Lending

ebooks
B&N Ebook Reader Lets You Loan A Book Just Once
One of the big selling points about the Nook, the new ebook reader introduced this week by Barnes & Noble, is that unlike Amazon they'll let you virtually "loan" your ebook to a friend for up to 14 days (if the publisher allows it). What they don't tell you—some smart readers over at MobileRead sussed it out—is that you can only do this one time per book. You'd better lend wisely—and your friend had better finish that book within 14 days. More »

10:52 PM on Thu Oct 22 2009
By Chris Walters
4,901 views, 93 comments

Most discussed Corporate_guy: Why are they so afraid of letting digital books mimic real books? more »
CFPA
Consumer And Banking Scholars Speak Out In Favor Of Consumer Financial Protection Agency
Earlier this week, a group of 70 law professors from universities across the country released a 16-page Statement of Support (pdf) detailing why they're in favor of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Act. You can read the statement yourself via the link above, but we've summarized them below. More »

3:22 PM on Fri Oct 2 2009
By Chris Walters
1,800 views, 14 comments

Most discussed Skaperen: What we really need is a "public option" bank. more »
recession watch
Bad News: Yet Another Record Month For Foreclosures
For the third time in the last five months a new record for foreclosure filings has been reached says foreclosure tracking firm RealtyTrac. July saw an increase of 7% from June of this year and, even more telling, a 35% increase from last year. More »

8:27 AM on Thu Aug 13 2009
By Meg Marco
2,515 views, 29 comments

Most discussed punkrawka: This seems about right, since we basically used responsible people's money to try to remove any consequences from the poor more »
community banking Reform
Crackpots Detail Insane Ideas For Banking Reform
Credit Slips has this wild idea about reforming the banking system by letting some fairy-tale character named "Bob" run around issuing loans to qualified people in his community. We normally love Credit Slips as a well-researched piece of scholarly work masquerading as a blog, like cauliflower disguised as Cheetos, but this "community banking" idea? Ridiculous, right?! Grab a juice box and hit the jump to see what happens when economists take a stab at children's fiction. More »

8:00 AM on Sat Jul 18 2009
By Carey Alexander
4,853 views, 43 comments

Most discussed Steve Pan: Wll, f crtn grp f ppl wr shwn t b cmpltly rrspnsbl wth lns nd prhps mght vn b more »
credit cards
Study Of Credit Unions Indicates CARD Act Will Benefit Consumers
Two Harvard doctoral students in economics compared how credit unions and banks operated their credit card divisions, and concluded that the recent CARD act "is likely to bring about moderate, and even positive, changes," as banks begin to emulate parts of the fairer business model of credit unions. Specifically, they say, all the doom and gloom from the banking industry about how consumers will get shafted by the new rules is mostly fearmongering. More »

10:07 PM on Wed Jun 24 2009
By Chris Walters
5,088 views, 69 comments

Most discussed johnva: Credit unions also generally don't offer rewards cards that are nearly as good as the ones the banks do. To more »
loans
Tennessee Couple Gets $5,000 Loan, 59% Interest Rate
Kay and Lewis Brown wanted some quick cash so they could make a moderate addition to their home. They turned to CashCall, an online loan service, after seeing the ads on TV. The company lent them $5,000 — at 59% interest. Now the couple is on the hook for $20,830. More »

11:08 AM on Mon Apr 20 2009
By Lucy Bayly
23,281 views, 247 comments

Most discussed Skankingmike: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAah that cannot be the direct quote can it? "I ain't got no knowledge of spelling and writing, but the Lord gave more »
Sallie Mae is going to "reverse outsource" and move 2,000 jobs from overseas back to the US in order to get people, (the president?) to like them again. Will it work? HAHAHHAHAHA. Oh, sorry. That was unprofessional. [Reuters] MORE »

21 comments
payday loans
House Preparing To Legalize Payday Loans With 391% APRs
A House subcommittee wants to legalize payday loans with interest rates of up to 391%. Lobbyists from the payday industry bought Congress' support by showering influential members, including Chairman Luiz Gutierrez, with campaign cash. The Congressman is now playing good cop, bad cop with the payday industry, which is pretending to oppose his generous gift of a bill. More »

6:00 PM on Sun Apr 5 2009
By Carey Alexander
23,279 views, 216 comments

Most discussed Esquire99: I guess the anti-payday loan crowd must expect those who will no longer be able to get short-terms loans to more »

Mortgage rates are at a record low of 4.78%, according to Freddie Mac. [Bloomberg] MORE »

39 comments
student loans
A Big-Ass List Of Student Loan Resources
It's a tough economic climate to be graduating from school — and maybe an even tougher one for those of you trying to get financial aid. We've put together a list of some financial aid and student lending resources to help make things easier. More »

2:05 PM on Mon Mar 30 2009
By Meg Marco
19,141 views, 41 comments

Most discussed QuantumRiff: One big tip, I wish someone had told me. If all your student loans are through the same company, more »
lawsuits
Battle Of The Most Hated Companies: Countrywide Sues AIG
Last year's Worst Company in America winner, Countrywide Home Loans, has sued AIG for not paying their claim on losses from failed real estate loans that they had insured with the company. More »

10:19 AM on Fri Mar 20 2009
By Meg Marco
7,986 views, 39 comments
mortgage fraud
Top 10 States For Mortgage Fraud
As you might imagine, mortgage fraud is up, up, up. 26%! More »
recession watch
1 In 8 US Households Either Late Or In Foreclosure
Here's your daily depressing mortgage news — as employers shed jobs mortgage delinquencies are rising — intensifying and spreading the mortgage crisis. More »

11:58 AM on Thu Mar 5 2009
By Meg Marco
4,224 views, 78 comments
Looking for a mortgage? You might want to consider an FHA loan. The New York Times says, "The Federal Housing Administration used to be known as a place for low-income borrowers with tarnished credit histories. But now, it has become a destination for borrowers whose credentials are respectable, but not stellar." [NYT] MORE »

12 comments
mortgage meltdown
Meet The Savings & Loan That Destroyed Wachovia
60 Minutes recently took a look at World Savings Bank, the acquisition that ultimately wounded Wachovia so badly that it had to be acquired by Wells Fargo. What was wrong with an institution for which Wachovia was willing to pay $25 billion? Well, one whistleblower claims that World Savings was engaged in fraud and predatory lending — tricking its customers into signing up for dangerous "option-arm" or (as they cheerfully called them) "pick-a-payment" loans. More »

10:31 AM on Mon Feb 23 2009
By Meg Marco
11,128 views, 55 comments

Most discussed perruptor: But -- but what about the greedy homebuyers? How can the noble bank reps be at fault? more »
foreclosure
Make The Bank Prove It Really Owns Your Mortgage Before You Let Them Toss You Out
We've written about this before, but as more and more people face foreclosure (last year's foreclosures totaled 2.3 million, according to the AP) its a good time to remind people of this strategy. More »

12:46 PM on Wed Feb 18 2009
By Meg Marco
21,163 views, 49 comments
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has announced a new website, financialstability.gov, to increase transparency in the financial stability program. MORE »

13 comments
faces of foreclosure
Faces Of Foreclosure: The Nonagenarian (He's 92.)
Our sister publication, Consumer Reports, put together some video interviews with people who, for one reason or another, are facing foreclosure. They are the human side of this financial meltdown. More »

5:59 PM on Thu Feb 5 2009
By Meg Marco
3,432 views, 30 comments