Archive for September, 2009
Why Does Lending Club Turn Away 90% of Potential Borrowers?
Consumers are increasingly looking to peer-to-peer lending sites such as Lending Club as credit card companies raise their interest rate, but why does Lending Club turn away 90% of people that apply to borrow money from the site? In a recent conference call with investors, Lending Club provided their investors with news about the company [...]
Banks Reduce Borrowing from Federal Reserve’s Emergency Lending Facility
Over the last week, Banks decreased their borrowing from the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending facility and decreased their participation in other programs intended to ease the financial crisis, leading some to believe that the credit markets are finally thawing out. In a report issued by the Fed on Thursday, it said that banks averaged $30.4 [...]
Federal Reserve President Sees “Lackluster” Recovery in U.S.
The economic recovery in the United States will be “lackluster” because of weak consumer spending and strains in the financial market, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said. In a speech yesterday in Jacksonville, FL, Lockhart stated, “Over the medium term, I see a slow recovery with ongoing repair of the financial sector,” [...]
Moody’s Predicts Continued Banking Woes Through 2010
Moody’s Investors Services predicts that there will be “substantial additional” loan losses by United States banks through the end of next year, which will likely hinder their profits for “extended periods and putting stress on capital levels.” In a recent WSJ article, Senior credit officer Craig Emrick for Moody’s stated, “We do not believe asset-quality [...]
Account Review: EverBank’s 2.51% APY “Yield Pledge” Money Market Account
EverBank is offering an online money market account with a 2.51% APY bonus rate for the first three months and a 1.51% standard APY EverBank’s money market account has check writing privileges with the standard 3 checks per month limitation per federal law. Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly. The bank does do a [...]
U.S. House to Hold Hearings on Federal Reserve Audit
Congressman Ron Paul informed the Campaign for Liberty that the House Financial Services Committee will hold hearings on Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve (H.R. 1207). The hearings are currently tentatively set for Friday, September 25th at 9:00 AM. H.R. 1207: the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 would require the Government Account Office [...]
Wells Fargo and Bank of America Step Up Mortgage Modifications
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) have stepped up their loan modification efforts just one month after being accused of helping almost no borrowers. In total, lenders nationwide have now provided 360,000 modifications to homeowners. The federal government’s $75 billion mortgage relief program got a major boost when Bank of America Corp. [...]
Congress Loses Faith in the Federal Reserve—Strips Additional Authority from New Financial Regulation
The Federal Reserve was to play a major role in the Obama Administration’s proposed regulatory overhaul of the financial system, but Congress may stand in the way. Many Senators have lost confidence in the Federal Reserve and are now moving a different route for financial regulatory reform. A new piece of legislation taking shape in [...]
Defiant Bank of America Lawsuit Could Bring Transparency We’ve Been Looking For
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) is refusing to cave in to threats and allegations from New York Atty. Gen. Andrew M. Cuomo, and is ready to go to legal battle if the $33 million settlement agreed upon with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is disallowed by a federal judge. What this is all about, [...]
Federal Reserve Reports Record Drop In Consumer Credit
The Federal Reserve reported yesterday that U.S. consumer credit dropped by a record $21.6 billion in July as Americans continue to pay down debt and delay big purchases that may have previously been financed. The July decline is the largest on records dating back to 1943, according to the Federal Reserve. The $21.6 billion decline in consumer [...]
Proposed Debit Card Regulations Could Cause 1,000 Banks and 2,000 Credit Unions to Fail
New regulations that offer consumers additional rights and protections when using credit card have become law and are going into effect and now Congress will very likely focus on adding additional protections for users of checking accounts and debit cards. In a recent press release, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) described the legislation that she is [...]
ING Direct Drops Orange Savings Account Interest Rate to 1.30%
ING Direct announced today that they were dropping the interest rate on their popular Orange Savings account to 1.30%, down .10% from 1.40% as of 9/9/2009. ING Direct gained notoriety in the banking industry for being one of the first successful online savings accounts. The bank was successful at drawing in customers from bricks and [...]
Pressure to Regulate Bank Debit Cards Increasing
It’s somewhat puzzling to me the big deal being made about the overdraft fees being charged for the use of debit cards. The reason is that the vast majority of consumers don’t overdraft their bank accounts, and those that do, do it at a pace of five times a year, showing the problem lies with [...]
Editorial: Alan Greenspan Blames Human Nature, Not Himself, for Financial Crisis
Alan Greenspan thought when he stepped down as Chairman of the Federal Reserve that his place and name in economic history had been preserved, as he presumably had overseen the longest uninterrupted period of economic growth in the modern history of America. Now that many people have put a magnifying glass on his performance, that [...]
Lending Club Announces “Click Free” Investments for Large Investors
In a recent conference call, Lending Club announced a new way for investors with $25,000 or more to invest in peer-to-peer loans through Lending Club without having to individually select the loans they wish to fund. Lending Club refers to this new program as its “Click Free” investment program. Essentially, it’s a way for larger [...]
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