Press Releases
FinRegLab Will Evaluate Innovations to Help Distressed Borrowers Recover from Pandemic and Other Financial Shocks
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
FinRegLab has launched a new research project using data from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) to evaluate ways to help consumers recover more quickly from personal and economic crises such as COVID-19. The project will analyze pilot initiatives by nonprofit counseling agencies and other data sources as a springboard for considering broader market and policy changes.
For millions of Americans, unmanageable credit card and loan balances can become barriers to financial stability and personal savings growth. These circumstances disproportionately impact households of color, compounding racial wealth gaps. Despite more than a decade of policy and research focus on mortgage and student loan repayment solutions, less public attention has been paid to options for families struggling with unsecured credit.
The new project will evaluate pilots by nonprofit credit counseling agencies organized with assistance from the NFCC to test new repayment plan structures and data and technology innovations. FinRegLab is working with researchers from The Ohio State University and Charles River Associates to conduct an independent empirical evaluation of the pilot results and other potential data sources.
“U.S. households have become increasingly vulnerable to income and expense shocks over the last several decades,” said FinRegLab CEO Melissa Koide. “Using new data sources and other innovations to improve options for distressed borrowers could help millions of families restabilize their finances as well as creating faster, more inclusive recoveries from national economic downturns.”
“With this groundbreaking research project, we hope to bring a new understanding of the challenges faced by distressed borrowers in the unsecured debt market much as has been done in recent studies of the mortgage market—both during and after the housing crisis,” said Jeff Falkner, CFO and Head of Research for the NFCC. “The output of this effort will inform and facilitate operational and policy discussions aimed at the delivery of supports and solutions for distressed borrowers across the coming years.”
Market Context Report
FinRegLab has started the project by releasing a report titled, “Debt Resolution Options: Market & Policy Context,” which describes the primary optionsavailable to consumers who are struggling with unsustainable unsecured loans, as well as available research about the scope and impacts of those options. It culminates with an overview of critical policy questions as stakeholders work to improve resolution options for consumers as rising inflation and interest rates increase financial pressures on many families. The report’s findings include:
- Current options for resolving unsecured loans arefragmented and complicated for consumers to evaluate. Such options range from askingexisting lenders for payment relief to filing for bankruptcy. But not all options are available to all consumers, and each option has tradeoffs.
- Consumers are increasingly relying on intermediaries to help them navigate this complex system, but frictions between market actors can complicate debt resolution processes. Such intermediaries can include nonprofit counseling agencies as well as for-profit debt settlement companies, which may now be involved in approximately 50 percent of settlements of credit card debt.
- Innovations in workout plan structures and the useof data and technology have thepotential to improve outcomes at scale. However, many stakeholdersare reluctant to make substantial changes and investments in the absence of greater research validating that particular approaches are likely to improve consumer and lender outcomes.
Empirical Research and Subsequent Reports
The empirical research is designed to address many of the issues identified in the market context report by using the pilot data to help inform nonprofit counseling agencies, lenders, consumer advocates, policymakers, and other stakeholders as they consider potential changes to broader market practices and regulatory guidance. Initial research questions include:
- What can we learn from short-term assistance programsdeveloped in response to the pandemic and other financial shocks?
- What are consumer and lender outcomes from differentrepayment plan structures, including plans that are structured to repay all principal versus those that reduce principal to promote quicker recovery and cash returns to creditors?
- How can digital platforms and cash-flow data beused to facilitate consumer communications, intake, and analyses?
The first phase of the project will focus on results during the first 12 months of enrollment in repayment plans, when drop-out risk is highest. The second phase is expected to track outcomes through completion of the repayment plans and may include other topics, such as working with plan participants to build savings as their finances improve.
In addition to the empirical assessments, other project reports will explore the potential evolution of policy, regulation, and market practices based on extensive stakeholder outreach and FinRegLab policy and legal analyses. The goal of the project is to take a broad-based look at potential innovations to support more rapid and inclusive recovery processes going forward.
Support for the Research
Support for the project is provided by Bank of America, Capital One Financial Corporation, JP Morgan Chase, Lending Club, Synchrony, TD Bank, and the Wells Fargo Foundation.
Bank of America
is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 67 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,000 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs and awardwinning digital banking with approximately 55 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (ATMs) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Capital One Financial Corporation
(www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company which had $307.9 billion in deposits and $440.3 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2022. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has branches located primarily in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 100 index.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
(NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.9 trillion in assets and $313 billion in stockholders’ equity as of June 30, 2023. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
LendingClub Corporation
(NYSE: LC) is the parent company of LendingClub Bank, National Association, Member FDIC. LendingClub Bank is the leading digital marketplace bank in the U.S., where members can access a broad range of financial products and services designed to help them pay less when borrowing and earn more when saving. Based on more than 150 billion cells of data and over $75 billion in loans, our advanced credit decisioning and machine-learning models are used across the customer lifecycle to expand seamless access to credit for our members, while generating compelling risk-adjusted returns for our loan investors. Since 2007, more than 4 million members have joined the Club to help reach their financial goals. For more information about LendingClub, visit https://www.lendingclub.com.
Synchrony
Synchrony is a premier consumer financial services company delivering one of the industry’s most complete digitally-enabled product suites. The company’s experience, expertise, and scale encompass a broad spectrum of industries, including digital, health and wellness, retail, telecommunications, home, auto, outdoor, pet, and more. Synchrony has established a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations, and healthcare service providers, referred to as their “partners.” They connect their partners and consumers through a dynamic financial ecosystem, providing a diverse set of financing solutions and innovative digital capabilities to address specific needs and deliver seamless, omnichannel experiences. Synchrony offers the right financing products to the right customers in their channel of choice.
TD Bank
America’s Most Convenient Bank®, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing over 9.8 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,100 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Auto Finance, a division of TD Bank, N.A., offers vehicle financing and dealer commercial services. TD Bank and its subsidiaries also offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth®. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.td.com/us. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US and www.twitter.com/TDNews_US. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol “TD”. To learn more, visit www.td.com/us.
Related Publications
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Debt Management Insights for Distressed Borrowers
FinRegLab is working with teams at The Ohio State University and Charles River Associates to evaluate new workout structures and data and technology applications for consumers who are struggling with unsecured credit. The project will use data from pilots organized by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and other sources. Learn More
About FinregLab
FinRegLab is an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts research and experiments with new technologies and data to drive the financial sector toward a responsible and inclusive marketplace. The organization also facilitates discourse across the financial ecosystem to inform public policy and market practices. To receive periodic updates on the latest research, subscribe to FRL’s newsletter and visit www.finreglab.org. Follow FinRegLab on LinkedIn.
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