The relationship between loans and credit scores
It’s well-known that your credit score has a big impact on your ability to take out a loan, as 
well as on the total amount of the loan and interest rate your lender offers. But did you also know that the relationship works in the other direction as well?—that a loan can impact your credit score?
To understand this relationship, you have to consider where your credit score comes from. Your credit score is calculated using a variety of factors, including your payment history, the total debt you owe and the number of credit lines recently opened. When you take out a personal loan, the last two factors are affected.
Even just applying for a loan has an impact, since your credit score goes down slightly each time an inquiry is placed on your credit report by a lender checking your credit.
The financial advantage of finding a great loan far outweighs the negative impact that an inquiry has on your credit score. If you take out a personal loan to pay back a high-interest credit card, for example, you would benefit from the reduced interest and your credit score could be improved overall.
“A personal loan may help your credit score by moving credit-card debt over to the installment loan column,” states NerdWallet staff writer Amrita Jayakumar. “The way credit scores are figured, borrowers who use all or most of the available credit on their cards get hit with a significant penalty.”
Another thing to know about the impact that loan applications have on your credit score is that each inquiry may not count fully against your credit score if you are just comparing the rates of more than one loan. For example, if a car dealership places an inquiry on your credit score in the process of offering you an auto loan, and you want to check with your local financial institution to find a better deal, the second inquiry may not count against you.
“Generally any requests or ‘inquiries’ by these lenders for your credit score(s) that took place within a time span ranging from 14 days to 45 days will only count as a single inquiry, depending on the credit scoring model used,” according to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “You can minimize any negative impact to your credit by doing all of your shopping in a short amount of time.”
Once you have taken out your loan, it is important to make regular payments in order to maintain and improve your credit. A strong payment history goes a long way toward achieving a good credit score, and as you pay down your loan, your overall debt will decrease, further benefiting your credit.
So if you are considering taking out a loan, don’t let fear of a negative impact on your credit score stop you from exploring your options.
Used with Permission. Published by IMN Bank Adviser Includes copyrighted material of IMakeNews, Inc. and its suppliers.