Finance

Key Information Is Missing from Your Credit Report—And Lenders Are Noticing

I pay off my credit card balance in full every month, but you'd never know it by looking at my credit report.

In fact, my credit report would look almost identical to someone who only makes the minimum payment, a behavior that lenders often view as more risky.

What’s strange is that this information used to be included on my credit report until 10 years ago, when the largest credit card companies stopped reporting full payment data to avoid increasing competition among lenders.

As a result, people like me—who pay off their balances in full—are missing out on higher credit scores and the associated benefits, according to a recent study.

“It’s harming anyone who repays their credit card balance in full. They’re not being rewarded with a higher credit score for this responsible behavior,” said Benedict Guttman-Kenney, co-author of the study, in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “It also reduces the incentive for people to pay off their credit card debt.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which oversees financial services, has the authority to require lenders to report this crucial data, but experts doubt the agency will have the power to enforce this under the next administration.

“I think the CFPB is going to shift a lot in how things are administered,” said Brian Riley, director of credit advisory services at Javelin Strategy & Research, in a conversation with Yahoo Finance.

TECH

One Tech Tip to Kickstart Your Bluesky Experience

Looking for an alternative to X, Threads, and Mastodon because they're not meeting your needs? You might want to give Bluesky a try.

Amid the post-U.S. election chaos, many users are drawn to Bluesky for its calmer, more welcoming atmosphere, with noticeably fewer trolls and less political noise. The platform saw a surge of over a million new users in the week following Election Day and has quickly become one of the fastest-growing competitors to Elon Musk’s X and other similar platforms.

CRYPTO

How Tech Billionaires Helped Buy 'America’s Most Pro-Crypto Congress

Before announcing his Senate candidacy in April 2023, Bernie Moreno was largely unknown in the political world. A former car salesman from the Cleveland area, his only prior political experience was a losing run for Ohio’s other Senate seat in 2022.

However, Moreno has since achieved what once seemed impossible.

On November 5, during the election that helped Donald Trump secure a return to the White House, Moreno defeated Democratic incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown. Brown, who first entered the House in 1992 and won his Senate seat in 2006, had chaired the influential Banking Committee since 2021.

Moreno’s ascent from a little-known Ohio businessman to a significant political figure was no accident. His campaign was fueled by $40 million from the cryptocurrency industry, which sought to elect friendly candidates and, perhaps more importantly, remove its critics. Moreno’s victory was one of the Senate seats Republicans flipped, ultimately giving them control of the chamber.

Crypto-related PACs and other industry-backed groups raised over $245 million, according to Federal Election Commission data. Crypto donations made up nearly half of all corporate contributions in the election, as reported by nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen. The Stand With Crypto Alliance, an advocacy group launched by Coinbase last year, created a grading system for House and Senate races to help guide where funds should be directed.

For crypto executives, investors, and advocates, this election was seen as critical for an industry that had spent the past four years trying to mature while facing repeated setbacks. According to Stand With Crypto, nearly 300 pro-crypto lawmakers will now hold positions in the House and Senate, providing the industry with unprecedented influence over future legislation.