Further evidence of economic recovery throughout the nation, an Experian trends analysis of new mortgages and bankcards from Q1 2013 showed a 16 percent year-over-year increase in mortgage origination volume and a 20 percent increase in bankcard limits. Other insights offered by Experian, include evidence of a strong rebound in the Midwest as well as unprecedented lows in bankcard delinquencies.

Mortgage trends
Mortgage origination volume saw a 16 percent increase over the same quarter a year ago. This upward trend in volumes over the past eight quarters points to a consistently improving housing market.

Average home prices increased slightly from 2011. California continues to lead the way, with an average home price of $325,000. The South Central region increased to $169,000, surpassing the Midwest, which came in at $163,000. However, regional share of originated mortgage dollars showed strong activity in the Midwest as the new year began, with the Midwest rebounding by growing 27 percent year over year to $101 billion.

For the first time in two years, the region surpassed California, which grew by 6 percent to $92 billion. Mortgage delinquency rates also continued to improve, reaching multiyear lows. There was a slight increase in late-stage 90- to 180-day delinquency that may be the result of continued stress in some specific housing markets.

Bankcard trends
Bankcard lending continues to slowly build every quarter, reaching a 20 percent year-over-year increase in total origination volume limits extended into the market during Q1 2013, which is up about $11 billion.

According to the analysis Experian is seeing increased bankcard lending taking place in the prime and super-prime space. Significant year-over-year growth rates occurred within the near-prime segment, which saw a 42 percent increase, while the prime space grew 30 percent.

Bankcard performance is also near record lows for each of the delinquency periods. Experian saw a slight seasonal uptick in charge-offs from 3.9 percent to 4.3 percent, but other than that, it was another very strong quarter for payment performance. The 30 to 59 days past due (DPD) went to 0.94 percent — six basis points lower than the previous quarter. Also, the 60 to 89 DPD went to 0.59 percent from 0.65 percent, and the 90 to 180 DPD was flat at 1.56 percent.

In looking at the 30-plus-day delinquency rate by state for the quarter, Experian saw North Dakota lead the best-performing states, with the lowest rate of 1.94 percent. This was followed by Alaska at 2.23 percent, Wyoming at 2.34 percent, South Dakota at 2.41 percent and Iowa at 2.42 percent.

The states that did not perform well for the quarter were Nevada at 3.81 percent, Arizona at 3.79 percent, Florida at 3.71 percent, Mississippi at 3.51 percent and Alabama at 3.40 percent. This information shows that the spread between the highest- and lowest-performing states for bankcards is continuing to close.

The data for this insight and analysis was provided by Experian’s IntelliViewSM product. IntelliView data is sourced from the information that supports the Experian–Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Reports and is easily accessed through an intuitive, online graphical user interface, which enables financial professionals to extract key findings from the data and integrate them into their business strategies. This unique data asset does this by delivering market intelligence on consumer credit behavior within specific lending categories and geographic regions.

Experian has provided World Omni Financial Corp. (World Omni) with a flexible decision management solution based on its PowerCurve™ and Attribute Toolbox™ software that will streamline the processing and decisioning of automotive finance applications.

“We needed a decision management solution, and Experian could deliver cost-effective, robust technology that quickly and seamlessly integrated with our loan origination system. This tool will enable us to grow our automotive finance business,” said Bill Shope, vice president of Portfolio Management at World Omni Financial Corp. “The solution also needed to be flexible enough to provide us with long-term support and growth capabilities as customer needs and market dynamics change.”

As part of the solution, Experian’s PowerCurve Strategy Management software will enable World Omni to quickly design, test, execute and continuously improve decision strategies. Experian’s Attribute Toolbox will allow World Omni to tap into the wealth of credit and noncredit data available in today’s market. It also contains Experian’s Premier Attributes, the credit industry’s most robust and predictive tri-bureau credit attributes, and Custom Attributes, which enable users to make risk decisions within their application processing system that are specific to their financing processes.

“Organizations like World Omni are constantly trying to better understand consumers, analyze areas for risk and look for new growth opportunities,” said Charles Chung, president of Decision Analytics North America at Experian. “This requires empowering business users, without overburdening IT, to make and monitor decisions that result in both loyal customers and improved profits. To accomplish this, they need the power of today’s best decision management software and the intelligence of advanced analytics that will provide them with more agility, flexibility, control and insight into every lending decision.”

Experian provides software, analytics and services in a number of ways to meet individual client needs. The World Omni solution has been implemented in a secure, hosted environment within the Experian firewall at one of its state-of-the-art data centers. World Omni also will utilize Experian’s Precise IDSM product for verification and fraud detection. These services are integrated with Experian’s PowerCurve Strategy Management and Attribute Toolbox.

Most people shopping for a new car ask themselves that question all the time. In fact, there are many questions that surround whether to buy or lease a vehicle. What are the benefits of one over the other? Would my payment be lower if I leased? What if I decided to buy the car after, would there be a penalty?

Recently, these questions became very real to me when I found myself having to shop for a new car following the untimely death of my husband’s previous vehicle. The deceased was the typical “Dude” car – huge engine, power everything and it was bright yellow. For the new car, I wanted him to get something a bit more sensible; He wanted everything he had before and then some. So, as you can imagine, shopping was a lot of fun (insert sarcasm here).

I am glad to say, however, that what we ended up with made us both very happy and satisfied. We ultimately agreed upon a brand new dark gray metallic mid-sized sedan with lots of nice features to please the gadget fanatic in my husband, and a fuel efficient engine to please the economical budgetista in me. And for the first time in our adult lives, we leased!

As it turns out, Experian Automotive’s recently released State of the Automotive Finance Market report showed that lots of folks are making that same decision. In fact, this quarter’s report said that automotive leasing achieved the highest level since the organization began tracking the data in 2006.

According to the report, leasing accounted for a record 27.5 percent of all new vehicles financed, up from 24.4 percent in Q1 2012. Additionally, findings showed that the average monthly payment for a new vehicle financed in Q1 was $459, down from $462 in Q1 2012.

While leasing a vehicle can help consumers achieve a lower monthly payment, the report also showed a rise in loan term lengths (65 months in Q1 2013, up from 64 months in Q1 2012) and a decrease in interest rates (4.5 percent in Q1 2013, down from 4.6 percent in Q1 2012), which helped to keep payments low for new vehicles financed.

In Q1, the average loan amount for a new vehicle financed increased by $628, going from $26,020 in Q1 2012, to $26,648 in Q1 2013. The average used vehicle loan increased $461, going from $17,071 in Q1 2012, to $17,532 in Q1 2013.

Check out the full press release. For more information on this report and other automotive-related insights, please visit www.Experian.com/Automotive.

“In the war against fraud, financial institutions, retailers and identity monitoring service providers must deploy innovative technologies that can accurately detect identity theft as close to a transaction as possible,” said Julie Conroy, research director for Aite Group. “Bringing consumers themselves into the fraud prevention process provides another layer of vigilance, which enables businesses not only to better protect their customers and prevent losses, but also to establish a stronger relationship with the consumer.”

The ability to accurately alert potential fraud victims as close to a transaction as possible provides business clients and their monitored consumer base with the tools needed to head off potential identity theft while it is in flight. With this service, Experian is helping its clients give consumers additional insight to their identity usage well beyond traditional credit inquiries. As online and mobile transactions continue to explode, consumers want to be alerted not only to inquiries to their credit profile, but also to any use of their personal information in non-face-to-face transactions.

Precise ID Personal Protection Alerts enable direct-to-consumer service providers to engage consumers by notifying them when their identity has been verified across any of Experian’s identity authentication services. Within seconds, the service alerts consumers via text, email or mobile app during a transaction involving their identity and gives them the opportunity to stop identity theft before it occurs.

The product is designed to provide accurate and timely notification to consumers via its partners that provide identity monitoring services. Alerts contain detailed information that allows individuals to quickly recognize and assess the legitimate or fraudulent use of their identity. In cases of potential fraud, consumers are directed to reconciliation services and, if necessary, to the financial institution, retailer or other service provider that initiated the transaction.

They also have the option to add a special comment that the account was ‘Affected by natural or declared disaster.’ In some cases, they may be able to arrange for deferred payment. This means they do not report that you missed payments. Instead, your payment history is protected from reflecting missed payments if you are able to meet the new payment schedule as agreed.”

Here are ways Experian and the industry are working to help victims of disasters manage their credit:

1. Experian and the credit industry Asked Creditors to Use a Special Disaster Code to Protect Victims’ Credit Scores
By law, credit bureaus must list any debts and late payments reported by lenders. And credit scores are altered negatively whenever payments are not made on time. However, these credit score penalties can be prevented when lenders use a special disaster code. After Hurricane Sandy and most recently the tornadoes in Oklahoma, Experian and the credit industry sent out information to more than 8,000 credit card issuers and others who report data on ways to protect victims reminding them to use a special disaster code when reporting credit data.

Adding this simple code after a natural disaster means that the victim’s credit score will not be penalized for missed payments because the data would be excluded from credit score calculations. This code could also prevent positive credit history from being included in some scoring calculations depending on the scoring model. However, as soon as the special payment conditions are completed, the codes are automatically removed and your positive history will be scored as usual.

2. VantageScore 3.0, a Newly Introduced Credit Score Model, Ignores Delinquency-Related Information and Provides Favorable Treatment for Disaster Victims

When a lender reports credit data with a special disaster code, the VantageScore 3.0 model ignores delinquency-related information for these victims. This temporary exclusion of trade-level delinquent behavior can help consumers avoid a reduction in their score that may have been decreased by as much as 120 points for a 60 day delinquency on a mortgage. During this tough time, it’s important to note that all other information related to the trade continues to be included in the model, such as on-time payments which positively contribute to a score.

Dealing with any natural disaster can be overwhelming – from a physical, emotional and financial standpoint. At Experian, we’re doing what we can to help educate and provide solutions to consumers who are affected by Hurricane Sandy, the tornadoes in Oklahoma or other natural disasters. . To correct an inaccuracy on your credit report, get help with fraud or identity theft, or find contact information for Experian consumer services, please visit Experian’s one-stop resource at www.experian.com/help. For credit education and tips, you can always visit www.LiveCreditSmart.com.

For the first time, Experian® analyzed credit scores, average debt, utilization ratios, mortgage amounts and mortgage delinquencies of men and women in the United States. While the national credit scores only vary slightly — with a one point difference — other differences between the population of men and women include the following:

• Men have 4.3 percent more debt than women
• Men have a 2 percent higher credit utilization amount
• Mortgage loan amounts for men are 4.9 percent higher
• Men have a higher incidence of late mortgage payments by 7 percent

Below is a top-line look at how men and women fared when compared with each other:

“When looking closer at our data and cross-referencing it with other data sources, we see that women working full-time in the United States earn approximately 23 percent less income3 than men but that women are taking steps to manage their finances better than men,” said Michele Raneri, vice president of analytics, Experian. “The most notable difference is that men are taking bigger individual mortgage loans than women, but it would appear that they are having a slightly more difficult time making those payments on time.”

Mortgage insights
Some of the most compelling differences in the study were found in the mortgage category.
On average, 72 percent of consumers have joint mortgages (a home loan given to more than one party) and the remaining number represents men and women who borrowed on an individual/independent basis. The data reveals that throughout the United States, men have 18.3 percent more independent mortgages than women, with one exception: Women in Washington, D.C., take out 33 percent more loans than men.

See below for a closer look at the states with most and least independent mortgages by gender.

With men having more individual mortgages and higher loan amounts when compared with women, where are the most interesting trends when it comes to their loans and financial health?

• The most significant difference at the state level is in Connecticut, where the average man has a mortgage loan of $229,510 and the average for women is $175,276, creating a gap of 24 percent between them. Men in Connecticut also have late payments 13.6 percent more often than women, carry an average debt that is 8.6 percent higher and have a 5.6 percent higher utilization amount than women.
• Florida stands out in the study, as the men and women in the Sunshine State both have some financial strain, but women still maintain a better financial picture on average. West Palm Beach, Fla. — Men have 24 percent higher mortgage amounts than women, and their occurrences of late payments on them are 17.5 percent higher than women. Miami, Fla. — Both sexes are struggling to pay their mortgages on time, with men’s occurrences of late payments at 13.1 percent and women’s at 12.7 percent, with a difference of only 2.8 percent between the two. The women in Miami, though, have a 6.9 percent lower average debt than men, which indicates they are approaching their debts better.

“Seeing the divide between how men and women approach credit is interesting, but what’s most important is understanding the value of building a good credit history. How you manage credit and debt is critical to your financial well-being,” said Maxine Sweet, Experian vice president of public education. “Paying attention to what’s in your credit report, never missing a payment, and keeping your utilization rates low are three key steps to financial success.”

Additional data resources

• More details from the analysis — including an infographic and statistics for more than 100 U.S. cities and states — are available at Experian’s LiveCreditSmart.com.
• Experian is sponsoring a TweetChat with @Wisebread on May 23 at 3 p.m. Eastern time focused on the credit differences between men and women. Register at wisebread.com and follow #wbchat.
• Experian hosts a #CreditChat on Twitter every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern time with consumer credit experts Maxine Sweet and Rod Griffin. Follow @Experian_US to join in.

Analysis methodology
The analysis is based on a statistically relevant, sampling of depersonalized data of Experian’s consumer credit database from December 2012. Gender information was obtained from Experian Marketing Services.

[Download the full infographic here.]

When Kermit the frog said, “It’s not that easy being green,” he may not have been referring to the automotive market, but he may have been on to something.

Hybrid/alternative power vehicles are one of the smallest segments in the U.S., and have only just recently achieved a little more than one percent of the total vehicles in operation. However, according to Experian Automotive’s recently released Earth Day report, the segment has witnessed steady market share growth, increasing by 40.9 percent since 2011.

The report focused on some of the characteristics of a hybrid owner, as well as the financial attributes of hybrid vehicle loans. The infographic here provides a snapshot of a hybrid owner, highlighting that 53 percent are women and that 16 percent of hybrid owners are 25 to 34 years old.

Additionally, the report found that it’s not just “green” consumers that purchase hybrids: only eight percent want to be viewed as environmentally conscious. The analysis, in fact, showed consumers purchasing a hybrid have significantly higher credit scores than those purchasing another type of new vehicle. For example, the average credit score for a loan on a new hybrid was 790 compared with the national average credit score of 755 for a loan on any new vehicle.

Other loan attributes in the analysis included the average amount financed, monthly payment, interest rate and loan terms of hybrid vehicles purchased in 2012.

The analysis also showed that Toyota hybrid vehicles made up more than 62 percent of the vehicles financed in 2012.

For more information on this report or other automotive-related insights, please visit ExperianAutomotive.com.

When I think of large, successful companies, a couple of thoughts come to mind; excellent customer service, constant innovation and the unmistakable ability to attract new customers. While each of these is important in its own right, some would argue, the mark of a truly successful company is one that satisfies its existing customers, and keeps them coming back for more.

In our recently released Loyalty and Market Trends Report, we found that Ford did just that, as they passed GM and Toyota to take the top spot in corporate loyalty during Q4 2012. During the time period, 47.9 percent of the customers who owned a Ford vehicle returned to market to buy another Ford or Lincoln.

General Motors had the second highest corporate loyalty ranking at 47.7 percent, followed by Toyota Motor Corporation at 46.9 percent. The remaining auto manufacturers in the top 10 were Mercedes-Benz (43.4%), Honda (41.8%), Kia (40.0%), Hyundai (38.9%), Subaru (38.9%), Chrysler (38.1%) and BMW (37.0%).

Not only did Ford surpass its rivals in corporate loyalty, but it also remained as the top automaker in overall brand loyalty, with 47.1 percent of Ford owners returning to the market to purchase another Ford vehicle. Mercedes Benz was second in brand loyalty with 43.7 percent (a significant increase over the previous quarter when they came in ninth place with 34.6 percent), followed by Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda and Chevrolet, to round out the top five.

As if that wasn’t enough good news for Ford, it also had a record eight out of the top 10 models in brand loyalty, led by the Ford Fusion, Ford Flex and Ford Edge. Other Ford vehicles included the Ford Five Hundred, Ford Fiesta, Ford Escape, Ford Focus and Ford Taurus. The only non-Ford models included were the Kia Forte and Chevrolet Sonic.

The report also highlighted several other key areas of the automotive industry including registration trends, market share and average age vehicles.

To see a webinar recorded presentation of the report or to learn more about Experian Automotive’s other industry insights, please visit www.Experian.com/Automotive.

Photo: Philip Lange / Shutterstock.com