"The latest U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from Realty/Trac revealed that, during May 2007, foreclosure filings in the nation (which includes default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions) climbed 19 percent from April 2007 and almost 90 percent from May 2006."
staten

Michael E. Staten
spotlight archive

afsaonline

JULY 2007   

FTC Study Finds Room
for Improving Mortgage Disclosures

   

For years consumer advocates and academics have criticized required mortgage disclosure documents as inadequate and confusing. Now, a federal agency has finally conducted research that not only validates this criticism but also demonstrates that improved disclosures can boost consumer understanding of the transaction.


Foreclosures on the Rise
The latest U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from RealtyTrac revealed that, during May 2007, foreclosure filings in the nation (which include default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions) climbed 19 percent from April 2007 and almost 90 percent from May 2006.

Personal Bankruptcies Hit Spring Plateau
Petitions filed for personal bankruptcy across the United States have flattened in recent weeks. For the six week period ending June 16, 2007, the weekly filing volume in U.S. bankruptcy courts was relatively stable at around 15,000 filings per week.

Discover Capitalizes on Consumer Payment Preferences
As reported previously in this column, the PaymentDynamics 2007 Preferred Payments Study on consumer payment preferences, attitudes, and behavior recently was released by TransUnion and Edgar, Dunn & Company.

VantageScore Gains Traction With Lenders
In 2006 the three major U.S. credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and Trans Union) launched a new credit scoring product developed to compete directly with the ubiquitous FICO scoring product sold by Fair Isaac Corp. The product, named VantageScore, is maintained and distributed by VantageScore Solutions LLC (Stamford Connecticut), a joint venture of the three bureaus.

Portable MasterCard Account Numbers
MasterCard Inc. announced in mid-June that it had developed a system that will let cardholders retain their 16-digit account numbers when they upgrade or otherwise switch within an issuer's family of card products.

FTC Study Finds Room for
Improving Mortgage Disclosures
For years consumer advocates and academics have criticized required mortgage disclosure documents as inadequate and confusing. Now, a federal agency has finally conducted research that not only validates this criticism but also demonstrates that improved disclosures can boost consumer understanding of the transaction.

Credit Card Disclosures
The long-awaited proposal from the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) to revamp Truth-Lending-Disclosures on credit cards (Regulation Z, open-end credit not secured by home equity) has not satisfied key members of Congress who have been pushing for tougher restrictions on credit card terms and issuer practices.

Supreme Court Raises the Bar
for Damages in FCRA Lawsuits
In early June the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that will limit the liability of insurers and other financial services companies in a variety of class action suits involving alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

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