We use cookies. You have options. Cookies help us keep the site running smoothly and inform some of our advertising, but if you’d like to make adjustments, you can visit our Cookie Notice page for more information.
We’d like to use cookies on your device. Cookies help us keep the site running smoothly and inform some of our advertising, but how we use them is entirely up to you. Accept our recommended settings or customise them to your wishes.
×

Financial Services Industry News: July 2015

The 2016 budgeting season is here! And Merkle’s monthly Financial Services Industry News reports on the leading news and trends to keep you informed on new opportunities and potential threats in your business.

This month’s edition is jam packed with the latest news and developments across the retail banking and financial services industries. We encourage you to take these hand-selected topics into consideration when fine-tuning your competitive advantage strategy for 2016.

Highlights from this edition include:

  • General Industry
    Chase Relaunches Website with Focus on Branded Content, Simplicity
  • Technology & Innovation
    U.S. Bank's “Your Community” App: One Step Closer to Cracking the Geolocation Code
  • Cards & Payments
    American Express Enters Fitness-Wearables Space with UP4 Payments
  • Consumer Lending
    Report: Millions of Borrowers Could Still Benefit from Refinancing
  • Wealth Management
    Betterment Makes Investing Easier with SmartDeposit
  • Small Business
    Approval Rates at Big Banks, Institutional Lenders Hit New Highs
  • Regulation & Security
    Pew Report: With Nearly 23 Million Consumers Using Prepaid Cards, More Protections Are Needed
  • Economy
    National Loan Delinquency Declines
  • Merkle Thought Leadership
    The Cashless World

Featured Trend

Report: Millions of Borrowers Could Still Benefit from Refinancing

The data and analytics division of Black Knight Financial Services recently released its latest Mortgage Monitor Report, based on data as of the end of May 2015. This month, Black Knight looked into the current population of refinanceable borrowers and found that, between traditional and HARP programs, approximately 6.5 million borrowers could likely both qualify for and benefit from refinancing. As Black Knight Data & Analytics Senior Vice President Ben Graboske explained, these refinance opportunities could result in significant monthly savings for qualifying borrowers. “By looking at current interest rates on existing 30-year mortgages and applying broad-based underwriting criteria, we found that approximately 6.1 million borrowers make good candidates for traditional refinancing,” said Graboske. “An additional 450,000 meet HARP-eligibility guidelines. For both groups, the potential monthly savings could be substantial. Some 550,000 American homeowners with a mortgage could save $500 or more each month by refinancing at today's rates. Over three million could save at least $200 per month. All told, in the aggregate we're looking at about $1.5 billion that American homeowners could be saving every month through a traditional refinance. Add in the 450,000 HARP-eligible borrowers, and that figure swells to about $1.66 billion in savings every month — almost $20 billion a year.”

View Past Issues: