Ju n e 32010
Volume
Issue 2
Account
STATE BANK
Defining the Numbers in Your Credit Report
by Becky Wise - One of our
priorities at State Bank is to ensure
that we are providing you with
relevant financial information. We
feel it is important to provide you
with this information to improve
your knowledge and to provide
you a platform on which you can
build a sound financial future. A
key component to any consumer’s financial future
stems from their credit report and credit score.
Your credit report details the history of all credit you
have received since you opened your first account.
Based on your history, the credit bureaus give you
a score which is used by creditors to determine
your level of risk. The higher your score, the less of
a risk you are. This means you will be more likely
to get credit or pay less for it. Since this score sets
the precedence for so many factors affecting your
future credit needs, it is very important to ensure
that you have done everything possible to obtain
the best score.
In order to do this, it is imperative to understand
how your credit score is determined. There are
five key components determined when calculating
your credit score.
How Your Credit Report is Calculated
New Credit
Credit History
Amounts Owed
Payment History
Types of Credit
Damage Points - How Mistakes Affect FICO Scores
Credit Mistake
If your score is 680
If your score is 780
Maxed-Out Credit Card
Down 10 to 30 pts
Down 25 to 45 pts
30-day Late Payment
Down 60 to 80 pts
Down 90 to 110 pts
Debt Settlement
Down 45 to 65 pts
Down 105 to 125 pts
Foreclosure
Down 85 to 105 pts
Down 140 to 160 pts
Bankruptcy
Down 130 to 150 pts
Down 220 to 240 pts
Credit Scores
Excellent Credit
750 and Up
1 Do you pay your bills on time?
Good Credit
720-749
Your credit score will be affected negatively if
you have paid bills late, had an account sent to a
collection agency, or filed for bankruptcy.
Fair Credit
660-719
Average Credit
678
Uncertain Credit
620-659
Poor Credit
619 and Lower
(continued on page 2)
In this issue:
2
Credit Report
(continued)
Becky Wise
3
Cyberspace
Security
Derrick Schubert
4
Ag Update
Andrew Garnhart
Local
Economic
Data
13%
12%
FREEPORT • STEPHENSON COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT
12.8
12.
12
.8
25000
11.44
11.0
11
11.
.0
10.5
10.
110
.5
10.5
10.5
11.0
11.0
10.0
10
10.
.0
10.2
10..2
10
10.4
10.4
10..1
10.1
9.88
10.1
110.
01
Jun ‘10
Sep ’10
Dec ‘10
Mar ‘11
Jun ’11
Sep ‘11
99.7
.7
Dec ‘11
Mar ’12
Jun ‘12
21,213
21,213
2
21,215
2
21,461
21
21,
,461
10,763
7
10,764
7
10,889
Dec ‘11
Mar ’12
Jun ‘12
STEPHENSON COUNTY • FREEPORT EMPLOYMENT
22,333
333
20000
21,862
21
21,
,862
22,131
1
22,5011
22,195
21,784
21
21,
,784
FFreeport
reeport
e
Stephenson County
S
15000
10000
FFreeport
reeport
e
Stephenson
S
e
n Count
County
12.1
12
12.
.1
11.3
11.3
1.33
1.
11.3
11%
9%
112.0
2.00
2.
11.9
11
11.
.9
11,331
331
11,092
11
11,
,092
11,229
2
10,9099
Jun ‘10
Sep ’10
Dec ‘10
Mar ‘11
111,261
1,26
2611
11,053
11,,053
11
Jun ’11
Sep ‘11
Source: IDES
Defining the Numbers in Your Credit Report
(continued from page 1)
The amount of debt you have compared to your credit
limits affects your credit score. It is recommended that
you have no more than 30% of debt as compared to
your credit limits; 10% would be even better. If your
debt is near your credit limits or is maxed out, this has
a negative impact on your credit score.
3 How long is your credit history?
Having a short credit history can have a negative
impact on your score but this can also be countered by
making timely payments and keeping low balances.
4 Have you applied for new credit recently?
5 How many and what types of credit
accounts do you have?
Your score is affected based on the number and types
of accounts you have. Having too many credit cards
or loans from finance companies may negatively
affect your score, while having a blend of credit cards
and installment loans can help to improve your score.
If you have any
questions regarding
this ­article, please
stop by or call me
at 815.297.0900 or
e-mail at rebeccaw.
[email protected].
Acknowledgements:
-money.msn.com,
www.federalreserve.
gov/consumerinfo,
www.ftc.gov, www.
annualcreditreport.com
omic fore
on
st
ca
Applying for too many new accounts at one time, in
which each requires an inquiry to your credit, may
have a negative impact on your score. However,
requesting your three free annual copies of your credit
report for review will not impact your score.
In order to ensure that you have a clean credit report,
it is important to review your report on at least an
annual basis. You are entitled to one free credit report
annually from each credit bureau: Equifax, Experian
and TransUnion. You may request all three at the
same time for review or at different times throughout
the year to ensure proper reporting. You can request
your free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.
com. This website will allow you to choose from the
three credit reporting agencies. You will not receive
your credit score when doing so but you can pay a fee
to receive this information.
ec
2 Are you maxed out?
Break
Novemb
fast
er 1st
Don’t
miss i
- Charts/Tables: ncs700.com, gobankingrates.com,
repaircreditscore.info
t!
Practicing Careful Security in Cyberspace
by Derrick Schubert - Internet
­banking is now used by 72.5 ­million
families. This is 80% of homes with
internet access. ­According to Fiserv’s
2010 Consumer ­Billing and Payment Trends Survey, ­online ­banking
and mobile banking are ­growing at
a faster rate than the ­internet. You
now have the option to track your accounts from anywhere, whether it is in your office or
on the beach in Riviera Mia. This allows you to have
complete control over the flow of your money within
your bank or even between banks. In addition, the ability to pay bills has become a popular feature that 36.4
million households are taking advantage of. However,
as with anything, the convenience of internet banking
does not come without risks.
Internet banking continues to expand every year, not
only with services offered but also in security p
­ rotecting
the user. It is unfortunate that there are people who
make a ‘career’ in computer hacking but it seems to
be a growing industry. There are many avenues that a
hacker can take to infiltrate internet banking and these
avenues continue to grow alongside security. It seems
as though when there is an addition of a new security
feature it does not take long for a hacker to find a way
around it. This emphasizes the importance of staying
current on the topic of protecting yourself online. There
are many layers of protection that you can put in place
in order to minimize your risk including:
• using complex passwords and changing them often
• installing and keeping an up-to-date
antivirus ­program
• understanding the use of internet cookies
• daily watching your account for any
suspicious activity
With the use of these practices, risk can be reduced
substantially. Rebecca Wise did a great article on
these particular issues in further detail in our previous
newsletter which can be found on State Bank’s website under the ‘Commercial’ link.
There are, however, additional security measures
that we, as your bank, are taking to protect you from
fraudulent activity. State Bank is in the process of
­implementing a software program for commercial
­accounts called Guardian Analytics. The purpose
of Guardian Analytics is to recognize and stop fraud
­attacks before the money is gone. This program will
At State Bank we understand
the ­importance of protecting
our ­customers from Internet
Banking fraud. One of the best
ways to ­prevent fraud is to stay
­current on security measures
and check your ­account often.
monitor how the commercial customer uses their
­account and will recognize what is ‘normal’ business
for them. When any abnormal behavior or ­anomalous
transaction occurs, that transaction or instance will
be brought to the attention of a bank employee for
­further review. For example, if a customer never has
issues answering their challenge questions or entering the correct password and suddenly has a string
of ­incorrect information ­entered, this will trigger a red
flag for further review. In ­another ­example, if this same
small business has always logged on to internet banking from the same ­computer and suddenly a new IP
address is used, this too would trigger a red flag for
further review. These situations would more than likely
result in a simple phone call to the business owner to
verify the information. This program monitors banking
of all kinds whether it is mobile or internet.
At State Bank we understand the importance of
­protecting our customers from Internet Banking fraud.
One of the best ways to prevent fraud is to stay current
on security measures and check your account often.
If you have any questions regarding internet security
or our new Guardian Analytics software please do not
hesitate to give me a call.
If you have any questions regarding this ­
article,
please stop by or call me at 815.297.0900 or e-mail at
[email protected].
Acknowledgements:
- “Three Reasons to Take your Online Banking R
­ elationship to the
Next Level”, Manisha Thakor, Forbes.com
- “Online Banking, Payments Outpace Growth of I­nternet”,
Matt Gunn, BankTech.com
Ag Report
Local Economic Data
by Andrew Garnhart - 2012 has been
one of the most challenging growing
seasons that area farmers have
experienced since 1988. What began
as a very promising spring with ideal
planting conditions quickly turned into a
dry, scorching summer. Significant crop
damage was done during the hot and
stressful conditions, which will reduce
yields considerably in northern Illinois and across the
Corn Belt. Stephenson County will likely see extreme
variability in yields due to the scattered nature of rain this
year and the varying degree of soil quality across the
county. The August WASDE/USDA crop conditions report
projected a national average corn yield of 123 per acre,
which is down more than 40 bushels from projections
in the spring. This is approximately 25% of production
lost nationwide, which is very significant considering the
current tight supplies and strong demand that the corn
market has experienced.
Over the past two years, Freeport’s unemployment
rate has decreased from 12.8% to 11.0% and the
County’s has decreased from 11.3% to 9.7%. Although
the decreases are a welcoming sign, it is not a function
of an increasing workforce. Unfortunately,
the number of people employed and
employable continue to decrease.
Since June of 2010, Freeport’s
employed has decreased by
442 or 3.9% and the County’s
employed has decreased 872 or
3.9%. As of June, Freeport had
10,889 people employed and the
County had 21,461 employed.
Thankfully, precipitation levels have increased over the
past few weeks. It won’t likely help the corn much (the
damage there is done), but it could give a final boost
to the soybeans…and certainly everyone’s psyche. Like
one of my customers recently told me, “I’m just tired of
talking about the drought. I’m ready to move onto next
year.” Here’s to a safe harvest, more precipitation and
a productive 2013.
If you have any questions regarding this ­article, please
stop by or call me at 815.297.0900 or e-mail at andrewg.
[email protected].
The City’s sales tax revenue had a nice increase
in the month of June with receipt of $657,670 versus
$611,741 a year ago. This also compared favorably to
last June’s receipt of $608,955.
Home sales continued its downward trend with 85
sold during the 2nd quarter of 2012 compared to 102
in 2011 and 149 in 2010. The Median price increased
from $82,000 to $95,000 during the quarter.
FREEPORT’S SALES TAX REVENUE
2011
627,283
616,300
608,955
2012
649,535
611,741
657,670
Source: Illinois Department of Revenue
MEDIAN HOME SALE PRICE* - Qtr 2
$100,000-
2010
583,122
610,918
623,430
April
May
June
STEPH CO HOME SALES - Qtr 2
150-
95,000
$90,000-
100-
$80,000-
79,000
102
82,000
50-
$70,000$60,000-
149
20102011 2012
0-
2010 20112012
*Stephenson County single family/condominium sales. Source: www.illinoisrealtor.org
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