Six predictions for consumers in 2012

3. Loans and lines of credit will be easier to get

Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor/File
Realtor Beth Byrne signs papers in Natick, Mass., to refinance the mortgage on her own home in this 2009 file photo. Lenders should be in a stronger financial position in 2012, which should allow them to relax underwriting standards and make more loans.

It’s been difficult recently for people with fair credit to get the loans and lines of credit they need to purchase homes, buy cars, and fund small businesses. It’ll be easier in 2012 for the simple reason that banks’ own finances are doing better. Charge-off rates have dropped, and without having to eat old unpaid debt, profit margins are higher and underwriting standards can be relaxed a bit. In other words, more people will get approved for mortgages, credit cards, etc. in 2012.

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