 TITLE: How to Get a Debt Consolidation Loan During a Recession CONTENT: Can You Get Consolidation Loans in an Economic Downturn?\n--------------------------------------------------------\nNow for the million-dollar question: Can you get debt consolidation loans in an economic downturn, such as the one caused by the coronavirus pandemic? The short answer is yes; the longer answer is it depends on the lender and borrower.\n\"Debt consolidation loans are still available even in this pandemic,\" says Mark Lorimer, chief administrative officer of LendingPoint. \"By July, LendingPoint was back to originating at the same levels as 2019. We expect September through year-end to be record funding levels every month.\"\nRenaud Laplanche, CEO of Upgrade, had similar news to share. \"There is never a bad time to pay off high-interest credit cards with a lower-interest loan,\" Laplanche says. \"In fact, we extended more credit in August than we did in February before the start of the COVID crisis.\"\nThough many lenders are still giving out loans, some may have altered their procedures or become more stringent in their approval processes. Lorimer, for instance, noted that more lenders now verify employment and income before issuing loans.\nIbo Dusi, chief operations officer of Happy Money, which issues debt consolidation loans through Payoff, agreed. \"With high unemployment, having verifiable income is key to securing a loan,\" he says. \"Make sure you will be able to provide full documentation in the approval process.\"\nDusi also pointed out that, according to research from Happy Money, \"people who \\[reduce\\] debt early in a recession versus taking on additional debt end up with less stress and are better equipped financially when conditions start to improve.\" END