Yakima Fifth Nationally In Bank Loans To Consumers

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — A study has ranked Yakima fifth nationwide in the growth of home mortgage and other bank lending to consumers.

The findings of Moody's Economy.com and Equifax Inc. cover bank consumer lending in 207 cities in the last three months of 2008, compared with the same period in 2007.

In Yakima, mortgage, home equity, automobile, credit card and student loans grew by 10.69 percent, nearly four times the national average of 2.65 percent. That ranks behind only Huntsville and Mobile in Alabama and McAllen and Brownsville in Texas.

One real estate broker, Nick Marquez, credits the growth mostly to the area's agriculture-based economy. He also says it helps to be in a smaller community where more people know each other.

The study was first reported in The Wall Street Journal.

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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakima-herald.com