Yahoo! Finance has a horrible story about a 61 year old lady living on $759 a month Social Security whose credit card was stolen and it ended up with the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) deciding she owed them $46,000. [More]
banks
3 Major Banks Start Fund To Shore Up Credit Market
By 10.15.07
Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase are joining forces to create a fund that will buy the debt from their mortgage-backed securities. The new group, assembled at the urging of the benevolent and mysterious Dr. Treasury Department, call themselves The Super Bank Friends. Their undying quest: fighting together to prevent the credit market from collapsing and creating a rift in the space-time continuum that would transport America back to 1929.
US Bank To Let You Opt-Out Of Courtesy Overdraft Protection
By 10.12.07
An insider tells us the US Bank will let customer opt-out of courtesy overdraft protection. This would mean that if you bounce a charge, you just get charged an NSF fee instead of your account going negative, incurring additional fees, and increasing the likelihood of more checks and charges bouncing. Other banks may offer this already, call to find out.
Banks Earned $19 Billion From Overdraft Fees This Year
By 10.11.07
Overdrafting makes the Consumerist very sad, and banks very happy.
Consumers Fear Hidden Fees More Than They Do Identity Thieves
By 10.10.07
One in four adults incurred overdraft fees in the past 12 months, according to a new study by Gartner. One in six adults said they were more upset about hidden fees than getting their identity stolen and accounts jacked by a thief. Probably because you have better chance of getting your money back from the latter than the former.
By 10.5.07
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The recent shutdown of NetBank is a good opportunity to review what happens when a FDIC insured bank closes and gets taken over by another bank. Basically, you’re safe, as long as your deposits didn’t exceed $100,000. [Kiplinger]
By 10.4.07
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If you’re a customer of a small bank or credit union with limited access to fee-free ATMs, consider asking your financial institution to look into joining pre-existing, surcharge-free ATM networks like MoneyPass or Allpoint.
By 10.3.07
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Perhaps New Yorkers will see a city-wide crackdown on identity theft, now that Mayor Bloomber’s identity has been stolen. Twice. [City Room]
Verify Funky Online Banks
By 10.2.07
So you just found some awesome interest rate at an online bank. Only problem is, you’ve never heard of the place before. How do you know if your money is secure?
Citibank Warns Of 60% Drop In Earnings Due To Subprime Meltdown
By 10.1.07
Citibank is warning investors to expect a 60% drop in earnings due to “dislocations in the mortgage-backed securities and credit markets, and deterioration in the consumer credit environment.”
NetBank Fails, Assets Disgorged To FDIC, ING
By 9.29.07
NetBank is the first federally regulated bank to fail thanks to the ongoing subprime meltdown. The failure spotlights the importance of FDIC insurance, which guarantees deposits of up to $100,000. Customers who abided by the FDIC limits and deposited less than $100,000 with the internet bank will become ING customers, and will have immediate access to their funds. The 1,500 customers who collectively deposited $109 million above the FDIC limits stand to lose half of their funds.
American Home Mortgage Bounces Checks, Blames Chase Bank
By 9.29.07
It seems that bankrupt mortgage lenders are no different from bankrupt home owners. When they start bouncing checks they blame the bank, and hey, they might even be telling the truth.
Beware Falling Online Savings Account Rates
By 9.28.07
Yesterday we bemoaned HSBC’s online savings account dropping by .55 percentage points, and gazed hungrily at Emigrant Direct’s still-holdin’ strong 5.05%, so of course Emigrant Direct to cut theirs to 4.75% today. Until the impact of the federal rate cut sets in, don’t go rate chasing. [Emigrant Direct]
Banks Requiring Higher Balances To Avoid Fees
By 9.28.07
Since last year’s survey, the average balance requirement to avoid fees on an interest account jumped almost 25 percent, from $2,660.49 to $3,316.60. Imagine keeping more than $3,300 in a low-yielding account, just to avoid fees!
Ew! The good news is that you can still get a free checking account, but it won’t pay interest. There are good options out there, it’ll just take a bit of shopping around. Don’t leave your money in a low-interest account just to avoid fees unless you have a darn good reason for doing so.
8 Personal Finance Lessons Learned From Monopoly
By 9.27.07
Remember those cold winter nights when your family stayed up late and fought to bankrupt each other? Recall the number of times you cheered a little metal dog (or hat or thimble) to move around a square board quickly? Recollect regularly screaming “come on seven!” only to roll a six? Who knew that all that time you were really learning about personal finance? Well, Blueprint for Financial Prosperity now knows this was the case. He’s detailed eight personal finance lessons he learned from Monopoly.
HSBC Direct Cuts Rates To 4.5%
By 9.27.07
We checked HSBC Direct’s front page daily after the Fed interest rate cut, in fear that our fave online saving account would also cut its high 5.05% interest rate. We chuckled as complaints rolled in about people’s various money market accounts getting their rates trimmed. After we were lulled into a false sense of security and stopped checking, a reader pointed out that HSBC has slashing the rate to 4.5%. Noooooooooooo…
Kid Get $120 In Wells Fargo Overdrafts Refunded After Rich Dad Calls VP
By 9.26.07
DM reports that he was able to get Wells Fargo to reverse all his overdrafts… because his dad has a big Wells Fargo account and was able to call up some company Vice President. Ahem. Three cheers for the power of escalating issues outside of the customer service line, we suppose.
