Repair Your Credit

By Darren Cason

The term "bad credit" really means a poor credit rating. A credit history that is less than ideal can result in the rejection of an application for a loan, especially with the more conservative lenders such as banks. However, bad credit does not have to be a hindrance any more because there are lenders out there who are willing to offer packages to assist people in financial difficulties. It is possible that you won't even have to offer any security to obtain the loan. If you are in this situation, it may just mean that you have to pay a higher interest rate to offset the risk that the lender is taking with you.

There is a solution to your problems now, even if you are unable to make a payment at some stage. It is possible to repair your credit, but to do this you have to work out what resources you have to assist you in the repayment of the loan. There are some kits available in the market to help you with this dilemma and there are also resources in certain libraries that you can research. You should be able to make photocopies of any relevant information. This information will also assist you with any negotiations you will make with your prospective lender. Most kits will guide you step by step through the process.

Your intial step should be to obtain copies of credit reports from the credit agencies. Clear up any discrepancies or false information as this will be of benefit to you in the future when you are establishing your creditworthiness.

Once you have obtained the reports, carefully examine your credit score and evaluate your financial situation and if you are finding it difficult to meet your minimum payments, consult with your lenders to decide upon a mutually satisfactory solution. Most lenders will be more than happy to work with you as they realize that it is better to have some repayments happening than none at all. Explain your situation in detail; don't try to embellish the truth so you can have honest suggestions on how to improve your credit score.

Once you have made the first difficult step in repairing your credit rating, it is important to maintain your rate of payment to transform a "bad" credit into an "excellent" one.

About the Author:

Darren Cason frequently contributes to http://www.debtjerk.com. For more information about how to improve your credit score.

Will cutting rates be beneficial for the public?

By Chris Clare

As the credit crisis deepens and more people are feeling the real impact as credit becomes more difficult to obtain, the focus on interest rates has never been greater. 12 months ago, only those connected to the financial services industry were aware of LIBOR and its importance in the marketplace. Today LIBOR is discussed in living rooms and pubs throughout the country with many of these discussions fueled by news reports on television.

As a nation, we are now all aware that LIBOR, or the London Inter Bank Offered Rate, is the rate at which banks borrow from one another, and is therefore a benchmark for how the lending markets worldwide should react.

The British Banking Association (BBA) works out the BBA LIBOR rate on any given day by taking the inter bank borrowing rates from 16 contributor panel banks and analyses the middle eight rates (dismissing the first 4 and the last 4) to arrive at an average rate.

The gap between the LIBOR rate and the Bank of England base rate has for the past year, been large by historic standards and this gap has been more prolonged than ever before. The rate has reduced slightly over recent weeks culminating in the 1.065 percentage point reduction on Friday to 4.496 its lowest since April 2004 this after the Bank of England slashed interest rates by 1.5% to 3%. There has also been a great deal of pressure placed on banks from both the government and the media to pass on these rate cuts to customers. Many of the leading banks have now shown a commitment to following the Bank of England's lead.

In clamoring for reductions to be passed on there are a number of factors that appear to have not been taken in to consideration;

Now, as I have said, the drop in the interest rate would seem to be welcome news for all concerned. But it pays to look at this from the banks point of view. If they pass on the rate drop and it applies to someone who is in payment arrears then this could be detrimental for both the customer and the bank. For example say you have a customer who has monthly payments of 350 and is in arrears of 300 would not necessarily be perceived as a risk. Now say the rate is passed on and his monthly payment drops to 280. This means that the customer is more than one month in arrears. This creates a domino effect because with each passing month the debt is not being cleared and more is being owed. It soon gets to the stage where this will be seen as a bad debt and put in the hands of solicitors for collection. Not a good position to be in.

Banks who wish to lend to other banks at the LIBOR rate will be looking at the performance of the borrowing bank's mortgage book. This will inevitably have slipped with the decrease in rates, and will of course only slip further as more cuts happen in the future. As a result, banks will become more unwilling to lend out as the possible risk of lending increases, which will in turn be detrimental to the LIBOR rate.

There is another way that banks achieve funding for their daily dealings. Income from their loan books and retail deposits are also used for mortgages and loans. This is how some banks have been able to keep afloat during the recent crisis and it is indeed true to say that the competition that now exists for investments is every bit as intense as it was for mortgages just a few years back.

The drop in rates will mean that the income derived from borrowers will plummet, although banks will continue to grapple for investment business. Therefore the bank's profits will droop and their recovery will be made slower. As the banks fight for investment, the rates drop even below the LIBOR rate, meaning that the only way for banks to get liquid funds is through retail business. In that respect, LIBOR must then drop far enough to be attractive to banks in comparison with the cost of getting in retail business.

In conclusion it is fair to say that the Governments strategy has had a positive impact on the market and will provide much needed confidence. However it is also fair to stay that there are still many challenges ahead and the antidotal injection of cash and reduction of interest rates will certainly come with some painful side effects. On a side note while I write this, LIBOR has actually gone back up to 5.65% go figure!

About the Author:

Mortgage Route gives assistance help and advice on mortgages from qualified mortgage brokers along with free mortgage calculators and sourcing tools.

Understanding Credit Score Ratings

By William Blake

The credit score rating scale is a confusing numeric system to understand. There are lots of numbers and every one of them means a different thing. The sooner you understand this scale, the easier it will be for you to do the necessary repairs to improve your score faster.

How Credit Scores are Composed

Many factors go into to composing your credit score. Credit companies review your entire financial history, looking at what debts you have had and your record of payment. They look at the amount of debt you have. Having a lot of debt will bring your credit scores down. They also look at how much credit history you actually have. If you are just beginning to build your credit you will have a lower score until they have more information to evaluate.

Two More Important Factors for Your Score

Credit companies also want to see how much credit you are applying for. If you have filled out a number of credit card applications this will reflect poorly on your credit report. Also having a lot of outstanding debt with large balances and/or high rates of interests will bring your credit scores down.

Do You Have an Excellent Credit Score?

En excellent credit score is anything above 700. With an excellent credit score you will be offered the lowest interest rates possible for any loan you apply for. A rating of 650, while not excellent, is not a bad score. You would want to improve it at all possible. If your score is between 450 and 650 this is considered a low credit score and you really need to try to improve it. More than likely you will not be able to obtain an unsecured loan. All loans that you apply for will require some sort of collateral. If your scores are below 450 it will be almost impossible for you to obtain any type of loan or credit. You will need to seek the help of a financial counselor and begin to work to improve your credit score.

Get the Help You Need

Credit counseling is readily available free of charge to any who desire to better their credit scores. They educate you on what you need to do to have a better credit rating and make wise decisions so as to keep your credit rating high. This will be a big help to you in putting yourself in a better financial situation and maintaining it.

About the Author:

Can cancelling a credit card help you get your debt paid off faster? Get the inside scoop on the Debtopedia website at http://www.debtopedia.com where you'll get your free copy of my report Secrets Of Credit Card Debt