We support reforms to the financial marketplace to curb bad practices by banks and lenders.
Today, March 15th, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s call for basic consumer protections. In 1962, the President delivered a special message to Congress that called for four basic consumer rights – the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, and the right to be Continue Reading
Mar
08
Wells Fargo To Charge $7 Fee On Checking Accounts
According to CNN, Wells Fargo is trying to put another nail in the coffin of free checking accounts. However, if you have a lot of money or are willing to jump through hoops you can avoid the new fee. The $7 monthly service fee will be assessed on the bank’s Essential Checking account. Customers can Continue Reading
Posted by Tim in Banking
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Mar
06
Fed Study Shows Student Debt Burdens Growing
Yesterday, the New York Times reported that a new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York illustrates the increasing burdens student loan borrowers face. According to the report, from the second to third quarter of 2011 alone, total outstanding student loans grew 2.1 percent - from $852 billion to $870 billion. Over the same time period, other types of Continue Reading
Posted by Suzanne Martindale in Credit, Student Loans
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Mar
05
Zombie Account Generates $400+ in Fees in Three Days
By: Christina Tetreault After closing his checking account at Fifth Third, a consumer in New York was dismayed to find not only had the bank re-opened his account when a post-closure transaction hit, but Taylor McKinley’s ex-bank hit him with a string of fees totaling $438.35, according to the Huffington Post. The most shocking thing about Continue Reading
Posted by Lauren Bowne in Banking
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2 Comments »
Mar
01
Bank Fee Alert: BoA Trying Again!
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Bank of America is considering plans to charge new monthly fees to its customers unless they bank online, hold a mortgage with the bank, or meet other conditions. The bank is reportedly testing the new monthly fees in Arizona, Georgia, and Massachusetts with an eye on rolling Continue Reading
Posted by Tim in Banking
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3 Comments »
Feb
28
Chase Looking to Shed Customers; Would “Celebrate” $20 Account Fees
By Christina Tetreault According to Business Week, If you have less than $100,000 in the bank, JPMorgan Chase doesn’t want your business.Instead, Chase wants to focus on its profitable customers, claiming that those with less than a hundred grand in the bank don’t cut it. Why does the little guy no longer get love from Continue Reading
Posted by Tim in Banking
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3 Comments »
Feb
27
Consumer Beware: Scams Related to the National Mortgage Settlement
By Norma Garcia The Department of Justice and the 49 attorneys general who are parties to the National Mortgage Settlement reached on February 10th with the five major banks/servicers are warning the public to beware of scams related to the settlement. There are already scammers at work pitching their services to the unwary, trying to Continue Reading
Posted by Tim in Mortgages
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Feb
24
The Mortgage Meltdown—Rampant Foreclosure Filing Improprieties Found in San Francisco
by Norma Garcia On Thursday, February 16, 2012, San Francisco’s Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting announced the findings of the City’s audit on foreclosure filings , discussed in the New York Times. The audit found rampant foreclosure improprieties, including one or more irregularities in 99% of the subject loans and in 84% of the loans, the office Continue Reading
Posted by Tim in Mortgages, Uncategorized
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Feb
22
February Bank Alert!
By: Christina Tetreault For our February Bank Alert we’d like to highlight a new bank policy many of you may have encountered. The big banks have been imposing a back-door fee by raising the minimum balance required to qualify for a fee waiver on checking accounts. If you don’t keep a large buffer of cash Continue Reading
Posted by Lauren Bowne in Banking
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36 Comments »
Feb
15
CFPB’s first big rule protects money sent overseas
CFPB Director Richard Cordray is making it clear that CFPB is hitting the ground running – yesterday he posted a summary of the agency’s first big rulemaking, which protects money transfers to other countries. These transfers, also called “remittances,” had few legal protections before despite the fact that U.S. residents send billions of dollars all Continue Reading
Posted by Suzanne Martindale in Payments
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