It’s a rough time to be a consumer who needs a loan. But on the flip side, it’s also a rocky time to be a lender who is afraid to offer it. The economic dilemma unfolds – – For lenders, it comes down to who is a good bet to pay us back – – For consumers, can they really pay it back? For both entities with financial futures in a turmoil, and without a crystal ball, the bottom line revolves around unraveling the dizzying, financial puzzle using divergent, smart thinking to accommodates today’s economic uncertainties.

It’s safe to say there are few winners in today’s economic crisis; lenders are in a precarious position, using past calculations for lending money may not work today. Currently, unemployment over 10%, one in five American workers unable to find work and 18% of workers taking part-time jobs below their skill level just to make ends meet as reported by the Washington Post. According to the Associated Press, over 10 million jobs may have been permanently eliminated leaving workers jobless and looking to develop fresh skills in an altered work environment.

Unfortunately, the people who really need loans won’t qualify for reasonable interest rates and will have to rely on the government’s stimulus programs or consider payday lenders who charge soaring interest rates.

Imagine all the people who have outstanding auto loans and the banks who funded $1.19 trillion in debt. If you think banks are invulnerable to bankruptcy, think again; the big banks are increasing its loss-absorbing reserves by billions of dollars as a safety net against defaults. The New York Federal Reserve reported US household debt, including mortgages, at a mind blowing $14 trillion last year, exceeding the 2008 peak by $1.5 trillion. Banks are worried that unemployment and poor spending habits of the younger generation will push credit card debt to new highs.

Bankers and lenders making incorrect lending decisions, based on fragile assumptions and outdated forecasting formulas, are fearful of accumulating unmanageable debt. Shawn Princell, CEO of RIBBIT, announces a significantly more accurate method using smart, analytical bank data that will propel loan predictability to a new level. This advanced technology relies on bank transaction data by turning banking attributes of consumers into evaluated intelligence for assessing risk and making loans. This insightful information, as an adjunct to the lender’s accumulated consumer credit history, will help protect lenders from adverse lending decisions.

Mark Begor, CEO of Equifax, states – while credit reports remain a strong indicator of credit history and past financial reliability, COVID-19 has brought the power of alternative data – – information not included in traditional credit reports like consumer consented utility and telecom payment information, income and employment data, and online bank transaction data – – into even sharper focus. Definitely a divergent and strong statement from a powerhouse of credit information.

The team at RIBBIT believes it has created the missing puzzle piece to aid lending institutions and to benefit consumers.

Stay tuned…