Personal Finance

TransUnion's Q2 2026 Credit Industry Insights Report shows Q1 2026 mortgage originations reached 1.24 million, the strongest first-quarter growth since 2022, with rate-and-term refinance originations up 223% year over year as 30-year fixed rates briefly dipped below 6% in late February. Purchase originations rose 5.8% and HELOCs grew 16.8%, while total mortgage balances reached $12.9 trillion. The 60-plus-day delinquency rate climbed to 1.56%, with FHA loans accounting for nearly half of overdue accounts, pointing to concentrated affordability stress among more financially vulnerable borrowers.

A federal court has entered a stipulated order requiring Amazon to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty, the largest ever assessed under FCRA Section 609(e), which obligates businesses to provide identity-theft victims with transaction records within 30 days of a request. The FTC alleged Amazon routinely refused or delayed these disclosures before February 2025, in some cases requiring victims to guess a thief's name to obtain details. Under the court order, Amazon must now provide eligible victims with free records within 30 days, post a public notice explaining the request process, and identify past victims who were denied records between April 2024 and the order date.