Here’s a suggestion for all of you who bank at Bank of America. If the bank makes you angry, do not try to get revenge by calling 911 and reporting a fake robbery in progress.
banks
49 Banks That Refund All ATM Fees
By 12.22.08
Why pay people for your own money? Via FatWallet, here’s a big daddy list of all the banks that refund your ATM fees, regardless of who owns the ATM.
Pump Up Your Savings With High-Yield Online Savings Accounts
By 12.21.08
Are you earning at least 4% in your savings account? If NO, do yourself a favor: Open a high-yield online savings account and start adding some serious muscle mass to your savings. Here’s the skinny:
Credit Suisse Top Execs Get Toxic Debt As Christmas Bonus
By 12.18.08
Instead of canceling bonuses for top execs this year, Credit Suisse instead will pay them with the very toxic debt that’s thrown the world into an economic crisis. Yes, Virginia, there is a Revenge Claus.
HELOC Cuts, The Hows And Whys
By 12.17.08
Did your Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) suddenly trail off in the forest recently? Here’s some straight-talk on why, and what, if anything, you can do about it. [Examiner.com] (Photo: Getty)
The 25 Failed Banks Of 2008
By 12.16.08
You can click through CNBC’s stupid click-inflating slideshow of the 25 failed banks of 2008, or just skim the handy rundown inside. It was a bad year for banks you’ve never heard of.
Flagstar Bank: Give Me My Money, My Roof Has A Hole
By 12.12.08
Hurricane Ike left Mike’s with a hole in his roof. He needs Flagstar Bank’s holding onto his insurance company check like a hole in his head.
Bank of America To Lay Off Over 30,000
By 12.11.08
Bank of America has announced that it will lay off 30,000-35,000 people as a result of its merger with Merrill Lynch and the economic downturn. [MarketWatch] (Thanks, Dariush!)
Illinois Stops Doing Business With BoA Until It Restores Window And Door Company's Credit
By 12.8.08
The state of Illinois has suspended doing all business with Bank of America until they restore the line of credit to Chicago-based Republic Windows & Doors necessary for paying their workers.
What Do I Need To Know Before I Refi?
By 12.8.08
I am going to meet with him after work today, but was wondering, what sort of things do I need to look out for, and know, going into this? This is my first mortgage ever (I’m 21) and don’t know too much about what’s normal and what’s not. If you could give me any hints or suggestions, that’d be awesome! Thanks so much, and have a great day!
How To Get Your First Credit Card
By 12.6.08
I got my first credit card from one of those guys on campus with a folding table and free tshirts. Back then, they gave give credit to anyone who could fog a mirror. No income? No assets? No clue? No problem! The tshirt wasn’t even cool, it was for AT&T, and I got it as easily as my first beer. Nowadays, what the meltdown of our financial system and all, they actually have some requirements to pass before giving you a credit card. Crazy. So what’s a young consumer looking for fresh plastic to do?
Hard And Soft Credit Inquiries, And How One Hurts Your Credit Score
By 12.6.08
Did you know that when a company checks out your credit report, it can damage your credit score temporarily? It depends on if the inquiry is “hard” or “soft.” Hard inquiries ding your score, soft don’t. If you’re going to get a mortgage or a car loan, a few points difference translates into a big chunk of change. So how do you know when an inquiry is going to be “soft” or “hard?”
On Heels of Bailout, Citi Raises Rates on Millions of Cardholders
By 12.6.08
We know the credit markets remain seized: late on Black Friday when no one was listening, the Federal Reserve issued a statement that its emergency lending to banks had increased over the prior week. Thus, massive amounts of money continue to flow to large financial institutions in an effort to stimulate economic activity, but by all appearances the money is not flowing into the broader economy. Quite the contrary; as the Fed lowers rates and adds record amounts of loaned cash to bank balance sheets, big banks are actually increasing consumers’ cost of borrowing and reducing their lines of credit. Witness Citibank’s recent adverse actions against cardholders.
Help! They Closed My Credit Card Because I Didn't Use It!
By 12.5.08
Reader Kevin is upset with WaMu because they closed his credit card due to inactivity. Had he known they were going to do this, he says he would have been happy to pay a small fee to keep it open, etc. The card is the oldest one on his credit report — and closing it has affected his FICO score.
FDIC Criticizes Banks' Overdraft Fees
By 12.4.08
It took 18 months for the FDIC to figure out that banks’ practice of clearing checks largest to smallest makes banks a lot of money.
Circuit City Bouncing Refund Checks, But Will Reissue Them
By 11.26.08
If you have a Circuit City refund check not deposited before 11/10, it’s going to bounce.
Video: How Credit Cards Become Bonds
By 11.26.08
We’ve heard lots about how mortgages get turned into tradeable securities, but they’re not the only thing. No no no, there was far too much Chinese money not able to earn anything on T-bonds for us to let them lie. Credit cards can become asset-backed bonds too. Marketplace’s Paddy Hirsch is back with his whiteboard and dry-erase markers to explain how it works. Video inside.
Where Do I Turn For Help With My Mortgage?
By 11.25.08
Reader Mike is in a “challenging mortgage situation” and wants to know where he should turn for help.
