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Article: Home equity loans cut installment debt
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- March 15, 1987
CopyrightCopyright (null) Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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WASHINGTON The year's first data from the Federal Reserve on
consumer installment credit confirm what many have suspected:
Americans are using the equity in their homes to consolidate debts at
lower interest rates and finance purchases with largely
tax-deductible credit.
Although consumer credit rose slightly during January, revolving
credit - overdrafts, bank and retail charge cards - fell by $366
million, a 3.3 percent drop on an annual basis. Other types of
personal bank loans fell by 1.7 percent in the same month.
Automobile loans increased enough to account for the over-all rise,
but the pace was only half that of December's $2 billion.
The Fed noted that "credit, other than for ...