Wall Street Journal (03/12/08) P. C1; Sidel, Robin
Declining residential values are leaving banks with little or nothing to collect on many home-equity loans in case of default. With losses on home-equity loans mounting, such major players as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. are feeling the pinch and other banks are dreading the release of first-quarter earnings numbers in April. Equifax Inc. and Moody's Economy.com report that nearly 4.65 percent of all fixed-rate home-equity loans were delinquent in last year's October-through-December period, an increase from 3.11 percent during the fourth quarter of 2006. Doug Duncan, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, forecasts, "We will continue to see banks increasing reserves for their home-equity portfolios and tightening their home-equity policies, changing their credit standards in response to price declines."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment