Banking

Faces of loan modification: Kathy Partak, Auburn, Calif.

Amy Pyle Nov 14th 2009 @ 9:00AM EST Filed Under: Banks, Budgets, Debt, Real Estate, Recession, Mortgages, Refinancing

How well is the government's loan modification working? WalletPop's four-part special report continues with profiles of some of those trying to get help. To read the overview, click here.

Kathy Partak went into loan modification armed with the powerful combination of knowledge and motivation. She had worked in the mortgage business, so she knew her rights and the right vocabulary to use. And she had a step-rate loan that was about to step up dramatically.

Add to that an on-the-job shoulder injury that left her unemployed and Partak figured she was a perfect candidate for modifying the loan on her three-bedroom home in Auburn, Calif.

But Chase Manhattan Bank denied her a modification, Partak said, telling her, "Unemployment is not a permanent hardship."

"Hopefully not!" said Partak, 42. "But it's one of the reasons they allow for on their paperwork of qualification."

Continue reading Faces of loan modification: Kathy Partak, Auburn, Calif.

Faces of loan modification: Mark Bonacorso, Tucson, Ariz.

Amy Pyle Nov 13th 2009 @ 5:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Real Estate, Recession, Mortgages, Refinancing

How well is the government's loan modification working? WalletPop's four-part special report continues with profiles of some of those trying to get help. To read the overview, click here.

Public relations consultant Mark Bonacorso faced the good and bad news of divorce with resolve. The good: he got the 3,500-square-foot adobe in northwest Tucson. The bad: he also got the first and second mortgages and the $2,700-a-month payments.

He wanted to make it work, especially since his home was worth less than he owed.

At first, with business strong at his firm, Media Ink, this seemed feasible. Then, as the recession slowed work, forcing him to lay off his two employees in March, those payments became daunting.

Bonacorso was not looking for Bank of America, his lender, to cut his principal. He called hoping to reduce his monthly payments by combining his first and second mortgages, lowering their interest rates -- now 5.875% on his first; 7.625% on his second -- and extending the loan's term from 30 years to at least 40.

Continue reading Faces of loan modification: Mark Bonacorso, Tucson, Ariz.

Officially, the overdraft bank fee nightmare is almost over

Geoff Williams Nov 13th 2009 @ 1:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks

The Federal Reserve announced on Thursday that starting July 1, 2010, financial institutions can no longer allow customers to overspend their account and then charge overdraft fees -- in most cases -- unless the customers have signed up for a bank's overdraft protection plan that includes such fees. My guess is, most won't.

As The Washington Post explains, the overdraft fee won't disappear entirely. Banks can still charge overdraft fees on checks or an automatic bill payment. But the days of buying a cup of coffee or stick of gum with your debit card without realizing you don't have the funds and then getting slammed with a $37.50 fee--that will end on July 1, 2010. Instead, you'll simply have your debit card declined. And if that thought truly embarrasses you, then tell your bank you want that overdraft protection.

Continue reading Officially, the overdraft bank fee nightmare is almost over

Loan modification: Needed help or an exercise in frustration?

Amy Pyle Nov 13th 2009 @ 12:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Credit, Debt, Real Estate, Mortgages, Refinancing

How well is the government's loan modification working? Find out in this four-part WalletPop special report, which begins with this overview and continues with three profiles of those trying to get help.

If the goal of the federal government's loan modification program was to frustrate applicants, then it certainly is succeeding. But if its goal was to prevent foreclosures, the effort may simply be postponing that eventuality for many.

With an estimated 3.1 million mortgages at least two months delinquent, through the end of October, just 650,994 homeowners had received adjustments through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) -- a notable uptick from past reports and a measurable step toward the Obama administration's goal of helping 4 million by 2012.

But from the halls of Congress to Internet message boards, anger rises about mixed messages, delays and denials without explanation and, most tangibly, the sharp decline in converting short-term loan adjustments into something more meaningful.

Continue reading Loan modification: Needed help or an exercise in frustration?

Intuit exec explains what Quicken users can expect from Mint.com

Josh Smith Nov 12th 2009 @ 4:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Budgets, Technology

When Intuit, the makers of popular personal finance software Quicken, purchased Mint.com for $170 million, users of both services expressed concerns about the future of their favorite financial tool.

After it became clear that both Mint and Quicken Online would remain free, the only real question left was, "Which service would remain standing after the purchase was complete?"

Last week TechCrunch broke the news that Aaron Patzer, the new vice president and general manager of Intuit's Personal Finance Group at Intuit, would be closing down Quicken Online within six to nine months and migrating users to Mint.com.

Continue reading Intuit exec explains what Quicken users can expect from Mint.com

Consumers could win big if Dodd's financial reform package becomes law

Lita Epstein Nov 11th 2009 @ 7:15PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Credit, Debt, Recession, Credit cards

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd unveiled his financial reform package on Tuesday and consumers could win big if the bill becomes law. Dodd proposes a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency whose sole job will be to protect American consumers from fraud and abuse. He wants to be sure people get the clear information they need on loans and other financial products from credit card companies, mortgage brokers, banks and others.

Dodd introduced the bill along with fellow committee members Jack Reed, Charles Schumer, Robert Menendez, Daniel Akaka, Jon Tester, Mark Warner, Jeff Merkley and Michael Bennet -- all Democrats, so at least it looks as though this may be a partisan effort, but the issue is so important I hope it can become a bipartisan bill.

Continue reading Consumers could win big if Dodd's financial reform package becomes law

Citi scraps fee waivers; low-balance account holders will pay

Martha C. White Nov 11th 2009 @ 12:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks

As reported in the New York Post, Citibank plans to eliminate the two fee waivers that had been available on its two basic checking accounts nationwide early next year.

Previously, customers who had an "EZ" or "Access" checking account and didn't keep a minimum balance of $1,500 could avoid paying $7.50 or $3 per month, respectively, by arranging a monthly direct deposit or using the account to auto-pay two monthly bills.

Beginning in February, those fee waivers are being eliminated, so the only way a person who has one of these accounts can avoid the fee is to keep $1,500 or more with Citibank. Now, that $1,500 doesn't all have to be in that checking account; it can be in another Citi account or a CD, but it needs to add up to $1,500 if you don't want to pay the fee.

Continue reading Citi scraps fee waivers; low-balance account holders will pay

What to tell your bank when they say something you don't want to hear

Geoff Williams Nov 10th 2009 @ 2:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Banking-checking-account

There's a lot of public anger at banks these days. Pick a bank topic, any topic -- bailouts, executive pay, interest rates, ATM, NSF, overdraft fees -- and it's hard to imagine anyone nodding happily. But all this anger begs the question: When we're frustrated and being thwarted by our bank, what can we do to make ourselves... well, happy?

If you've heard any of the following from your bank lately, here's what you ought to say in return.

"You have six overdraft charges." One or two overdraft charges certainly aren't fun, but five or more, and you can suddenly feel your monthly budget going to ruin. If your bank isn't one of those that's curtailing its overdraft fees (Bank of America), or it is but hasn't stopped yet (yeah, you heard us, U.S. Bank), you may, unfortunately, know that feeling.

Continue reading What to tell your bank when they say something you don't want to hear

Brits bust up banks; will the U.S. follow suit?

Martha C. White Nov 10th 2009 @ 1:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Recession

In a move that could be an indication of how the U.S. will handle the problem of banks deemed "too big to fail," the United Kingdom is forcing some of Britain's biggest banks to split themselves up.

According to this article in the Washington Post, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and Northern Rock have all been ordered to scale down. RBS and Lloyds are shedding branches and spinning off various divisions; Northern Rock is being split in half.

Continue reading Brits bust up banks; will the U.S. follow suit?

GMAC's performance shows that we're not out of the woods yet

Geoff Williams Nov 10th 2009 @ 8:00AM EST Filed Under: Banks

It's been an interesting year for GMAC, if interesting means humbling.

Back in May, the government conducted a series of stress tests and determined that 10 of the largest 19 banks needed to have more capital, if they were going to survive any more economic troubles that might come our way. Then, the 10 were given six months to raise a grand total of $74.6 billion in capital.

Well, here's the good news. Monday, the Federal Reserve announced $77 billion was raised.

But the bad news involves the bank hold company, GMAC Financial Services, the 14th largest bank and the lending device used by many Americans to pay for their cars -- those cars that are built by General Motors and Chrysler. GMAC, which is now 35% owned by the American government, has fallen short of raising its required $11.5 billion and will need what will be its third loan from the U.S. Treasury, which it will likely get through the TARP Automotive Industry Financial Program. That will mean American taxpayers will own even more of GMAC Financial Services.

GMAC is believed to need $5.6 billion in capital.

Continue reading GMAC's performance shows that we're not out of the woods yet

My 5-year-old opens a savings account -- you can, too

Aaron Crowe Nov 9th 2009 @ 4:00PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Banking-savings-account

As with too many lessons I try to teach my daughter, now 5, I end up caving in and the lesson I set out to instill is lost.

We'll see if it turns out the same way with her savings account we recently opened together, but it couldn't have been a strong lesson in how to save money when immediately after leaving the bank, we went to a store where I bought her a promised toy.

I'll get back to the toy spending in a bit, but first I'd like to focus on the good part of that afternoon -- opening a savings account in her name in an effort to teach her about saving money.

Continue reading My 5-year-old opens a savings account -- you can, too

Credit card reform to come sooner?

Martha C. White Nov 9th 2009 @ 9:30AM EST Filed Under: Banks, Credit cards

We here at Walletpop have decried the rate-raising, fee-slapping tactics of the credit-card companies making one last grab at America's wallets before the new credit card reform legislation passed by Congress earlier this year goes into effect. Credit card companies' practices got so out of hand that the House of Representatives voted this week to put the changes into effect sooner.

Continue reading Credit card reform to come sooner?

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