Government News

Mortgage Rates Continue Falling as Homebuying Season Begins

Mortgage rates continued to decline for the fourth consecutive week, with the average 30-year fixed rate falling to 6.83%. Rates on long-term fixed-rate mortgages, including FHA loans, VA loans and jumbo loans, all dropped during the past week. Meanwhile, short-term mortgage…

CFPB receives FCRA rulemaking petition on debt collection

On March 3, the CFPB received a rulemaking petition from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) in response to forthcoming FCRA rulemaking announced in the Bureau’s Fall 2022 regulatory agenda. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the Bureau announced it is considering pre-rulemaking activity…

CFPB Orders Repeat Offender Portfolio Recovery Associates to Pay More Than $24 Million for Continued Illegal Debt Collection Practices and Consumer Reporting Violations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action today against Portfolio Recovery Associates, one of the largest debt collectors in the nation, for violating a 2015 CFPB order and engaging in other violations of law. The CFPB filed…

Some medical debts can be erased from credit reports

Starting this year, the three leading credit agencies began wiping medical debt under $500 from americans’ credit reports. To benefit from this change, you don’t have to do anything. But experts say it’s still smart to check on it. “If…

Debt collectors re-evaluate medical debt furnishing in light of data integrity issues

A new CFPB report estimates that medical collections tradelines declined by 37 percent between 2018 and 2022. “Market Snapshot: An Update on Third-Party Debt Collections Tradelines Reporting” also found that medical debt constitutes a majority (57 percent) of all collections on credit…

U.S. hits its debt limit and now risks defaulting on its bills

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in a letter to Congress on Thursday, said the U.S. has reached its debt limit, and has begun resorting to “extraordinary measures” so the government can continue paying its bills. Yellen had already previously warned the…

China’s recovery may mean the Fed will have to hike rates longer

As the end of China’s stringent Covid restrictions quickens the country’s economic recovery, concerns about pent-up Chinese demand — and the inflation that may follow — could mean bad news for the U.S. Federal Reserve. Economic data indicates that the Fed’s aggressive…

Inflation Causing Rise In Card Debt And Consumers Living Paycheck To Paycheck

An early December survey from U.S. News & World Report shows that more than eight in 10 Americans who have credit card debt are experiencing anywhere from a little to a lot of anxiety about it. Nearly 31% have at least $6,000…

Mortgage rates fall for the third week in a row as inflation fears ease

CNN —  Mortgage rates dipped again this week, marking the third straight week of falling rates. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.49% in the week ending December 1, down from 6.58% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, the…

Credit card debt in the U.S. hits all-time high of $930 billion—here’s how to tackle yours with a balance transfer

Credit card debt hit a record high of $930 billion for Americans in the final quarter of 2019, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released on Feb. 11. That’s a $46 billion increase in credit…