Shaw Capital Management – YousayToo
You know, I’ve heard about personal loan offers and promotions but never looked into one. This week I wondered, what’s the difference between a personal loan, a cash loan and a plain ‘ole credit card (apart from the fact that you don’t want a cash advance at 18 percent compounding interest on your Visa thank-you-very-much). And, when should I use a personal loan over a cash loan or credit?
Well, the first thing I found out is personal loans have lower interest rates than cash loans and credit cards (win!). But banks do expect you to have a superb credit rating to lend you the money (dang). Banks are less fussy about a bad credit rating if you’re applying for a credit card, but it doesn’t give you as many spending options.
On small amounts and if you need cash urgently, it shouldn’t be too hard to jig around your cash and expense on your credit card – but watch out. It turns out you spend 12 percent more when you swipe.
Cash loans now are essentially payday loans now. The interest is exorbitant, but you don’t feel it as much over a 24 hour or 48 hour period which is basically what they’re for. If you need the money that badly, I say ask your boss to pay you a day early and offer him the $50 interest. It’ll cost you less and he’ll hardly shoot you down.
The other difference between a loan and credit is that personal loans are split into two categories: secured andunsecured. All it means is your lender will want to prop your borrowing against an asset, like a car or your house. In the case of a secured loan (if you qualify with a slick credithistory!), you’re bound to benefit from low interest rates. Unsecured loans will charge slightly higher interest.
Borrowers beware: Pay your bills on time or face stiff late charges and penalties. Personal loans are more strict when it comes to repayments.
What’s interesting is the fact that more Americans are taking out personal loans according to a report on Digital News as people look for low interest alternatives for borrowing. Tight credit and poor economic conditions has increased the demand for personal loans.
HSBC recently announced unsecured personal loan rates starting at 6.99 percent. Not bad. SunTrust did better with 3.99 percent and Nationwide Bank came out with a 6.45 percent rate. The loans are being used for refinancing vehicles for homeowners mainly.
Personal loans have become increasingly popular since the financial crisis. American banking newsreports:
“Lending Club, a peer-to-peer lending company, has now originated more than $255 million in loans to consumers. The news comes just three months after the company announced that it had surpassed $200 million in loan originations. As of April 16th, Lending Club’s statistics page showed that $255,003,975 had been setup by the company.”
Infographic source : CreditSesame
Okay, so when should I use a loan and when should I use credit?
Essentially: If you need a lump-sum loan with fixed payments over a period of time, go for a personal loan. If all you need is a line of credit you can tap from time to time, a credit card or line of credit is your answer.
You’re going to need a good credit rating and an asset to secure your loan against and get a good rate in the case of a personal loan. It’s better for large sums (such as refinancing your home loan or car loan).
A line of credit is more flexible, and you sure have to be responsible not to get into trouble with it (and you know what I mean), but the interest rates are higher, so look for a good deal before you sign up.
Have you used a personal loan, and was it better than credit or harder to manage? Share your experience with us below!
Want more info on loans and credit cards? Check out EconomyWatch Loans and Credit Cards for the raw deal and more!
- South Korean Bank to use Calypso for developing and automating FX, credit and commodity derivatives business
- Calypso Fast-Track leveraged to reduce implementation timelines and costs
- Calypso Fast-Track leveraged to reduce implementation timelines and costs
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Calypso Technology Inc., the global capital markets platform provider, announced today that Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), the majority government-owned South Korean bank, has gone live with the Calypso system to support its front office functions. The software solution has been selected to provide the bank with the opportunity to develop their commodities and credit trading businesses and automate the processes on their FX derivatives desk, allowing them to enhance the overall scope of products offered to their client base.
IBK was seeking an open, scalable and flexible solution which would seamlessly integrate with existing in-house systems and support multiple asset classes for future growth and development. The system will help eliminate and streamline manual processes, reducing operational risks and addressing performance issues incumbent to an ageing infrastructure. The system will help achieve increased straight-through-processing (STP) from front-to-back. The Calypso Front Office solution delivers extensive functionality including pricing, trade capture, Calypso Workstation (one-stop shop for trading, cash positions, P&L modeling and simulation) and desk level market risk functionality incorporating historical VaR and stress testing scenarios.“We look forward to working with IBK and assisting them as their business expands and diversifies.”
Throughout the implementation process, Calypso’s rapid deployment solution, Calypso Fast-Track, was leveraged to deliver strong project methodology, providing business specifications, documentation, market-standard configurations, and local language training. Working alongside Korea-based consultant-partner NOA-ATS, Calypso ensured that the implementation was in a short timeframe of 6 months and on budget.
Dr. Hyung Seok Hahm, Trading Department & Project Initiator, IBK, commented, “Calypso Technology has delivered a flexible platform that brings performance and robustness to our existing FX derivatives desk, and that allows us to expand into new business areas, respectively credit and commodity derivatives. We have chosen the Calypso system among many solutions for a number of reasons. First, Calypso Technology is a market leader for credit derivatives. Secondly, they are able to provide first level support locally onsite. And the Calypso system also meets our requirement that the solution should be flexible and able to integrate our in-house pricing engines.”
“This project is a testimonial of Calypso Technology’s commitment to the East Asian markets and of our ability to provide services and local support,” added Charles Marston, CEO and chairman, Calypso Technology. “We look forward to working with IBK and assisting them as their business expands and diversifies.”
About Calypso Technology, Inc.
Calypso Technology is the premier global capital markets platform provider for financial institutions of all types. The Calypso platform incorporates a full range of seamless front-to-back office functions for OTC derivatives and treasury products – including pricing, trading, risk, processing, clearing, margining, securities financing, collateral, cash management, liquidity, reporting and accounting. It is the emergent standard for global capital markets businesses and the ideal foundation for innovation and future growth.
The Calypso platform supports a diverse range of 120+ clients in over 40 countries – banks, central banks, sovereign funds, asset managers, insurers, hedge funds, brokers, prime brokers, exchanges, clearing houses, processing services and other service providers. With 15 offices and over 500 employees, Calypso is committed to industry-renowned levels of customer service, research, development and innovation. “Calypso” is a registered trademark of Calypso Technology, Inc in the United States, the European Union and other jurisdictions.
