25 Quotes by Fritz Elmendorf

Any change in rates on home equity lines is directly related to the actions of the Fed. On average, their rates are 1 percent over the prime rate, but some banks even offer home equity lines at the prime. Home equity lines are probably the cheapest way that homeowners can currently borrow money.

The broad trend among banks is to service customers almost regardless of their credit standing. They do not want to turn a customer away, particularly if it's a customer with a checking account or another relationship.

Bankruptcies are very serious issues that can often be avoided by seeking help from a professional debt counseling service that will intervene with creditors.

Bank loans have pretty attractive interest rates these days. Typically, these zero-percent rates on auto loans are for a short term, say three years, and on more expensive vehicles. People end up buying the car, but use a bank loan to do so. Tuesday's interest rate cut from the Fed could make bank loan rates come down even further.

Banking was never free because consumers were not getting a market rate on their savings and were paying a lot more for loans.

Banks have various sources of earnings. If a bank is large enough to have international operations, it has evolved enough diversification to counteract those losses.

A lot of people get a home equity loan and do it on their own, short of going to a credit counseling agency. You can consolidate your credit card debt and have a lower monthly payment that will maybe get you through a squeeze.

A lot of consumer advocates say you shouldn't put your home at stake, and that's advice worth considering. But using your home gives you access to credit that's cheaper than other sources.

Not every place right off the bat will offer you a good rate. One company may offer you 15 percent. Another may offer you 11 percent.