More than a year after several of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders temporarily suspended foreclosures after it was revealed that they had been using untrained, unqualified “robosigners” to process foreclosure documents, the U.S. Justice Dept. and the attorneys general of 49 states have announced a $25 billion settlement that will result in mortgage reductions to some homeowners. [More]
citi
Almost All States Sign On To Massive Mortgage Settlement
By 2.7.12
Last night was the deadline for the attorneys general of each state to sign onto a massive settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders, and more than 40 of the states opted to join in the pot-sharing. [More]
Senator Asks Citi To Stop Reporting Frequent Flier Miles As Taxable Income
By 1.30.12
As we mentioned last week, a number of Citi customers around the country have been scratching their heads wondering why they received 1099 tax forms from the bank over frequent flier miles, even though IRS policy explicitly states that the agency as no interest in going after freebie miles as taxable income. Now the chair of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection has fired off a missive to Citi asking the CEO to not be such a pain in the rear-end to its customers. [More]
Citi Says Those Free Rewards Miles You Received Are Taxable
By 1.24.12
If you received a bunch of miles from Citi for signing up for one of the bank’s credit cards or rewards-earning accounts, be on the lookout for a 1099-Misc tax form coming in the mail, as Citi has decided that these miles have a taxable value. [More]
Big Banks Pinky-Swear To Overhaul Lending & Foreclosure Practices
By 1.23.12
Nearly a half-decade after the U.S. housing market collapsed like something that collapses really badly, the country’s five biggest mortgage providers — Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi and Ally — are oh-so-close to reaching a settlement with the states that could include overhauls to how they operate when it comes to the whole lending/servicing/foreclosing process. [More]
SEC Would Rather Fight Judge Than Try To Win A Real Victory Over Citigroup
By 12.15.11
Back in November, a U.S. District Court judge in Manhattan rained all over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Thanksgiving parade when he refused to sign off on the regulator’s $285 million settlement with Citigroup because — as is usual in these sorts of deals — the bank neither admitted guilt nor defended itself. But rather than take the judge’s decision as an impetus to push harder on Citi, the SEC reportedly just wants the court to stop being such a wet blanket and let it have its settlement already. [More]
Renting Doesn't Necessarily Protect You From Inept Mortgage Servicers
By 12.6.11
Whenever I bring up the ongoing mortgage and foreclosure fiasco (and yes, this topic does come up often in my casual conversation; which is probably why I’m single), at least one of my renter friends cavalierly states that he or she is happy to not have to worry about having a bank wrongly foreclose on them, or mistakenly seize their stuff. But as the following story shows, that just isn’t so. [More]
Citi Jacks Up Monthly Fees And Minimum Balance Requirements For Checking Accounts
By 10.5.11
While Bank of America is inflaming consumers’ anger by saying it will soon start charging some debit card customers a monthly fee, the people at Citibank have been busy figuring out just how much to inflate the monthly fees and balance minimums for many of their checking account customers. [More]
Former Citi VP Admits To Stealing $22 Million From Bank
By 9.6.11
If you think you need Ben Affleck in a creepy nun mask to heist millions from a bank, there’s a former VP of Citigroup who can teach you a thing or two about a bloodless robbery. Of course, this guy also got caught and has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $22 million from his former employer, so he’s probably not one to look to for get-rich-quick advice. [More]
Even Paying On Due Date Won't Save You From Late Fees
By 8.10.11
Even though he thought he paid on his credit card’s due date, Russel still got dinged with a late fee. Turns out that he needed to make his payment before 5pm Eastern, otherwise it would get counted as being the next day. Rarg! [More]
Banks Letting Foreclosed NYC Homes Fall Into Dangerous Disrepair
By 7.25.11
Though New York City real estate remains at a relative premium, a new report says that banks have ignored the upkeep of thousands of seized foreclosure properties, allowing them to fall into horrid levels of disrepair. [More]
Lawsuit Alleges Citi Illegally Foreclosed On Thousands Of Soldiers' Homes
By 7.12.11
An Iraq War veteran has filed a potential class-action lawsuit against CitiGroup’s CitiMortgage division, alleging that the lender violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by foreclosing on his home and that of “thousands” of other active-duty soldiers. [More]
Banks Use Your Shopping Info So They Can Send You Targeted Coupons That Make More Money For The Banks
By 7.6.11
The banks of America recently pitched enough of a hissy fit to effectively neuter swipe fee reform — after they raised rates, instituted fees and canceled rewards programs — claiming they’d be swiped into the poor house by the reduced fees. But not to worry, bankers are a clever folk and they always have a way to profit off your transactions. Like, for example, colleting information about your shopping habits. [More]
Report: Citi Knew About Credit Card Hack For Weeks Before Going Public
By 6.13.11
Last week, Citigroup announced that around 200,000 credit card accounts had been compromised by hackers, but a new report from the Wall Street Journal says the bank knew something was wrong weeks earlier. [More]
Bank Of America Tops List Of Companies With Craptastic Customer Service
By 6.2.11
Bank of America may have lost this year’s Worst Company In America tournament by the narrowest of margins, but the results of a new customer service satisfaction survey put BofA at the head of the class when it comes to irking consumers. [More]
Citi Beats Bank Of America At One Thing: Getting Bailout Money
By 3.16.11
The Congressional Oversight Panel overseeing the TARP program has finally made public the data on exactly how much each of the various bailed-out banks received from the combined coffers of TARP, FDIC and the Federal Reserve. The winner: Citigroup’s $476.2 billion. [More]
Worst Company In America Round One: Bank Of America Vs. Citi
By 3.15.11
Consumerist’s 6th Annual Worst Company In America tournament tips off today with this battle of beastly bankers! [More]
Citi Testing Card With Button That Lets You Choose To Pay With Reward Points
By 1.7.11
A credit card with a button? Yep. That exists. Citi is testing a card with an actual button on it that, when pressed, switches the card from regular credit to reward points. [More]
