Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Consumers decreased their credit card debt by 11 percent last year, with the average debt load declining in every state. That information came from a report released Tuesday by credit tracking and financial education website CreditKarma.com. It analyzed data from more than 300,000 of its users. “The new year typically inspires consumers to get in control of their finances, especially after the bout of holiday spending that occurred in December. Starting in January, you’ll see consumers start focusing on decreasing debt,” said Ken Lin, CEO of CreditKarma.com. CreditKarma.com found that the average credit card balance was $6,576 in 2011, down from $7,404 the previous year. However, that decline came in a climate of weak consumer confidence, which kept spending down as banks continued to tighten lending while slashing credit limits for many existing customers. [...] Continue Reading…

Washington, DC, United States (IRIN) – A slump in the amount of money migrants sent home during the global financial crisis appears to have ended with officially recorded remittances to the developing world reaching an estimated US$351 billion in 2011, an 8 percent increase from 2010. “Growth of remittances in 2011 exceeded our earlier expectations in four regions, especially in Europe and central Asia… and sub-Saharan Africa,” write lead economists at the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Unit in a brief released on 1 December . The top recipient countries were India, China, Mexico and the Philippines, but smaller nations such as Tajikistan, Lesotho, Nepal and Lebanon received a greater flow of remittances as a percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP) – Lesotho, for example, relied on remittances for 29 percent of its GDP in 2011. Money sent home by migrants now represents three times [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
NYC, NY, United States (AHN) – The rate for the 30 year fixed mortgage rate remained near 4 percent for the third consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. Mortgage rates in general were little changed. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate averaged 4 percent or the week ending Nov. 17, up slightly from 3.99 from the previous week, and below the 4.39 percent recorded a year earlier. Rates on the 15 year fixed rate mortgages averaged 3.31 percent, up from 3.3 percent a week ago, and below the 3.67 percent recorded a year ago. While the ailing housing market is showing some signs of life, mortgage rates are expected to stay low for an extended period.

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Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Charlotte, NC, United States (AHN) – Credit unions are benefiting from a hike on debit card fees imposed by Bank of America (BofA )on Sept. 29. They are taking advantage of the growing anti-bank sentiment across the country as evidenced by the Occupy Wall Street movements. Another proof is the big jump in applications experienced by some credit unions for membership. In September, the National Association of Federal Credit Unions logged a 350 percent increase in Web traffic to its online credit union locator. Besides capitalizing on the anti-bank sentiments, credit unions are highlighting their advantages such as no checking and debit card fee, no minimum balance requirements and quarterly paid dividends. The advantage credit unions and community banks with less than $10 billion in assets have compared to banks are that these establishments are exempt from a new government rule that [...] Continue Reading…

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – A study released on Thursday identified the desired retirement age for the average Canadian worker at 63. The report by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said 37 percent of survey respondents cited that age as the time when they would likely have saved enough to permanently leave the workforce. However, many of them upon nearing their target retirement age find they could not afford to retire because of insufficient savings and accumulated personal debts. Although only 22 percent of the survey respondents said they would likely still have outstanding payables due when they reach their target retirement age, previous CIBC surveys showed that 54 percent actually still have some debts at that time, according to CIBC Executive Vice President Christina Kramer. The discovery of financial insufficiency leads many employees to postpone retirement beyond their original target [...] Continue Reading…

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – A rising number of college graduates are filing for bankruptcy protection, says a study by the Institute for Financial Literacy scheduled for release on Tuesday. In 2006, degree holders accounted for 11.2 percent of bankruptcy protection filers, the study found. By 2010, their proportion rose to 13.6 percent. Similar trends were observed for holders of two-year associate degrees and graduate degrees. On the other end, high school diploma holders or college dropouts logged a decline in bankruptcy protection applications. Leslie Linfield, executive director of the Institute, said the new trends challenged beliefs that an advanced education is almost a guarantee for economic success. Linfield said the recession indicated otherwise. Bankruptcies in the U.S. dramatically rose after the 2008 financial crisis due to less consumer credit available after lenders tightened underwriting benchmarks and lowered loan limits. [...] Continue Reading…

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – A rising number of college graduates are filing for bankruptcy protection, says a study by the Institute for Financial Literacy scheduled for release on Tuesday. In 2006, degree holders accounted for 11.2 percent of bankruptcy protection filers, the study found. By 2010, their proportion rose to 13.6 percent. Similar trends were observed for holders of two-year associate degrees and graduate degrees. On the other end, high school diploma holders or college dropouts logged a decline in bankruptcy protection applications. Leslie Linfield, executive director of the Institute, said the new trends challenged beliefs that an advanced education is almost a guarantee for economic success. Linfield said the recession indicated otherwise. Bankruptcies in the U.S. dramatically rose after the 2008 financial crisis due to less consumer credit available after lenders tightened underwriting benchmarks and lowered loan limits. [...] Continue Reading…

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – The average Canadian pinpoints 55 as they age they would likely be free from debt, according to a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce survey released on Monday. The poll, conducted by Harris/Decima, surveyed Canadians between the ages 18 and 64. It found that only 35 percent of those in the age group 55 to 64 had no debt. On the average, the respondents see themselves paying off their debts within 10 to 15 years. Thus, those in the age group 18 to 24 said they would likely be free from debt by 32, while those in the 24-34 group placed it at 44, those in the 45 to 55 group pointed at 60 and those in the 55 to 64 bracket said 65. However, the study pointed out that most of their expectations of being debt [...] Continue Reading…

The number of hacked Citi credit card accounts rose to 360,083 from the 210,000 announced earlier, according to Citigroup.

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Americans borrowed more money in April for a seventh straight month, but they cut back on using credit cards.

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