Personal Finance News & Trends (10.14.20)

Michael Pearl

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3 min readOct 14, 2020

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Bi-weekly updates on personal finance, fintech, US economy and more

US Economy

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Stimulate It

The prospect of a second stimulus package looks unlikely, but never say never

President Trump surprisingly stated last week the he pauses the negotiations on a second stimulus package. The urgency for initiating such a relief diminished lately, as the US economy has been showing signs of recovery in Q3.

Since then he changed course, agreed to discuss an additional check of $1,200 to all Americans and even urged his party to streamline the process.

An interesting element of Trump’s proposal: student loan forgiveness.

Personal Finance Updates

Shopping spree

The demand for new houses is rising, and the prices are skyrocketing

Americans are on a shopping spree, and I’m not talking about Amazon Prime day.

The housing market is experiencing a historic high demand and low supply of homes for sale. This phenomenon, fueled by record low rates, is driving the prices up.

The median home sale price has jumped 15% year over year.

Regardless (or not), the number of mortgages in active forbearance dropped below 3 million, for the first time since April.

Forgive and Forget

SBA to offer forgiveness for small PPP loans

As many expected, the Small Business Administration announced it is allowing borrowers to apply for a debt forgiveness for loans taken as part of the PPP.

Starting from last week, business owners who borrowed $50,000 or less can apply, with no further requirements.

This move is expected to boost small businesses that will now have more funds for growth and maintenance.

Corporate and Partners News

IPOs Galore

After the Quicken Loans IPO, several mortgage lenders want to follow suit

As we reported, Quicken Loans, one of the largest mortgage loan providers, filed for an IPO in July. Apparently, this move was a first step in what seems to be an industry trend.

Housing Wire reported that Caliber Home Loans is eyeing a $2 billion IPO. Another mortgage lender that wants to ride the IPO wave is AmeriHome.

Earlier, it was reported that LoanDepot and United Wholesale Mortgage are also planning an IPO.

This trend is not confined solely to the mortgage loans providers. Buy now pay later (BNPL) lender Affirm filed for an IPO last week.

The Big Bank Goes Small

Bank of America to offer small-dollar loans

Bank of America plans to offer short-term small-dollar loans next year. Customers who have had checking accounts with the banking giant can borrow up to $500 for 3 months and for a flat fee of $5.

In this decision, BoA aims to penetrate a lucrative market, currently dominated by non-bank lenders.