ST. LOUIS AMERICAN: Auto, student loan crisis worsening

Career College Central Summary:

A recent report by the New York Federal Reserve Bank seems to be saying that America’s household credit and debt are about as uneven as the nation’s economic recovery. A new economic analysis found fewer foreclosures, bankruptcies and credit card delinquencies. However, the rates of delinquent auto and student loans are worse than before.
For most consumers, debt may seem like a constant companion – not a friend but somehow lurking near. How consumers manage their debts can also trigger financial stress. In December 2014, the nation’s consumers collectively carried $710 billion of debt. Of this amount, $570 billion was 90 days or more delinquent.
It should also be noted that from mortgages to car loans, credit cards, auto financing and more, the high costs of predatory lending unnecessarily raise the costs of a wide range of products. In two specific lending areas – student and auto loans – both the amount of debt and delinquencies are rising. Both areas have also been under scrutiny by regulators and researcher alike as evidence mounts on predatory loan practices.
For the first time since before the recession started in 2007, the 90-day delinquency rate for auto loans (3.5 percent) is now greater than that of mortgages (3.1 percent). Auto loan balances continued to increase this quarter by $21 billion, and is larger than any time in history. That growth also comes with greater financial risk.
“Underwriting standards have steadily weakened in auto lending,” says Chris Kukla, senior vice-president with the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). “Dealers are pushing borrowers into longer loans and routinely making loans that are more than the car is worth. When dealer interest rate markups are allowed, the interest rate for compensation and other risky practices are added on top of the loans. CRL is concerned that these losses will continue to mount.”
Student loan debts in this same period rose to a new total of $1.16 trillion. In comparing student loan balances between 2013 and 2014, the New York Fed found the yearly increase to be $77 billion. Further, student loan delinquencies and defaults were even more than double that of auto lending at 11.3 percent and may actually understate the full delinquency rate due to deferments, grace periods, forbearance that are not included in the repayment cycle.
“The increasing trend in student loan balances and delinquencies is concerning,” said Donghoon Lee, research officer at the New York Fed. “Student loan delinquencies and repayment problems appear to be reducing borrowers’ ability to form their own households.”
“Student loan debt can be a great financial tool for many borrowers to obtain a valuable college degree,” said Maura Dundon, a CRL senior policy counsel. “Sharply rising balances coupled with slow repayment and high delinquency rates may indicate that student loan debt is beginning to drain Americans economically. A disproportionate share of defaulters attended for-profit colleges, which are in urgent need of reform.”

Click through to read the full article.

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN