Home Depot to offer loans at its stores

Tuesday, June 6, 2000 | 10:48 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

ATLANTA -- The Home Depot will offer loans to its customers nationwide, granting the money in stores so customers can spend it almost instantly on home improvement products.

The Atlanta-based company called the program the first of its kind in the retail industry.

Customers will be allowed to use the loan money only at Home Depot stores and will be able to charge purchases to their loan accounts for up to six months. The company will give its customers credit lines on the spot of $3,000 to $30,000 and repayment periods of up to 10 years.

The loan program already is available to customers at 65 Home Depot stores in 13 states. It will be available in all of Home Depot's more than 900 U.S. stores this fall.

The Wall Street Journal reported Home Depot customers will fill out an application and a Home Depot employee will phone the details into GE Capital Financial Inc., which will decide which loans to approve by using credit-scoring formulas.

Home Depot is considering putting the loan application on its Internet sales site. The retailer's Internet sales program is set to begin this month or next month in Las Vegas. It will offer 40,000 products that customers can have delivered or that they can order online and then pick up at a Home Depot store.

Home Depot has six stores in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.