Harold and Elaina are being considered for a car loan. The banker looks at their creditworthiness because he wants to be sure the bank will get the loan payments on time and that the loan will be paid back in full. The table below summarizes the information that was on their applications.Application informationQuestionsHaroldElainaHow many years have you had your job?37What is your monthly salary?$2,600$2,250How many credit cards do you have?26How much debt do you have?$3,000$12,000How many times were you late with payments on credit cards in the past year?18Who will get the better loan rate from the banker and why?
Answer
A
Elaina because she has more credit cards available to her.
B
Elaina because she has had her job longer, which makes her look more stable.
C
Harold because he makes more money per month.
D
Harold because he pays his bills on time and does not have too much debt compared to his income.
Explanation
Harold has a stronger payment history: he was late once in the past year, compared with Elaina’s eight times. He also has much less debt relative to his monthly salary ($3,000 compared with $12,000, while his salary is higher). These factors suggest less risk to the bank, so Harold is more likely to get the better loan rate.
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