THE RESEARCH LIBRARY

Deep-dive library

766 deep dives in 24 categories · last updated Oct 13, 2026

44 matching deep dives

Research Lab: these deep dives are AI working drafts unless tagged Reviewed research. Read how review works.

Credit

Consumer and business lending, underwriting, servicing and the economics of repayment.

Credit Underwriting & PerformanceResearch Lab

Cash-flow underwriting: how lenders use bank-account data to decide who gets credit

Lenders are increasingly reading applicants' bank-account activity, with permission, to judge income, spending and cash cushions alongside credit scores. Synchrony, Huntington, Bank of America and the mortgage giants use it in real decisions, and Experian, FICO and Plaid launched new tools in 2026. Research shows a modest gain in predicting defaults, but the sources reviewed here do not establish lower losses or cheaper credit across the market.

Updated Oct 11, 202627 sources13 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Buy now, pay later: how the loans work, who pays for them and what the rules are

Six large providers issued about $157 billion of US buy-now-pay-later credit in 2025, half of it as pay-in-four plans, by a Federal Reserve estimate. Merchants usually pay for interest-free plans. Funding arrangements vary by provider. About a quarter of users paid late in the past year, most loans still do not reach credit scores, and the 2024 federal interpretation treating BNPL like credit cards has been withdrawn.

Updated Oct 11, 202619 sources2 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Second-look financing: how checkout lending waterfalls work, who runs them and where lease-to-own fits

When a shopper is declined for a store's main financing, second-look programs pass the application to lenders that accept weaker credit, often ending with lease-to-own. Synchrony routes declines to Atlanticus's Fortiva programs, and contractor software from ServiceTitan chains prime lenders to a TURNS waterfall. Federal cases against lease-to-own providers produced a $175 million FTC settlement with Progressive in 2020, while CFPB suits against Snap and Acima were dropped in 2025.

Updated Oct 12, 202613 sources4 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Store credit cards: who earns the money, what borrowers pay and how the risks show up

Store credit cards carried an average interest rate of 31.3% in 2024, about six points above general-purpose cards, and the number of open accounts has fallen by roughly a third from its peak, according to the CFPB. Banks such as Synchrony and Citibank usually own the loans, while retailers market the cards and receive a share of program income. Deferred-interest promotions, payment allocation rules and lender loss rates determine how costly the product becomes for borrowers.

Updated Oct 12, 202615 sources3 versions

Fraud, Identity & AMLResearch Lab

First-party fraud: when a customer’s claim is deliberately false

A false payment dispute can cause real losses. So can a mistaken fraud accusation. The evidence must distinguish deception from errors, confusion and financial distress.

Updated Oct 13, 202613 sources3 versions

Fraud, Identity & AMLResearch Lab

PPP fraud: emergency lending, disputed estimates and the long recovery

Emergency lending moved quickly; the fraud accounting remains contested. What the evidence says about controls, forgiveness, lender responsibility and recoveries.

Updated Oct 4, 202615 sources

Credit Underwriting & PerformanceResearch Lab

Reject inference: the missing evidence behind more loan approvals

Repayment data describe loans that were made. They cannot directly reveal what would have happened on declined offers, even when a new model predicts more approvals.

Updated Oct 13, 20266 sources4 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Chapter 13: what happens between filing and debt discharge

A court-supervised plan spreads payments over several years. The path from filing to discharge depends on which debts must be paid, what the household can sustain and whether it completes the plan’s legal requirements.

Updated Oct 13, 20266 sources3 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Auto negative equity: the old debt inside a new car loan

A dealer can pay off an old car loan while carrying its shortfall into the next one. The new payment reflects both the replacement vehicle and debt left behind by the trade-in.

Updated Oct 11, 20265 sources2 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Card payment rates: what a falling number does and does not say about households

Payment rates connect household repayment with issuer balances and funding. Product mix, balance transfers and the measurement window can change the number even when individual behavior is unchanged.

Updated Oct 11, 20265 sources4 versions

Credit Underwriting & PerformanceResearch Lab

CECL and bank earnings: why the same loan losses can produce different profits

Provision expense reflects changes in expected collections as well as losses already recognized. Allowance bridges, loan growth and purchased-loan accounting explain why the earnings headline needs context.

Updated Oct 11, 20263 sources3 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Commercial property: why a paying loan can still be hard to refinance

A building can collect rent and make every loan payment yet need fresh cash when its debt matures. Property income, market value and the terms of a replacement loan determine the gap.

Updated Oct 11, 20265 sources2 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Construction lending: the money still needed to finish

A construction loan funds a property that cannot yet produce its expected value. The crucial link is between each payment, the work it buys and the resources left to finish and repay the project.

Updated Oct 11, 20264 sources2 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Credit-card limits: why utilization can jump without new borrowing

A lower card limit can raise the utilization ratio and remove spending room while leaving the debt unchanged. The effects on payment access, notices, funding and bank capital answer different questions.

Updated Oct 11, 20265 sources3 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Credit-card minimum payments: why the balance can last for years

The minimum due can fall with the balance, stretching repayment even when every payment arrives on time. A fixed payment follows a different path, but new spending, rate changes and mixed balances can change the result.

Updated Oct 11, 20263 sources2 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Dealer floorplan finance: when a vehicle finally becomes cash

Floorplan loans pay for vehicles before buyers arrive. Interest, aging-related principal payments and the timing of repayment determine whether a full lot represents productive inventory or an increasing claim on a dealer’s cash.

Updated Oct 11, 20263 sources2 versions

Credit Underwriting & PerformanceResearch Lab

Early loan repayment: why one borrower’s savings can change several businesses

Refinancing can lower a borrower’s costs while returning an investor’s money sooner and ending a servicer’s fees. The timing of repayment connects those outcomes to duration, funding and the replacement loan.

Updated Oct 11, 20265 sources3 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Farm credit: why valuable land does not pay this season’s bills

Farm borrowing bridges the interval between paying for production and collecting for it. Land can provide substantial security, but operating debt is repaid with cash from yields, selling prices and other receipts that arrive on their own timetable.

Updated Oct 11, 20264 sources2 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

HELOCs: why the payment can jump when borrowing ends

A home equity line can make borrowing flexible at first and repayment much heavier later. The draw-period deadline, interest-rate formula and conditions on unused credit matter alongside the headline limit.

Updated Oct 11, 20263 sources2 versions

Fraud, Identity & AMLResearch Lab

Inside relationship-investment scams: manufactured trust and the money trail

The NanoBit judgment and CoinW6 filing show different legal stages in a wider industry of fabricated investments, coerced labour and cross-border financial services. The money seized, ordered and returned tells a different story at each stage.

Updated Oct 11, 202632 sources2 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Manufactured-home finance: the house, the loan and the land

A manufactured home’s purchase price covers only part of the housing decision. The loan’s collateral, the right to occupy the site and the cost of eventually selling or moving the home shape what ownership really costs.

Updated Oct 11, 20264 sources2 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Private mortgage insurance: who it protects and when the charge ends

PMI can lower the cash needed to buy a home while adding a cost that may last for years. The coverage protects the lender; the borrower’s route out depends on the loan, its payment record and which measure of property value applies.

Updated Oct 11, 20269 sources2 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Reserve-based lending: when oil and gas reserves stop supporting the same debt

An oil producer can make its payments and still lose access to credit at a borrowing-base reset. The reason lies in a resource that shrinks as it produces cash, and in the prices, costs and development work behind its estimated value.

Updated Oct 11, 20263 sources2 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Reverse mortgages: what happens after home equity becomes cash

An FHA-insured reverse mortgage can release money without scheduled monthly principal-and-interest payments. The debt can keep growing, however, and the homeowner’s taxes, insurance, upkeep and occupancy obligations continue.

Updated Oct 11, 20267 sources2 versions

Credit Underwriting & PerformanceResearch Lab

Roll rates and cures: what happens after a payment is missed

The same delinquency percentage can hide very different flows into and out of trouble. Following the starting accounts reveals who caught up, who fell further behind and who left.

Updated Oct 11, 20263 sources3 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

SBA 7(a) loans: what the government guarantee changes, and what borrowers still owe

The SBA shares a lender’s qualifying loss so financing can reach eligible small businesses. Repayment still comes from the business, owners can have personal obligations, and the guarantee itself depends on the lender following program requirements.

Updated Oct 11, 20267 sources2 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Securities-backed credit: how a market decline can turn borrowing into a forced sale

Borrowing against investments keeps them in the portfolio while adding a debt. When prices or lending values fall, that arrangement can require cash quickly, and selling pledged assets may repair less of the shortfall than their sale proceeds suggest.

Updated Oct 11, 20263 sources2 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Small-dollar loans: what a $400 loan costs, and what repayment requires

A modest fee can translate into a high annualized rate on a short loan. The payment schedule, the lender’s fixed costs and the borrower’s need to borrow again explain different parts of the same transaction.

Updated Oct 11, 20263 sources2 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Student-loan interest: why a balance can grow without daily compounding

A student loan can accumulate unpaid interest while its principal stays unchanged. Payments, subsidies and specific capitalization events explain when the amount owed grows and when future interest becomes more expensive.

Updated Oct 11, 20265 sources2 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

Tax-refund financing: where the advance ends and the refund begins

An advance brings a lender’s money forward; a transfer routes the tax authority’s eventual payment. Following the money through both dates shows the fees, repayment and remaining refund without counting it twice.

Updated Oct 11, 20266 sources2 versions

Credit Underwriting & PerformanceResearch Lab

Vintage analysis: why a falling loan-loss rate can hide weaker lending

A growing loan book can look healthier before its newest loans have had time to fail. Comparing loans at the same age reveals a different story, while keeping customer retention and profitability in view.

Updated Oct 11, 20261 source3 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

When a borrower misses a mortgage payment, who supplies the cash?

Some mortgage contracts require the servicer to advance money before the borrower pays. A recoverable claim can still tie up cash, and limits on one kind of advance do not end every expense connected with a delinquent loan.

Updated Oct 11, 20264 sources2 versions

Credit Underwriting & PerformanceResearch Lab

When recoveries improve but new loan losses get worse

A falling net charge-off rate can reflect better collections on old debt even as new losses rise. Recovery timing, expenses and borrower resolution explain the difference.

Updated Oct 11, 20265 sources3 versions

Cards & Consumer LendingResearch Lab

When the merchant fails: why a financed purchase can leave more than a missing delivery

Non-delivery connects the customer’s remedy with the lender’s balance, the merchant’s remaining cash and the work needed to complete a refund. Those links explain why borrower delinquency alone misses the exposure.

Updated Oct 11, 20265 sources4 versions

Mortgages & Business LendingResearch Lab

Why a fixed-rate mortgage can still bring a bigger monthly bill

An escrow increase can collect for two things at once: higher future tax and insurance bills, and an earlier shortfall. Following those two amounts separately explains why paying off a shortage may not restore the old mortgage payment.

Updated Oct 11, 20265 sources2 versions

Credit Underwriting & PerformanceResearch Lab

Loan modifications: when a lower payment leads to lasting relief

Changing a loan can lower the monthly bill while extending repayment or increasing total interest. Whether relief lasts depends on the borrower’s cash flow and what happens when temporary terms end.

Updated Oct 7, 20263 sources2 versions

Page 1 of 2 · 1–36 of 44 articles