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New Banks Will Face Increased Scrutiny by FDIC
After facing 81 bank failures in 2009 and estimates that there will be hundreds more over the next few years, U.S. regulators are stepping up their capital requirements and general scrutiny over new financial institutions in hopes... More of this article »
Dwindling FDIC Funds Putting Pressure On Surviving Banks
The announcement yesterday by the FDIC that the Deposit Insurance Fund dropped to $10.4 billion is a little suspicious based on the 1.94 balance reduction/estimated losses ratio for the previous five quarters, which suddenly improved... More of this article »
Federal Reserve Continues its Mantra that “Disclosure” Will Hurt Banks
The more the Federal Reserve continues to fight the public disclosure of what banks and financial institutions were the recipients of billions in taxpayers’ dollars to artificially prop them up, the more it looks like the Fed... More of this article »
Federal Reserve urges Secrecy in Bank Bailout Programs after Losing in Court
There was recently a lawsuit against the U.S. Federal Reserve by Bloomberg News in which the Fed refused to release the names of the banks that participated in an emergency lending program and the amount of money that they received.... More of this article »
FDIC Eases Investor Guidelines Ahead Of Quarterly Briefing
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approved a softer set of investment requirements on Wednesday in its quest to expand the pool of eligible and interested investors. The current changes are aimed at bringing in private equity... More of this article »
The Financial Services Industry Brings Buying and Selling Gold into the 21st Century
For hundreds of years, consumers and investors have taken refuge in gold and other precious metals knowing that they would have value around the world whether or not the US Dollar or any other currency would succeed. As the economy... More of this article »
Kennedy Death Could Mean Major Changes for Senate Banking Committee
The death of Senator Edward Kennedy could have significant ramifications in the Senate committee overseas credit unions and will be handling President Obama’s plan to restructure regulation of consumer financial services. Chairman... More of this article »
100-200 More Bank Failures Coming in the Next 12 Months
It seems that just about every Friday evening we hear about another bank that’s had its assets seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for being insolvent. The amount of money that the bank has isn’t enough to cover... More of this article »
Three out of Four Americans Support a Federal Reserve Audit
With yesterday’s ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska that ordered the Federal Reserve to hand over records regarding the lending of taxpayer money to various financial institution, there’s renewed interest in keeping... More of this article »
Federal Judge Orders Federal Reserve to Turn Over Agency Records to Bloomberg News
In an extraordinary ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska ordered the Federal Reserve to turn over records of the details concerning the lending of taxpayers’ money to financial institutions and banks. The lawsuit... More of this article »
Judge Seeks Explanation In SEC’s Bank Of America Probe
A District Judge has ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission to explain its investigation, or lack thereof, on Bank of America and whether the bank misled shareholders and omitted information in regard to Merrill Lynch bonuses. Bank... More of this article »
The National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund – FDIC Insurance for Credit Unions
Most people know that if they have money in a savings account, a certificate of deposit, or a checking account at a bank they are protected in the event that their bank fails by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), but... More of this article »
Federal Regulators and Private-equity Investment in Banks
The push back and forth between the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and private-equity businesses reveals a lot about the underlying problems associated with the use of taxpayer funds to bailout banks in the first place. Those who... More of this article »
White House Predicts $1.6 Trillion Dollar Deficit for 2009
After a record number of cash-infusions to the banking industry, a $700 billion dollar stimulus packages, and an unprecedented $3 trillion dollar Federal Budget, the consequences are finally coming home to roost. Today, the Congressional... More of this article »
Report: Obama To Nominate Bernanke For Second Term
President Barack Obama plans to nominate Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second term, according to a report by Associated Press. The announcement is likely to come on Tuesday while Obama is on break from a vacation on... More of this article »
Lending Club Review: A Review of Lending Club’s Peer-to-Peer Lending Services
Peer-to-peer lending companies, including Lending Club and Prosper, have gotten a lot of press during the recession as banks cut back in lending. We thought it would only make sense to provide an in-depth review of Lending Club, so... More of this article »
What Would Be Involved in an Audit of the Federal Reserve? – Part Four
Why changing the laws to allow full auditing the Federal Reserve is so vital to the interests of all Americans. As I mentioned in the last article, don’t be fooled when supporters of not having the Federal Reserve audited assert... More of this article »
Will Benjamin Bernanke Get a Second Term as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve?
When Alan Greenspan retired and handed over the reins of the Federal Reserve to Benjamin Bernanke, many wondered if Bernanke could step up to the plate and successfully manage the Federal Reserve in the way that Alan Greenspan had... More of this article »
Credit CARD Act of 2009: New Credit Card Regulations Go Into Effect
On May 22nd of 2009, President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 in hopes to end practices that many have labeled as abusive by the credit card industry. The act aims to protect consumers... More of this article »
P2P Lending Gains Popularity During Recession
In the last 12 months, the amount of credit that banks have available to them to loan to customers has drop significantly, as a result 65% of banks nation-wide have tightened up their lending standards making it hard for consumers... More of this article »
FDIC’s Deposit Fund May Need 25% of U.S. Banking Profit in 2010
With the 80th bank failure occurring in just the first eight months of 2009, the U.S. banking industry’s fee burden from the FDIC is continuing to be pressured as the Deposit Insurance Fund shrinks. Richard Bove, an analyst with... More of this article »
Warren Buffett: Monetary Medicine Leaving Disastrous Side Effects
While it’s sad to see Warren Buffett in his old age become a shill for the Obama administration, basically abandoning his past practice of focusing on the free markets. He does at least admit to the extraordinary problems emerging... More of this article »