Many banks subdivide the retail segment further in terms of their own organization into personal banking (mortgages, credit cards, overdrafts and other services) and consumer finance (auto loans and other loans to finance consumer purchases). In recent years there has been a move to base the retail banking organization more on the delivery method used, for example branch-based banking and products delivered electronically. This trend is likely to persist as more people use the Internet to search for the best terms available and to apply for loans.
Most retail loans are highly commoditized. Credit approval procedures are highly automated and pricing and approval decisions result from bank policy decisions rather than being made individually. Key success factors in this segment include access to customers, ease of application, speed of credit approval and pricing. For specialist lending services, such as loans to individuals with a poor credit record, collateral requirements may be lowered in return for a higher price.
An equally popular and more interesting interpretation of the momentum chart is based on an analysis of tops and bottoms. All momentum values are bounded in both directions by the maximum move possible during the time interval represented by the span of the momentum. The conditions at the points of high positive and negative momentum are called overbought and oversold, respectively A market is overbought when it can no longer sustain the strength of the current trend and a downward price reaction is imminent; an oversold market is ready for an upward move. Faster momentum calculations win reach these maximum values more often and stay there for extended periods of high upward or downward momentum. The use of a slow momentum period, however, will produce values that rarely test its limits. If the momentum system uses the horizontal zero line to enter and exit trades, it is of no consequence how often the bounds are touched; once a position is entered, the high-momentum condition serves as a positive reinforcement for the trade. However, the maximum positive and negative momentum values can be measured and used to anticipate the end of a trend. For this purpose, momentum values that are too fast will obscure the trading signalsthe momentum index must be allowed to reach its full value.