Banking

Investigation reveals banks illegally denied loan modifications

Amy Pyle Feb 5th 2010 @ 8:00AM EST Filed Under: Banks, Debt, Real Estate, Mortgages, Refinancing

An investigation by the nonprofit journalism operation, ProPublica, raises intriguing questions about reasons desperate homeowners are being turned away for the very government program aimed at helping them.

Some of the problems ProPublica uncovered echo complaints WalletPop heard when we wrote about troubles with the federal Home Affordable Modification Program last year: trial modifications being extended just as they are completed, and loans being denied because an income decline is considered temporary.

That temporary hardship, the focus of ProPublica's latest story, was not intended to be legitimate grounds for denial, as was clearly explained by the Treasury Department in a December memo. Now, JPMorgan Chase -- which was involved in all of the cases the investigation uncovered -- has acknowledged its error and encouraged anyone denied for that reason to reapply. A spokeswoman told ProPublica that the company "adapts as quickly as possible" to the Treasury guideline missives.

As of the end of 2009, the government reported, more than 900,000 trial modifications had been started, but only 66,465 had transitioned into permanent breaks for the borrowers. The report also showed JP Morgan Chase was second only to Bank of America as a participant in the federal HAMP program.

Which banks are the worst overdraft fee offenders?

Lita Epstein Feb 4th 2010 @ 5:30PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Credit, Debt, In the News

Consumers overwhelmingly want limits and additional disclosures on bank overdraft fees, according to a survey released by the Consumer Federal of America (CFA). Yet Congress has done nothing to fix the problem since it held hearings late last year and banks continue to make billions on overdraft fees. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) estimates that consumers paid $23.7 billion for overdraft fees in 2008, which is an increase of 35% over just two years.

CRL reported that 50 million Americans overdrew their checking accounts at least once over a 12-month period with 27 million account holders paying five or more overdraft or insufficient funds fees per year.

The Federal Reserve is implementing new rules requiring banks to get customers' consent on overdrafts when they get a debit card, but the new rules do nothing to rein in the high fees or provide real-time disclosures. The rule does mandate an opt in at the time one opens an account, but does not require banks to discuss the opt out provision after a customer experiences an overdraft.

Continue reading Which banks are the worst overdraft fee offenders?

Overdraft anger? Call Congress

Geoff Williams Feb 4th 2010 @ 2:30PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Credit, Debt, In the News

If you're fed up with overdraft fees, you're not alone. During a telephone press conference held earlier this afternoon, which I sat in on, Consumer Federation of America released the results of a national poll today showing that (surprise) just about everyone wants limits and additional disclosures on bank overdraft fees.

I'll get to that in a moment, but there was really a second message that the CFA and the Center for Responsible Lending, which had a representative at this conference, wants to get out: If you're truly fed up, call your Congressman or woman and ask them to get behind two bills circulating in Congress that intend to put much more severe restrictions on overdraft fees.

Continue reading Overdraft anger? Call Congress

Need relief from credit card bills? Ask for it

Martha C. White Feb 3rd 2010 @ 3:30PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Debt, Credit Cards

It's no big secret that a lot of Americans are having trouble making their credit card payments these days. High interest rates and punitive penalty fees just heap it on, and make getting out from under those bills a daunting task.

This article from MSN Money, though, explores a possible solution many people aren't even aware of: Asking their issuer to cut them some slack.

The technical industry term for this is "forbearance." It's not loan forgiveness; you still have to pay. But, according to the article, an issuer can do anything from postpone payments to lowering minimum payments to reducing your interest rate or the amount you pay in fees.

Continue reading Need relief from credit card bills? Ask for it

Bankers not as optimistic about the economy as Obama

Charles Feldman Feb 3rd 2010 @ 9:30AM EST Filed Under: Banks, Real Estate, Mortgages

Although the President claimed in his State of the Union address that the worst of the economic storm has passed us by, he apparently didn't consult with bankers who answered the January survey of senior loan officers conducted by the Federal Reserve.

Had Mr. Obama done so, he'd have found out that, in fact, when it comes to mortgage loans, bankers are not exactly upbeat about the near term future.

In fact, according to the survey, credit standards are still being tightened as bankers expect delinquencies to continue to rise.

For prime real estate loans, 17 % of banks say they tightened their standards, while 30% of banks answered the same way about non-traditional loans.

Continue reading Bankers not as optimistic about the economy as Obama

Robbing a bank? Don't warn everyone

Geoff Williams Feb 2nd 2010 @ 1:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks

At first, the story sounds funny. Looking at it a little more closely, however, it's really not.

Francis Coleman, a 40-year-old, unemployed machinist, has made headlines because he told a news station he was going to rob a Bank of America the next morning and that they should be there to tape the whole thing. Well, the news station called the police, and the police went to Coleman's house and arrested him.

But this really isn't the case of the dumb criminal; it's really the story of a man at the end of his rope, a man who made a bad decision that's now going to cost him, which makes this story even sadder.

Continue reading Robbing a bank? Don't warn everyone

Citibank kills free checking but attorney general warns, not so fast

Geoff Williams Feb 1st 2010 @ 3:15PM EST Filed Under: Banks

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a nationwide agreement regarding banking fees. He held a telephone press conference, which I listened in on, and if you're a Citibank customer, this news may affect you.

Starting today, Citibank was basically going to kill its free checking program. But after the New York Attorney General's office stepped in, Cuomo was able to announce today that -- for many customers -- the free checking program has been extended until at least the end of the year.

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Continue reading Citibank kills free checking but attorney general warns, not so fast

Mortgage rates expected to rise as government support phases out

Charles Feldman Feb 1st 2010 @ 8:00AM EST Filed Under: Banks, Real Estate, Mortgages

If you are fence sitting about whether to buy that house, you may not want to wait too much longer: If government officials can be believed, the more than year-long federal support of mortgages, which brought rates to post World War II lows, is slated to end within the next couple of months.

Should this happen, mortgage rates are expected to climb. By how much, no one seems certain. Though fears are already being expressed by some, that any hefty increase in the 30-year fixed rate mortgage could cut any developing real estate market recovery off at the knees.

But forget the macro implications and let's keep to the micro ones: that would be you.

Continue reading Mortgage rates expected to rise as government support phases out

Your computer's fine. Bank of America's web site, not so much

Geoff Williams Jan 29th 2010 @ 2:50PM EST Filed Under: Banks

If you've been trying to log onto Bank of America's web site today, with no luck, it's not your imagination or your computer's fault -- B of A's Web site is down. Or at least it was at the time of this writing -- and had been throughout much of Friday morning and the early afternoon.

If you try to log onto its site, you'll get a "problem loading page" notice (if you're using Firefox).

It was speculated on BusinessInsider.com that it might be a cyber attack, although the writer there admitted that plenty of web sites malfunction, and this may just be one of those times.

Times Asia is reporting it as the server simply crashing.

I contacted Bank of America, and spokesperson Anne Pace told me that "Bank of America's Online Banking service is, indeed, available. However, some customers are having intermittent issues accessing the site."

If we learn more, we'll let you know. In the meantime, if you're one of those "some customers" trying to do some online banking, you might want to resort to the old-fashioned way and head to a brick and mortar branch, or call its customer service line if you have half an hour to spare. If you were planning on paying bills online, pull out your checkbook and find a stamp. Or try another computer, and maybe you'll have better luck.

P.S. I'm told by Ms. Pace that as of 8 p.m., Friday, January 29th, the issues have been resolved, and that the web site is up and running.

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