Category Archives: Blog with BEBdata

Loans are at a healthy, rational level

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Cars drivers trafficA recent report from Raj Sundaram is co-president of Dealertrack Inc. published in Automotive News  reviewed subprime loans in the auto industry.

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing in the press and financial circles lately that subprime automotive lending may have rebounded too fast or too far in recent years. And while it’s natural that all of us should remember key lessons from the 2008 financial crisis, today’s conditions in automotive subprime bear virtually no resemblance to the mortgage issues that precipitated that fateful bubble.

At Dealertrack, our view is that subprime lending today is at a healthy, rational level. We see this type of lending delivering a clear benefit to the economy in enabling more vehicles to be produced and sold and in giving borrowers an opportunity to rebuild their credit faster than nonborrowers.

Some recent media articles reflect a generally negative tone about subprime lending, often criticizing the interest rates that subprime borrowers must pay to get credit. This thinking also extends to some government regulators who argue that subprime lending is unfair and rates are too high or should be capped. Some of these same articles decry the addition of subprime lenders to the market, when in reality these new players will generally help increase competition and keep rates as low as possible for borrowers.

While our industry has seen subprime automotive lending standards ease in recent years, it’s in large part because the requirements were so restrictive in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Lenders today use far more rigorous underwriting standards than during the heyday of the credit boom a decade ago. Even the new entrants on the lending scene have access to more relevant data than before to help them make sound decisions.

The reality is that subprime loans continue to perform well for lenders, and delinquencies today remain well below precrisis levels. And while loans originating in 2010 and 2011 may perform slightly better than those originating in 2013 and 2014, it is because the older loans were established during the years of the most restrictive subprime lending conditions. Read more.

Can You Discharge Student Loans?

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BEBdata Consumer Bankruptcy ListCredit.com news wrote an interesting blog entitled, “Can You Discharge Private Students Loans in Bankruptcy”.

There’s a big misconception that private student loans can never be discharged in bankruptcy. People have repeated that statement so often they believe it to be a fact. The only problem is it’s not quite true.

Some private student loans are clearly eligible to be wiped away in a consumer bankruptcy. Even in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it takes only about 90 days to forgive the debt tax-free.

And while these special rules apply to private student loans that meet some criteria, all private students loans are no longer legally collectible once they have expired under the statute of limitations in your state… read more.

 

USPS RATE HIKE REMANDED AGAIN

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POSTAL POOCH RATE HIKE REMANDED AGAIN 1Two weeks ago the Postal Regulatory Commission sent the Postal Service’s rate and classification proposals for Periodicals, Standard Mail, and Package Services back for corrections and amendment. Last week the revised proposed rates were resubmitted, and for a second time, the PRC remanded the rate case stating the Postal Service has not complied fully with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Once the rate proposal is updated, the PRC will allow 7-days for public comment. In a statement released last week, the PRC also noted; “The Postal Service states that the revised prices are scheduled to go into effect on April 26, 2015. … Pursuant to [statute], no rate shall take effect until 45 days after the Postal Service files a notice specifying that rate.”

Our good friend and postal expert, Leo Raymond of Epicomm wrote; “Though I’m not a lawyer, that last sentence seems to sink the Postal Service’s plans for an April 26 implementation date — at least for Periodicals, Standard Mail, and Package Services. (The proposed rates and classification changes for First-Class Mail, and competitive products were approved earlier, and there’s no legal reason why implementation of those rates would have to be delayed, though implementing them separately would be a major headache for mailing companies and their software providers.)”
If the USPS HQ can update and resubmit by Monday, and allowing for the seven days for comment, add another few days for the PRC to deliberate, and assuming it doesn’t remand the filing a third time, it’s reasonable to not expect an order on final rates in April. This means that it is possible that the 45-day clock won’t start until the date of the PRC order putting rate implementation (for the three classes involved at least) into mid-May.

We’ll keep you posted as things unfold.

PRC Approves Rate Hike effective Apr 26

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2015 POSTAL RATE HIKE

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has issued orders approving some of the price changes proposed earlier by the Postal Service. After its review of the USPS filing, discussion of the input from commenters, and its own analysis, the PRC found that “the planned” prices for First-Class Mail do not violate the price cap.

The PRC has also approved the price increase for competitive products (proposed on January 26), except for some rates associated with products whose transfer from “market dominant” to “competitive” remain under review.

Rate increases will take effect on April 26, 2015. You can view the new rates by clicking below:

STANDARD NONPROFIT LETTERS AND FLATS

STANDARD LETTERS AND FLAT | FIRST CLASS LETTERS & POSTCARDS

ANNUAL FILINGS REVIEW 2013/2014

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2013/2014 Consumer BK ComparisonDuring the 12-month period ending December 31, 2014, 936,795 cases were filed in federal bankruptcy courts, down from the 1,071,932 bankruptcy cases filed in calendar year 2013—a 12.6 percent drop in filings.

BEB TX WINS PLATINUM

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2015-02-01 AVA DIGITAL AWARD BEB WINS PLATINUMPlatinum is the highest honor received within the AVA Digital Award annual competition. It recognizes outstanding achievement by creative professionals involved in the concept, direction, design and production of media that is part of the evolution of digital communication. Our winning entry was for the use of QR Codes in our annual company interactive calendars.

The competition this year received over 2,500 entries from across the globe. The AVA Digital Awards is sponsored and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). This international organization consists of several thousand production, marketing, advertising and free-lance professionals. We thank all of our valued clients and partners for continued opportunities to serve them.

You can see our winning entry by clicking here.