Tag Archives: Bankruptcy

Experian announced this week that it will incorporate positive rental data into the traditional credit file in an effort to help underbanked consumers build credit. According to the FDIC Web site, an estimated 17.9 percent of U.S. households, roughly 21 million, are underbanked. Experian says having positive rental history reflected in their credit scores will help consumers who may have faced financial hardships such as foreclosure or bankruptcy rebuild their credit.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said this week that suspicious activity reports (SARs) indicating mortgage loan fraud increased seven percent in the first half of this year. Banks and thrifts filed 35,135 mortgage-related SARs from January to June 2010. The federal agency found that reports referencing the term short sale appeared 827 times, and SARs referencing broker price opinion appeared 41 times during the first quarter of this year alone.

Ambac Financial Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to an announcement issued by the company after the market closed on Monday. The company insured billions in subprime mortgage securities during the housing boom, but has taken hit after hit since the market collapsed. Ambac says it was unable to raise additional capital as an alternative and could not reach an agreement with its debt holders. The IRS has also been investigating Ambac's accounting practices related to $700 million in tax refunds.