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Black, Hispanic and poorer families pay the price for being "unbanked"

Aug 22, 2022
Low-income, Black, and Hispanic Americans are much more likely to lack a bank account or use alternative financial institutions like payday lenders.
A new report from the Joint Economic Committee in Congress finds that Black, Hispanic, and poorer Americans are much more likely to be considered "unbanked" or "underbanked".
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Bank accounts could soon help determine creditworthiness

May 13, 2021
Some big banks will give credit cards to people who lack credit scores, looking instead at savings and checking account history.
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Why credit scores are up — for now

Oct 20, 2020
Many people have been using their stimulus checks and extra unemployment benefits to keep up with bills and pay down debt.
With government aid and other pandemic relief, people have generally been able to pay down debt and keep up with bills. But the lack of additional assistance could mean a wave of missed payments is about to hit.
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More people could qualify for mortgages under new rule

Aug 14, 2019
The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week announced a new rule that will open up competition for which score, or scores, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac use.
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Is the strong economy creating credit score inflation?

Apr 30, 2019
A 740 today may not mean the same thing as a decade ago.
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Auto loan delinquencies rise for younger drivers

Feb 14, 2019
New car sales have been high for the past few years, and that means there are a lot more car loans out there. There are a lot more delinquent ones, too. According to a report from the New York Federal Reserve, 7 million borrowers are at least 90 days late on their payments, the highest […]
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The way credit scores are calculated is changing

Aug 15, 2018
The New York Fed says fewer kinds of missed payments are showing up on credit scores.
A cornerstone in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York building is seen on July 29, 2011 in New York City. 
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Monitor credit scores? You might wish you had if you don’t

Feb 26, 2018
Most people say they care about credit card security. They just don’t take time to deal with it before it’s too late. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

How the Equifax hack could have been avoided

Sep 18, 2017
The breach might have been stopped with a system update. But it won't be the last big hack.
Internet security firms sometimes “spend weeks in sort of all-out war with hackers,” Lily Hay Newman says.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

Equifax's new credit program will take a deeper look at your payment history

Oct 4, 2016
Equifax CEO Richard Smith shares how the new method will work.
Equifax and Fannie Mae worked together on the new credit score program.
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