ease the burden on households dealing with hardship, but industry groups contend that it will make credit more expensive.

Credit bureaus should know better than to include "impossible" data, such as someone defaulting on a loan before they were born, says Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra.

The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit involving one of the nation's largest debt buyers. At issue is how much detail the industry must disclose about what consumers allegedly owe.

Recent reports highlight the question of how much wage growth can do to sustain loan performance as pandemic relief gets rolled back, consumer costs rise and the housing market cools.

Even though delinquency rates were previously at extremely low levels, the recent uptick among poorer consumers is worth monitoring, New York Fed researchers said.