Archive for September, 2009
Editorial: Fractional Reserve Banking and the Federal Reserve
I was reading the other day that the idea of getting rid of the Federal Reserve was based on faulty assertions that the booms and busts we’ve experienced since its inception in 1914, also happened during the 1800s, largely undermining that argument in the eyes of that particular writer. The reason that writer was wrong was [...]
Savings Rates Increase, Consumers Remain Unprepared for Job Loss
Consumers are increasing their savings and paying off debt, but most Americans are not prepared for a major financial emergency, a new survey says. According to a Survey from HSBC Bank (NYSE: HBC), most Americans do not have nearly enough savings to sustain themselves if they lose their jobs. 61% of survey respondents stated that [...]
What Would the United States Look Like Without the FDIC?
There’s a small but growing movement of concerned citizens that are hoping to turn the financial world on it head and eliminate the Federal Reserve. We recently looked at what the United States might look like without the Federal Reserve, but a major movement was birthed to privatize the banking industry and the Federal Reserve [...]
Is Lending Through Prosper and Lending Club a Solid Investment?
When we lend money to our friends, we will typically hand them $20 or $30 and they will pay us back a week or two later and we won’t think much of it. If the person was willing to provide you a little bit of interest, you actually might make some money off the deal. [...]
Everything You Need to Know About Online Savings Accounts
Welcome to American Banking News’s online savings account guide. The purpose of this section of the website is to help you understand, research and choose an online savings account. What is an Online Savings Account? An online savings account, sometimes referred to as a high-yield savings account, is a savings account that is primarily accessed [...]
Citigroup, Bank of America and Others Lend $15 billion through Federal Reserve’s TALF Program
Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) sold the most out of a group of banks that sold $15 billion in asset-backed debt, the highest total since June, before the September 3rd deadline for the 7th round of the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility Program (TALF). On November, 25th of 2008 [...]
Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citibank to Accept California IOUs as Deposits
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), CitiBank (NYSE:C), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) have announced they will start accepting state-issued IOUs from customers as deposit. Wells Fargo will begin accepting California’s state-issued IOUs on September 4th, the first that that IOUs can be redeemed by the state. Bank of America will follow up and begin accepting state-issued [...]
Bank of America Still Largest U.S. Bank
Measured by overall assets, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) still retains its status as the largest bank in America, but unfortunately it does so because of the use of taxpayer funds to bail them out, which they still owe us. The data confirming this comes from the research firm SNL Financial, which culled the information [...]
“In Fed We Trust” Details Fed Actions During Financial Crisis
“Whatever It Takes” were the words used by Federal Reserve Chairman when asked what we would do about the United States financial crisis last fall. Bernanke said he would do anything to avoid a repeat of the great Depression and the book “In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke’s War on the Great Panic” details the [...]
How to Protect Yourself against Bank Failure
With 416 banks on the FDIC’s “troubled list” and 84 bank failures this year, it’s more important than ever to make sure that you are protected in the event that your bank or credit union goes out of business. It can be very difficult to determine if a bank or credit union is about to [...]
What Would the United States Look Like Without the Federal Reserve?
Since H.R. 1207 was introduced by Dr. Ron Paul in Congress this February, there has been a growing movement questions whether the Fed should continue to operate without more oversight and some question whether or not the Federal Reserve should continue to operate at all. Currenty, Paul’s “Audit the Fed” legislation has 282 co-sponsors and [...]
Bank of America Looks To Repay Gov’t Aid, Exit Loss Share Agreement
Bank of America said on (NYSE: BAC) Tuesday that it has offered to pay back a portion of the government aid it has received, which has reached $45 billion. The bank is also looking to end the loss sharing agreement it has with the government in regard to the Merrill Lynch acquisition. The loss sharing [...]
Wells Fargo (WFC) Announces Plans to Repay TARP Loans
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) announced on Tuesday that it has developed plans to repay the funds it received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) without diluting its existing shareholders. In October of 2008, the federal government invested more than $100 billion in the nine of the United States’ largest banks through the Troubled Asset [...]
How to Determine If Your Bank is Headed for Failure
With 84 bank failure this year, it’s more important for consumers and businesses than ever to make sure that their bank is financially secure. There are signs that a bank is going to fail and you can make sure to switch banks before yours gets taken over by federal regulators. There are currently 416 banks [...]
Bank of America Brings on Thomas Montag to Turn Around Overseas Operations
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) recently hired a new corporate and investment banking chief—Thomas Montag and he’s already facing a major test: steadying Bank of America’s tumultuous and turmoil-ridden operations overseas which were acquired in Bank of America’s acquisition with Merrill Lynch. Many of the top bankers in Merrill Lynch’s overseas operations have moved on to [...]
worst video player ever- after over2:00 there's still no video appearing 