Checking & Savings Accounts

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by dlo64, Jun 24, 2001.

  1. dlo64

    dlo64 Well-Known Member

    One of the things many say you should do to help re-establish your credit is to have a checking and savings account. What does this do to help you re-establish credit? I know this information does not show up in a credit report and other than the mortgage process, I have never had any other creditor verify a banking account.

    I can see the purpose in showing good money management skills. I don't recall seeing anything that having a checking and a savings account makes your FICO score go higher. Am I missing the obvious? Just wondering.
     
  2. nursie

    nursie Well-Known Member

    No, this info isn't included on your credit report or FICO, but they do ask it on credit applications.
     
  3. dlo64

    dlo64 Well-Known Member

    I know it is on the apps, but I don't think they actually check that information. The only time I can think of when something like that gets verified is during the mortgage process.

    It would be illegal to say you have a checking account at XYZ bank and a savings account at ABC bank when you really don't, but what is stopping someone from putting that on a credit application? On some apps. you are asked to list your assets and liabilities. Your liabilities for the most part can be checked (by credit report). There is no easy way to my knowledge to verify your liquid assets by way of a report that would be pulled at the same time a credit report would. So why is it needed to establish/re-establish credit?
     
  4. sam

    sam Well-Known Member

    actually by nature of FICO, it is included. When they ask the question, if you have a checking/savings acct it does add points to your fico score. Fico consists of your credit score along with the criterion of answers you provide (income/own/rent/length of job/type of job) ..
     
  5. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Sam:

    I think your answers are excellent, maybe even outstanding.

    But it seems to me that he is asking the question in a slightly different way than you may have perceived.

    Seems to me that he is asking the question, "Can he claim to have checking and savings account(s) on a credit app when in actuality he does not and get away with it by reason of the fact that the creditor has no way to actually verify the existance of such claimed accounts?"

    If that is indeed his question, then I think the answer is as follows:

    He might be able to claim ownership of checking and savings accounts which do not in fact exist, but the fact still remains that it is illegal to lie on a credit app and in the event that there is a problem later, the creditor could slap him with criminal charges if he so desired. He may also lie about having checking and savings accounts and then the creditor demands a down payment by check. What is he going to do then?

    I say he can do it and get away with it at least some of the time, but it isn't a wise thing to do because of the complications that could arise at some future date.

    Anyway, why would he want to do that when it's so easy and beneficial to have such accounts?

    Unless, of course, he has lots of problems with such outfits as telechek or other such companies and no bank will open an account for him. If that's the case, then maybe he needs to think about getting some help with his problems instead of how to lie on a credit app and get away with it.

    Maybe I'm off base here, but that's what I saw in his question and so put in my 2 cents worth.

    The answers you gave him were also excellent.
     
  6. Hope

    Hope Well-Known Member

    I think what creditors are looking for when asking if you have checking or savings accounts is a cumulative effect.

    It stands to reason that if you have neither, you may have been in the past and possibly in the future hard put to manage your finances in an efficient enouhg manner to get your bills paid in an orderly fashion.

    In effect, it gives creditors a ballpark idea of how you manage your money. ACH and even paper checks can be far more efficient than money orders or cash for instance.

    Now, that said, my parents never had a checking or savings account in their lives and I remember my Dad sending my into Sauer's Drug on the last Sunday afternoon of each month to buy a money order to mail off to pay the mortgage. And, you guessed it, they never missed a payment, nor were they ever late in 30 years.
     
  7. Saar

    Saar Banned


    Close, but not quite.

    FICO relies solely on information in your credit file. The employment/rent info you provide in the application does not change your FICO at all. It only helps determine the proprietary score generated by the creditor, which is normally considered together w/ FICO, as 2 separate pieces of information.


    Saar
     
  8. sam

    sam Well-Known Member

    None of my credit cards or loans have ever verified my checking/savings. I do have both.

    But you want to always say yes to this. It helps.

    Same way "ownership" of a house helps.

    same way "professional" job type helps..
     
  9. dlo64

    dlo64 Well-Known Member

    First of all the "he" is a "she." I know it is hard to tell since I usually don't include my name.

    Anyway, if it were included in the FICO then realistically someone could manipulate their score by lying on a credit app.

    I agree with Hope about the financial responsibility end of a checking and savings account.

    Remember if FICO relies on info in a credit report, then banking information is not contained in a credit report therefore it really has no bearing on your credit. Also, yes you could lie and say you own a home when you do not, but that could be tied back to your credit report (ie. mortgage). Unless of course, you actually own your home outright.

    Then again, if FICO does not include it and most creditors do not check it, then how does this improve or rebuild credit?

    You see my husband asked this question of me yesterday based on an article he had read and I could not give him an answer. I was hoping that maybe I was missing something profound, but it seems like I am not. Can it be proven that having a checking or savings account can help improve your credit score? Otherwise, why say it does in an article about improving your credit.
     
  10. KristyW

    KristyW Well-Known Member

    I think I have to agree: info about your checking and savings doesn't add or subtract points to your FICO score, or affect it in any way.

    However, this information is vital to a mortgage company when giving out a loan, and for a mortgage, they certainly do verify the info.
     
  11. dlo64

    dlo64 Well-Known Member

    That's what I thought. The only time any banking info gets verified is at mortgage application. Other than that, it doesn't seem like it does anything for or to improve your credit.

    Thanks.
     
  12. sam

    sam Well-Known Member

    fyi, i told a certain bank that i had a checking/savings/own, i was approved. Immoral sure :) I didn't expect to get approved anyways.

    Credit card companies don't check, but they do weigh the answers into their score model.

    End of story. CC companies don't check income, either. If you lie, its on you, it may be illegal, or immoral, but again, they don't check.

    A mortgage or car loan is more scrutinized, of course, you wouldn't lie there.

    Dont go bashing me for what I said or done. I'm just telling you how it is.

    You want more points, answer their questions the way they want to hear them...

    (end of rant).
     
  13. godaddyo

    godaddyo Well-Known Member

    These questions are asked by most lendors. If you say yes it boost your chances of getting a loan. It is just another box on a credit application, but each box does add points. Yes folks there is a scoring system involved in how the credit application is fiilled out in its entirety. Dont leave any box empty, it counts not on Fico but on your score with the lendor. If you dont believe me, try leaving the phone number box empty. The old saying is "No Phone No Loan"..
     

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