Article: Equity loans still cutting into profits.(Debt Collection & Risk)

Credit cards eventually will attract more revolvers after essentially being shut out the past five to six years as cardholders have used low-interest, tax-deductible home-equity loans to pay off their credit card bills.

But for now home-equity loans, which are secured by the borrower's residence, still are a much better deal if the borrower itemizes his personal income taxes, observers say.

But even that advantage is dwindling. "Homeowners dined at the home-equity buffet table when loans were 4% and property values were rising 25%, but things have changed," says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, a Web-based aggregator of financial ...

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