lenders

Back in the old days (a.k.a. a few years ago), banks would determine if you were worthy of a loan by looking at your credit score and your income. Now, with defaults at near-record levels, lenders are much more cautious about who they give money to, so much so they're willing to violate your...

DailyFinance contributor Alex Salkever's most recent absurd tale of plastic woe has convinced him that reform or not, it's unlikely that card companies are going to change anytime soon.

When Noemi Rodriguez bought a two-bedroom, 830-square-foot condo in the San Fernando Valley of LA, for $307,000, she had good credit and a steady job as a data processor. Then came the recession. Home values started tanking.She lost her job. The bills stacked up, and she was falling behind on her...

Just when owners think their mortgage nightmare has ended with the loss of their home through foreclosure, the next round of bad news knocks at the door: the bank holding their second trust deed demands repayment of the loan. Despite heavy political pressure to write off so-called "junior"- or...

Dr. Boyce Watkins recently took Montel Williams to task, in a fairly mild way, for the daytime talk icon's decision to serve as a spokesman for Money Mutual, a payday lender. Watkins writes that "No, Montel is not a crook. And neither are Magic Johnson and Russell Simmons, two other people who...

Come this June, as WalletPop has reported, new government rules take effect that are designed to make it easier for distressed homeowners to get not only that often-elusive, three-month trial mortgage loan modification, but also the much more sought after (and relatively seldom gotten) permanent...

Have you been offered a bad credit deal by a lender but don't know why? Starting in January 2011, banks will have to tell you why and give you free access to your credit report any time you're given less-favorable terms, according to final rules issued Tuesday by the Federal Reserve and the Federal...

A new report by the Center for Responsible Lending shows that issuers have created or expanded at least eight hidden charges to replace the income they anticipate losing because of newly enacted laws and Federal Reserve rules intended to stop credit card abuses.

What's most striking about the commercial real estate market is how quiet it is. "It's like a storm is brewing and it has everyone standing on the sidelines," says Bob Spratt, president of commercial real estate firm Hill Partners Inc. And that near silence is expected to continue until 2010, when...

Even if your credit card company refused to cut you a deal on your credit card balances just a few months ago, you might want to try again. The New York Times reported today that some credit card companies have changed the rules and are giving front-line customer service reps the right to cut your...