Rilla Delorier, SunTrust's marketing chief, says banks need to work together to promote financial health and change behavior. "We have to do this to save our industry," she says.
Consumers facing mortgage trouble want help and are looking everywhere for it. Paying close attention to where and how homeowners seek information is how the servicing industry will put itself on the fast track to a better reputation.
Instead of dwelling on tired arguments, industry reps and consumer advocates should focus on, among other things, ending the debt cycle, promoting financial literacy and helping borrowers build credit.
The need that drives millions of people to seek out small loans isnÂ't going away. Lenders can fill the gap by restructuring payment models, focusing on a borrowerÂ's ability to repay and developing a variety of solutions.
The head of a small Atlanta credit union used a negative situation, the Target data breach's impact on her customers, to score PR points. More big banks should think and act this creatively in crises.
The U.S. Postal Service, well-positioned to compete with payday lenders, could redirect the $7.4 billion Americans annually spend on these types of loans back into the U.S. economy. But it would have to become a proper bank to do so.
The U.S. Postal Service offering financial services to the underserved would be a great idea. If the U.S. Postal Service weren't, you know, the U.S. Postal Service.
