Finance

This week’s personal loan rates raise for 3- and 5-year loans

Published

10 months ago

April 8, 2024

Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as “Credible” below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders who compensate us for our services, all opinions are our own.

The latest trends in interest rates for personal loans from the Credible marketplace, updated weekly. (iStock)

Borrowers with good credit seeking personal loans during the past seven days prequalified for rates that were higher for 3- and 5-year loans when compared to fixed-rate loans for the seven days before.

For borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher who used the Credible marketplace to select a lender between April 1 and April 7:

Rates on 3-year fixed-rate loans averaged 15.52%, up from 14.46% the seven days before and from 14.29% a year ago.
Rates on 5-year fixed-rate loans averaged 21.04%, up from 20.51% the previous seven days and from 17.98% a year ago.

Personal loans have become a popular way to consolidate debt and pay off credit card debt and other loans. They can also be used to cover unexpected and emergency expenses like medical bills, take care of a major purchase, or fund home improvement projects.

Average personal loan interest rates

Average personal loan interest rates increased over the last seven days for 3- and 5-year loans. While 3-year loan rates jumped by 1.06 percentage points, rates on 5-year loans rose by 0.53 percentage points. Interest rates for both terms remain significantly higher than they were this time last year, up 1.23 percentage points for 3-year terms and up 3.06 percentage points for 5-year terms.

Still, borrowers can take advantage of interest savings with a 3- or 5-year personal loan, as both loan terms offer lower interest rates on average than higher-cost borrowing options such as credit cards.

But whether a personal loan is right for you depends on multiple factors, including what rate you can qualify for, which is largely based on your credit score. Comparing multiple lenders and their rates helps ensure you get the best personal loan for your needs.

Before applying for a personal loan, use a personal loan marketplace like Credible to comparison shop.

Personal loan weekly rate trends

Here are the latest trends in personal loan interest rates from the Credible marketplace, updated weekly.

The chart above shows average prequalified rates for borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher who used the Credible marketplace to select a lender.

For the month of March 2024:

Rates on 3-year personal loans averaged 22.22%, up from 21.68% in February.
Rates on 5-year personal loans averaged 24.38%, down from 24.88% in February.

Rates on personal loans vary considerably by credit score and loan term. If you’re curious about what kind of personal loan rates you may qualify for, you can use an online tool like Credible to compare options from different private lenders.

All Credible marketplace lenders offer fixed-rate loans at competitive rates. Because lenders use different methods to evaluate borrowers, it’s a good idea to request personal loan rates from multiple lenders so you can compare your options.

Current personal loan rates by credit score

In March, the average prequalified rate selected by borrowers was:

12.58% for borrowers with credit scores of 780 or above choosing a 3-year loan
31.39% for borrowers with credit scores below 600 choosing a 5-year loan

Depending on factors such as your credit score, which type of personal loan you’re seeking and the loan repayment term, the interest rate can differ.

As shown in the chart above, a good credit score can mean a lower interest rate, and rates tend to be higher on loans with fixed interest rates and longer repayment terms.

How to get a lower interest rate

Many factors influence the interest rate a lender might offer you on a personal loan. But you can take some steps to boost your chances of getting a lower interest rate. Here are some tactics to try.

Increase credit score

Generally, people with higher credit scores qualify for lower interest rates. Steps that can help you improve your credit score over time include:

Pay bills on time: Payment history is the most important factor in your credit score. Pay all your bills on time for the amount due.
Check your credit report: Look at your credit report to ensure there are no errors on it. If you find errors, dispute them with the credit bureau.
Lower your credit utilization ratio: Paying down credit card debt can improve this important credit-scoring factor.
Avoid opening new credit accounts: Only apply for and open credit accounts you actually need. Too many hard inquiries on your credit report in a short amount of time could lower your credit score.

Choose a shorter loan term

Personal loan repayment terms can vary from one to several years. Generally, shorter terms come with lower interest rates, since the lender’s money is at risk for a shorter period of time.

If your financial situation allows, applying for a shorter term could help you score a lower interest rate. Keep in mind the shorter term doesn’t just benefit the lender – by choosing a shorter repayment term, you’ll pay less interest over the life of the loan.

Get a cosigner

You may be familiar with the concept of a cosigner if you have student loans. If your credit isn’t good enough to qualify for the best personal loan interest rates, finding a cosigner with good credit could help you secure a lower interest rate.

Just remember, if you default on the loan, your cosigner will be on the hook to repay it. And cosigning for a loan could also affect their credit score.

Compare rates from different lenders

Before applying for a personal loan, it’s a good idea to shop around and compare offers from several different lenders to get the lowest rates. Online lenders typically offer the most competitive rates – and can be quicker to disburse your loan than a brick-and-mortar establishment.

But don’t worry, comparing rates and terms doesn’t have to be a time-consuming process.

Credible makes it easy. Just enter how much you want to borrow and you’ll be able to compare multiple lenders to choose the one that makes the most sense for you.

About Credible

Credible is a multi-lender marketplace that empowers consumers to discover financial products that are the best fit for their unique circumstances. Credible’s integrations with leading lenders and credit bureaus allow consumers to quickly compare accurate, personalized loan options – without putting their personal information at risk or affecting their credit score. The Credible marketplace provides an unrivaled customer experience, as reflected by over 6,500 positive Trustpilot reviews and a TrustScore of 4.7/5.

Finance

Crypto execs see US passing crypto laws this year under Trump

Published

31 minutes ago

January 23, 2025

Business Finance News

FRANCE – 2025/01/20: In this photo illustration, Trump Meme , Trump the Crypto president, is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Romain Doucelin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Romain Doucelin | Getty Images

Cryptocurrency firm bosses are optimistic about the changes of comprehensive federal rules for the industry passing this year now that Donald Trump, who is a backer of bitcoin, returned to the White House.

The CEOs of Coinbase, Binance and Circle told CNBC they now see a clearer path toward securing some concrete rules on digital assets — unlike the previous U.S. administration, which took aggressive enforcement action against several major crypto companies.

Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong said that he sees crypto entering the “dawn of a new day” with a Trump-led U.S. administration.

“You have to remember: the last four years, we really felt like we were being attacked by this administration,” Armstrong told CNBC in a TV interview at the World Economic Forum’s annual event in Davos, Switzerland.

“They tried to weaponize the lack of clarity in the rules to really push back, even on the good actors,” Armstrong added. “There were some bad actors too, to be fair — but they even really tried to go after the good actors, I think, like us.”

Coinbase is the biggest crypto trading platform in the U.S. The firm often touts itself as a regulated alternative to offshore exchanges, like Binance.

Regulatory clarity to boost sector

On Tuesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the launch of a “crypto task force” aimed at “developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.”

The SEC panel will be tasked with developing a clear set of rules for the crypto sector, while also addressing issues regarding registration of coins, according to a statement from the agency.

Coinbase’s Armstrong said the current main priority for crypto as an industry is working to get legislation passed in the U.S. to offer clarity.

“The industry is just ready for this new change,” he told CNBC. “They’re ready for clear rules. And that’s our big push.”

Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, highlighted token issuance, trading and asset management as some of the key things he’s expecting to see progress on in terms of crypto-specific legislation in the U.S.

Binance CEO sees U.S. crypto legislation passing under Trump this year

Teng said he sees “much clearer regulation” happening in the U.S. this year — and that this would be supportive for bitcoin and other digital assets.

“If you look at past cycles, this year will be a year that we see a new all-time high for the crypto industry,” Teng said in a CNBC-hosted fireside discussion in Davos, Switzerland.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, passed the $100,000 price milestone for the first time last year, as traders grew optimistic about the crypto industry’s prospects under a Trump administration.

As of Wednesday, the token was trading at a price of about $104,000, according to CoinGecko data.

U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve

Binance’s Teng is also expecting the U.S. to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve — something Trump suggested he’d do during his campaign.

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, said he believes “it would be prudent for central banks to hold some reserves in something like bitcoin,” adding this could cause a return to commodity-backed money.

“If we look back when we decoupled from non-sovereign commodity money, we really saw around the world incredible abuses through fiat and that goes on,” Allaire said. “The vast majority of governments in the world are significantly in debt.”

Watch CNBC's full interview with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong

“It’s taken kind of open heart surgery, shock therapy, in a place like Argentina to get out of this vicious cycle. And I respect that this is a important topic for the U.S. government now,” he added.

Trump has previously suggested that a U.S. national bitcoin reserve could be underpinned by crypto assets seized from criminal operations, such as hackers and fraud rings.

Stablecoin laws expected

Along with a pro-crypto president, the U.S. now also has senators and representatives who are supportive of the technology and want to put regulation in place — something that’s “absolutely appropriate,” Allaire stressed.

Allaire noted there are already “American champions” in the crypto space such as Circle, Coinbase and blockchain platform Solana. “I think under this new administration, we’ll see very likely rapid progress in rule making and policy making to advance this industry,” he said.

Circle’s CEO sees the U.S. advancing legislation particularly around so-called stablecoins — digital tokens designed to be pegged to real-world assets like the dollar — given that there’s already bipartisan support in Congress for such tokens. Circle is behind USDC, which is one of the largest stablecoins.

The Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, a bill that seeks to establish a regulatory regime to license issuers of stablecoins, was working its way through Congress before last year’s election. It has yet to pass a House vote.