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Article: The Prime Opportunity Among the 'Thin Files'.
- Article from:
- American Banker
- Article date:
- November 13, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 SourceMedia, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Though the credit crunch obviously has made it harder for consumers to get a subprime mortgage, it is also paradoxically spurring some financial institutions to give more thought to "thin-file" consumers: those who fall outside the credit-tracking norms because they do not have bank, card, or loan accounts.
This massive market, estimated at 40 million to 50 million, has long held the interest of prepaid phone and card companies but had failed to attract much notice from mainstream banks, thrifts, and mortgage lenders.
Next year the Mortgage Bankers Association expects originations to fall to their lowest levels in seven years. By some estimates, there ...