Credit Talk for Ireland

Student loans are now being prioritized in Ireland for they have realized the importance of credit in today’s financial status in the economy. Credit is like the oxygen of the economy in Ireland however not everyone has realized the importance of credit today.

The Bank of Ireland has drafted two new schemes to help improve the credit in the country. The schemes and the increasing number of third-level students who are paying overdue are the crucial elements that could lead in the increase of the bad credit ratings in the future.

According to the CEO of the National Consumer Agency, Ann Fitzgerald, it is very important that students know the effects of their poor credit history in how their financial status in the future. A person’s credit history includes the list of lenders and account numbers you have had. Furthermore, it also contains information about the credit cards you have or those that were closed in a five year span, also it shows the loans you have and those you missed to pay.

A bad credit rating is very painful in your record. It could cause high interest rates, the loss of a job opportunity and worse, it could spell disaster for your future loan endeavors. It is important that you have a good behavioral standing and you should avoid missing payments in loans.

The Irish Credit Bureau is the agency that records the credit ratings in Ireland. It also acts as an aid for financial institutions in the country by giving the necessary information they need about loans. The agency has an up to date record of every person’s credit.

The records that they have are also designed to help prevent their clients from being victims of fraud and falling into indebtedness. The Bank of Ireland was scrutinized just recently by the Union of Students because of the new schemes it had for loans. However, according to the Welfare Officer of the UCCSU they noticed that there are plenty of students who are trying to get loans from banks.

How to Reduce Credit Auto Loans

According to recording agency, Experian subprime auto buyers are almost twofold as likely to have cars they purchase repossessed by banks and credit unions they should be able to prevent this from happening by knowing the following.

Those with poor credit who buy cars are limited to shopping and comparing interest rates from different companies who are high risk lenders. But interest rates could be reduced regardless of the number if you decrease the loan’s period and pre-payment of the loan.

Why do you reduce the term of a loan? If you decrease this it will increase the monthly payments you will have to pay and it will reduce the interest of the loan intensely.

For instance, you buy a $15,000 car with a 7% interest for tax and $120 fee that are non-taxable with a down payment of $2,000 the amount that you will pay will be $15,240. If you go on paying for this amount at a 60 month period at a 17% interest then the monthly payment will be $379 every month. This means the amount that you will be paying for the term will be around $7,485.

However, if you lessen the period to only 48 months with the monthly payment of $439 your total interest will only be $5,868 that is $1,600 off the price. Not only that, you will be paying the whole amount before the payoff so you could trade off earlier and this would have a positive effect in your credit score for it would not only increase it but allow you to be qualified for other loans with lower interest rates in the future.

Pre payment works because even if you pay more in the beginning of the loan you will be able to reduce the time interval of your car payments and lessen interest rates. You can even split the high loan into two parts and pay for the high interest in an earlier time and pay off the whole amount during the maturity date. The results will be the same only cheaper. You will have big savings.

Lack of Affordability – Accessible Housing a Problem for Persons with Disabilities

A huge problem for people with disabilities is that they are not able to access affordable housing. Roughly 54 million Americans have at least one disability, comprising the biggest minority group in the state.

According to Federal guidelines, affordable housing means total costs (i.e. rent/mortgage, utilities, insurance and taxes) do not go beyond 30 percent of a renter’s or homeowner’s household income.

At present, persons who are qualified for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in California receive $854.40 every month and $1,444.20 for couples. Based on the Federal guidelines, persons living alone on SSI must not pay over $256.32 every month and couples must not pay over $433.26. Taking this into consideration, it seems impossible for persons with disabilities to access affordable housing and a lot of them will be on waiting lists.

In addition to problems with affordability, another problem is accessibility. Many California communities are attempting to solve the problem of accessibility by, for instance, implementing the Universal Design Model Ordinance. This ordinance provides more opportunities for persons with disabilities, whether temporary, developing or permanent, to age in place.

Experts in the industry say that education will make a significant difference. People must be made informed about the programs and agencies that are working together with lenders, housing authorities and service providers in making new housing alternatives, like smart-home technology. Moreover, experts advise that persons with disabilities talk to elected leaders regarding their real-life experiences and the need for laws that enhance affordability and accessibility.

Elsa Quesada, chair of the California State Independent Living Council, said that they are committed to support persons with disabilities and providing information, training and education to help them. In partnership with the California State Department of Rehabilitation, the California State Independent Living Council prepares and oversees the State Plan for Independent Living. They are continuously asking for public feedback in order to guarantee that services reached persons with disabilities.

Car Loan Standards Loosening

In recent times, banks and investors are lending more money to people to buy cars. According to the automotive division of Experian, the value of auto loans outstanding was $725 billion at the end of quarter two this year and this is 5.7 percent more than that of the previous year and also a record high ever since quarter one of 2009.

There is an increase in the number of banks telling the Federal Reserve that they are loosening the standards for making new car loans, and that the market for securities backed by auto loans has recovered.

The rise in car financing is supporting one of the few parts of the consumer economy that is prospering. Lenders are keen to increase interest income since earnings on alternatives such as U.S. Treasurys are very poor. Moreover, they perceive auto loans as mostly attractive and secure.

Auto loans are more appealing to lenders than long-term mortgages because they are relatively small and span three to six years only. Based on the most recent survey conducted by Experian in the previous year, there was an increase in auto loans, even subprime auto loans, by roughly 1 percent.

According to Jim Lentz, U.S. chief executive at Toyota Motor Corp., more banks are getting into auto loans and it is good that there are more subprime auto loans.

Meanwhile, Wall Street reported that the market for securities backed by auto loans has recovered. Approximately $50 billion in bonds backed by auto loans have been issued this year, more or less the $53 billion raised in all of 2011. The loans are initiated by finance units of auto makers and banks, packaged into securities, and then sold to investors.

So far this 2012, the quantity of securities backed by auto loans is roughly 33 percent greater than the 2006 pre-crisis levels. However, the quantity of securities backed by mortgages is about 70 percent lower than 2006 levels.

Samsung Electronics’ Credit Ratings Advances

Standard and Poor’s, the global credit rating agency, changed the credit rating of Samsung Electronics to positive last Monday. S&P cited that Samsung’s operating performance improved as a result of its stronger position in the world’s handset market.

According to the report from S&P, the change to a positive credit rating indicates that they expect Samsung Electronics to continue its improved operating performance because of its strong positions in the global market and apparent technological leadership. Moreover, the agency confirmed that they change Samsung’s corporate credit and debt rating to “A”.

In addition, S&P reported that Samsung’s share of the global smartphone market was 30 percent in the year 2012, which is a significant increase from 4 percent during the year 2009. This increase in market share is attributed to the success of its Galaxy range of smartphones.

Recently, Samsung reported an operating profit of 6.72 trillion Won, which is its record high so far, in the second quarter of this year. It exceeded last year’s record high operating profit for three consecutive quarters.

Over 80 percent of Samsung’s sales are coming from outside the country. In fact, its cash and cash equivalents reached more or less 25 trillion Won, which is enough to cover roughly 14 trillion Won in total debts as of the end of March.

According to Park Jun-hong, a credit analyst at S&P in Hong Kong, because of the success of the Galaxy range of smartphones, Samsung’s operating performance in recent quarters were very strong. However, Jun-hong added that high concentration of earnings attached to mobile devices could create fluctuations in earnings at some point.

Park said that natural volatility and the slowdown of the global economy might pressure the profitability of a few divisions of Samsung. However, he also said that this risk can be toned down by the fact that Samsung has a well-diversified business portfolio.