Topics:
Financial Planning
Legal Research
Legislation
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
"The Federal Trade Commission this week released its latest findings in a ten-year study on the accuracy of credit reports. This report is another reminder of how important it is to review your credit report for inaccuracies.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?
You can check your three credit reports for free once every 12 months at annualcreditreport.com. Dispute any errors, and contact the company that reported the incorrect information to correct it." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Bankruptcy
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
"A large and growing share of American workers are tapping their retirement savings accounts for non-retirement needs, raising broad questions about the effectiveness of one of the most important savings vehicles for old age.
More than one in four American workers with 401(k) and other retirement savings accounts use them to pay current expenses, new data show. The withdrawals, cash-outs and loans drain nearly a quarter of the $293 billion that workers and employers deposit into the accounts each year, undermining already shaky retirement security for millions of Americans." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
"A year ago, Bank of America tried to charge customers $5 a month just for using a debit card. Consumer backlash made B of A back off pretty fast. Now, the Wall Street Journal says the bank is shelving a plan to charge fees for new checking accounts, at least until late next year. Problem is, many of those accounts actually cost the bank money. So it's latest gambit shows the battle between profits and public relations.
" ...more...
Topics:
Legal Research
Bankruptcy
Legislation
Financial Planning
Foreclosure
Credit Cards
"Last year, MetLife said elderly victims of financial scams lost at least $2.9 billion in 2010, up from $2.6 billion in 2008. And 20% of Americans over the age of 65 have been victims of financial swindles, a 2010 IPT report said. "This is a major problem, and we know there is significant under-reporting," says Mark Lachs, director of geriatrics at New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System.
Some older Americans are too embarrassed to disclose financial abuse. Some lack the tools to find a good financial adviser and may not have the knowledge to understand investment advice. Others may be susceptible to fraud because of diminished mental capacity." ...more...
Topics:
Legislation
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Financial Planning
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Tuesday announced its first public enforcement action with an order requiring Capital One Bank (U.S.A.), N.A. to refund approximately $140 million to two million customers and pay an additional $25 million penalty. " ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
Election 2008
Financial Planning
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today has unveiled its online database of consumer complaints against credit card companies — and the financial industry is taking it about as well as you’d expect." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Student Loans
Legislation
"In prepared remarks, Cordray talked about the bureau’s “know before you owe” campaign, which aims to simplify the fine print in financial disclosures." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
"Lending institutions in the United States reported a 16 percent increase in their credit card chargeoff rates in the third quarter of 2011, according to data released last week by the Federal Reserve." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Legislation
"The Internet banking services that have been sold to customers as conveniences, like online bill paying, also serve as powerful tethers that keep customers from jumping to another institution." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Debt Collection
"The Federal Reserve released data late Friday showing that its member banks reported a 3.4 percent annualized decline in card balances in August. Total revolving credit outstanding was $790 billion in the month, down from a peak of $972 billion in September 2008." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Legislation
"At this point, there are still plenty of options for people who want to stick with banks like Bank of America or Wells. They could simply switch over to using a credit card instead of a debit card. The problem is some people are no longer eligible to get a credit card. Then there's people who really like the budgeting capability that a debit card gives them and they want to keep using it, and they don't want to pay for the privilege. And there are still plenty of community banks, plenty of online-only banks and plenty of credit unions that do not have minimum balances for checking accounts in order to maintain their free status, and they don't charge people monthly fees to use their debit cards." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Legislation
Foreclosure
"Did America's record-high level of economic inequality in 2007 help cause the financial crisis of 2008? With Americans' borrowing back on the rise and signs that economic inequality is growing, could there be another financial crisis in the near future? Paul Solman continues his series of reports on U.S. economic inequality." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Student Loans
"Credit card debt, called revolving debt by the Fed’s monthly Consumer Credit report (G.19), increased at an annual rate of 7.9 percent in June, the sharpest increase in nearly four years. Consumer credit card balances grew by $5.2 billion in June to $798.3 billion.
June marked the second month in a row that credit card debt outstanding expanded after nearly three years of declines. A combination of soaring charge-off rates at large consumer banks, tightening of lending policies in the wake of the financial crisis, and consumers paying down outstanding credit card balances led to steady and significant drop in total card debt over the course of the past three years. Peaking at $973.6 billion in August 2008, credit card debt bottomed out at $789.7 billion in April of this year, a 23.3 percent decline over the period.
Non-revolving debt – like that found in auto, student, and personal loans – grew at a 7.7 percent annualized rate in June. Banks added $10.3 billion in non-revolving debt in the month to stand at $1.648 trillion at the end of June" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Legislation
Debt Collection
"The new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is officially open for business … and is taking your complaints about credit cards.
The bureau’s Web site offers an easy-to-navigate feature to file your complaints. To do so, you enter your name and contact information and describe the problem, both in your own words and by using simple pull-down menus. The menus, for instance, help you explain the nature of your complaint — late fees, billing disputes, interest rate, etc. — and what, if anything, you’ve done so far to resolve it." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Legislation
Financial Planning
Credit Cards
Foreclosure
"President Obama said Sunday that he would nominate Richard Cordray, the former attorney general of Ohio, to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, passing over Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law professor who was the driving force behind the bureau’s creation." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Legislation
Credit Cards
"Both Republicans and Democrats promised more civil discourse in Thursday’s hearing. But the political sniping sometimes overwhelmed testimony as the hearing devolved into what one committee member called “a partisan food fight.” Democrats apologized to Ms. Warren for her treatment by Republicans whom they accused of “sabotaging” the agency to protect Wall Street." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Student Loans
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
"Debt has become a way of life for American college students. The average student loan debt among graduating college seniors was more than $23,000 in 2008, according to FinAid.org. In addition, the student lender Sallie Mae says the average graduating senior with at least one credit card had $4,138 in debt on the card." ...more...
Topics:
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Foreclosure
Legislation
Election 2008
"NOSTALGIA is running high on Wall Street for the days when junk mortgage underwriting and opaque derivatives trading juiced bank profits. As regulators continue to devise the machinery of the Dodd-Frank regulatory reform law, major financial institutions are working overtime in Washington to bring the good times back again." ...more...
Topics:
Debt Collection
Legislation
Credit Cards
"lthough not specifically enumerated in the report released Tuesday, the FTC said the most complaints against collectors were:
Debt collector calls repeatedly or continuously;
Falsely represents the amount or status of debt;
Fails to send written notice of debt;
Falsely threatens suit
The FTC said that complaints about credit card companies fell 26 percent in 2010, most likely due to new rules in restrictions passed recently by Congress and the Federal Reserve." ...more...
Topics:
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
"After radically scaling back auto lending during the financial crisis, banks and the lending arms of the automakers have started to issue loans more aggressively. Borrowers of all types are now finding it much easier to obtain a loan compared with a few months ago." ...more...
Topics:
Debt Collection
Financial Crisis
Legislation
Credit Cards
"Although the FTC has not recently penalized any single data furnisher with a significant FCRA or FACT Act related fine, FCRA experts within the FTC warn that “lenders should be more concerned with the consumer’s right to private legal action with regards to FCRA and FACTA violations than regulatory fines.” Specifically, legal actions related to technical violations of the regulations such as inaccurate reporting of consumer account information to the credit bureaus.
What makes litigation a bigger risk now than in the past? In a recent decision in Bateman v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc., the Ninth Circuit Court opened the door for more class actions seeking exorbitant amounts in statutory damages for technical violations of the FCRA and FACTA with its decision that an FCRA or FACTA class action could not be denied based on the enormity or disproportion between actual and statutory damages, and there was no evidence that lawmakers held the intent to preclude class actions under either of these regulations." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Foreclosure
Means Test
Bankruptcy
Student Loans
"Welcome to the online home of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This new bureau is in the construction phase, but we’re already hard at work on plans to make consumer financial products and services clearer for Americans." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Means Test
Bankruptcy
"“They don’t have anything to fall back on,” said Carl Van Horn, a public policy professor at Rutgers University and co-author of the study. “They can’t sell their house, their retirement savings are nonexistent, they owe all this money in credit card debt — and that’s a bleak future.”
The growing reliance on plastic has driven the average credit card debt for people over 65 to $10,235, according to a July 2009 study by Demos, a public policy research organization in New York." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Net charge-off and delinquency rates in December declined again at five major U.S. credit card issuers, according to data filed by the banks this week with the SEC.
Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover all reported lower chargeoff rates in December 2010 compared to November. December also marked the second-straight month – and the third in four months — that the five largest card issuers reported charge-off rates below 10 percent." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Credit card balances, referred to as revolving debt in the Fed report, fell again in November. Banks reported that their total credit card debt outstanding fell at an annual rate of 6.3 percent, or by $4.2 billion, to $796.5 billion. While it marked the 27th month of credit card declines, November was the first month that total outstanding credit card debt fell below $800 billion since 2004." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Legislation
Financial Planning
Debt Collection
Student Loans
"Elizabeth Warren answers your questions on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a watchdog for the American consumer, charged with enforcing the toughest financial protections in history" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Bankruptcy
"Charge-offs continue to be a main driver in the rapid fall of credit card debt. Moody’s recently reported that card charge-offs at major issuers climbed back over the 10 percent mark in August after improving slightly over the early summer. Delinquencies, however, continue to improve, with August’s average reading falling below 5 percent. The improvement in delinquencies could signal that charge-offs will decrease in coming months as banks have already worked through a backlog of old bad debt.
Non-revolving debt – like that found in student, auto and personal loans – increased 1.2 percent in August after expanding at a 0.7 percent in July. Total non-revolving debt now stands at $1.592 trillion." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Credit Cards
Legislation
"The fees were constant: $28 to cash a paycheck. $1.50 for a money order. A dollar or more every time I swiped the prepaid cash card I bought at the drug store.
In all, I racked up $93 in fees in a monthlong experiment of living without a bank and making a go of it on the economic fringe. That works out to $1,100 a year just to spend my own money.
It may be hard to fathom why anyone would live this way, but a federal study last year found that about one in four U.S. households skirts banks and relies on services such as check-cashing and payday loans. Many of these households bring in less than $30,000 a year." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Financial Crisis
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
"For the past several years, the flagging economy has propelled a steady increase in personal bankruptcies. And while filings remain elevated, compared with previous years, they aren’t increasing as fast as they once were.
But that doesn’t necessarily signal an improvement in the economy (despite reports that the recession is technically over). In fact, bankruptcies are more sensitive to factors like the amount of outstanding consumer credit. In general, shortly after lenders tighten the credit spigot, filings tend to jump because strapped consumers can no longer rely on credit cards or other loans to pull them through a rough patch. But over time, if fewer new loans are being made, filings tend to drop." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Legislation
Election 2008
"...I could not have worked on the agency for months and months, possibly over a year. ... So the question was, would the president nominate me [as director] and sort of put me in a pumpkin shell for a while, or could I get started to work immediately? And my own enthusiasm was, I'd really like to get to work right now." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Legislation
Election 2008
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"In selecting Ms. Warren, administration officials picked an outspoken critic of many credit-card and mortgage-lending practices who has called for an overhaul of the way banks treat consumers. Consumer advocates are hoping she plays a central role setting the agency's direction.
"It is our expectation that she will have a critical role in forming the agency," said Lauren Saunders, a managing attorney at the National Consumer Law Center in Washington." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Legislation
Election 2008
"The bureau will consolidate employees and responsibilities from a host of other regulatory bodies, including the Federal Reserve, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and even the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is expected to have hundreds of employees and a budget of up to $500 million.
The bureau will nominally be part of the Fed, which is obligated to finance its budget, but the central bank may not influence its personnel or rules.
The bureau will have the authority to write and enforce new standards for mortgages, credit cards, payday loans and a wide array of other financial products. A consequence of the arrangement is that Ms. Warren will be working closely with Mr. Geithner, with whom she has occasionally clashed." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Foreclosure
"We talk with Gary Rivlin, author of "Broke, USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc. - How the Working Poor Became Big Business." Rivlin is a former reporter for the New York Times, Industry Standard and East Bay Express." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"In Moody’s monthly Credit Card Indices Report, the ratings agency noted that the average delinquency rate for all card issuers fell to 4.93 percent in July, the first time in nearly two years the rate has been below five percent. Likewise, the average charge-off rate fell below 10 percent, to 9.3 percent, for the first time in 14 months." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Financial Crisis
Foreclosure
Legislation
Bankruptcy
Financial Planning
"Credit card charge-offs hit a new record high in the second quarter, according to the Fed. Meanwhile, card delinquencies dropped significantly while late payments on real estate loans broke records." ...more...
Topics:
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Legislation
Financial Planning
"Rules that take effect Sunday will prohibit banks from charging certain overdraft fees without a customer's permission, but the rules will not prevent banks from posting a customer's daily checking account transactions in a way that maximizes overdraft fees.
Whether banks abandon this fairly common ordering practice in the wake of this week's court ruling against Wells Fargo remains to be seen." ...more...
Topics:
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
"A San Francisco judge's scathing ruling ordering Wells Fargo to pay its customers $203 million for manipulating debit transactions to maximize overdraft fees might be just the start of troubles for the bank.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup's 90-page opinion Tuesday described Wells Fargo's motive as profiteering and said the San Francisco-based bank's goal was to "maximize the number of overdrafts and squeeze as much as possible" out of customers." ...more...
Topics:
Student Loans
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Consumers now owe more on their student loans than their credit cards.
Americans owe some $826.5 billion in revolving credit, according to June 2010 figures from the Federal Reserve. (Most of revolving credit is credit-card debt.) Student loans outstanding today — both federal and private — total some $829.785 billion, according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org and FastWeb.com." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Financial Crisis
Legislation
"Many Democrats and liberal interest groups have launched an all-out campaign to have Elizabeth Warren nominated as the first consumer financial-affairs regulator. Many bankers and Republicans are hell bent on stopping her.
Few are paying attention to who is waiting in the wings.
The White House's other top candidate, Treasury Department Assistant Secretary Michael Barr, has, like Ms. Warren, spent years calling for stricter curbs on the banking industry. While little known to the public, he has left behind a more-detailed paper trail than Ms. Warren, offering clues to how he might run the agency." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Legislation
Financial Planning
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Stephen Colbert interviews Barney Frank wants Elizabeth Warren to head the consumer protection agency because she's an extraordinarily zealous pragmatist. (video 07:39)" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
Financial Planning
"Just months after historic legislation banned certain billing practices, card issuers have dreamed up new ones designed to trip up consumers." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Means Test
Foreclosure
Legislation
Debt Collection
"Ms. Warren’s supporters want President Obama to nominate her as the first head of a new consumer financial protection bureau created by the legislation he signed into law last week. They say that Ms. Warren, who conceived the idea and helped shepherd its passage into law, is the only acceptable choice to finish the project." ...more...
Topics:
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Legislation
Foreclosure
Financial Planning
"The signature achievement — a response to the 2008 financial crisis that fundamentally alters the relationship between Wall Street and the federal officials charged with regulating it — is a culmination of two years of fierce lobbying and intense debate over how to deal with the financial excesses that tipped the nation into the worst recession since the Great Depression." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Foreclosure
"Here are 10 ways the new law will help consumers like you:" ...more...
Topics:
Legislation
Financial Crisis
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
"The vote by the Senate was 60 to 39, with three Republicans from the Northeast joining with the Democrats in voting to advance the legislation.
One Democrat, Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, voted against the bill, saying it was still not strong enough to prevent future crises. And the seat held by Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, who died last month, is vacant." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Foreclosure
Debt Collection
"Retail sales are up, and credit card debt is down. Why is that bad news?" ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Legislation
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Debt Collection
"Democratic leaders in Congress say their top pick for the post is Elizabeth Warren, the high-profile Harvard law professor and an outspoken critic of what she sees as a too-cozy relationship between government and bankers." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Foreclosure
Means Test
Legislation
"The long recession has delivered an abundance of customers — debt-saturated Americans, suffering lost jobs and income, sliding toward bankruptcy. The settlement companies typically harvest fees reaching 15 to 20 percent of the credit card balances carried by their customers, and they tend to collect upfront, regardless of whether a customer’s debt is actually reduced.
State attorneys general from New York to California and consumer watchdogs like the Better Business Bureau say the industry’s proceeds come at the direct expense of financially troubled Americans who are being fleeced of their last dollars with dubious promises.
Consumers rarely emerge from debt settlement programs with their credit card balances eliminated, these critics say, and many wind up worse off, with severely damaged credit, ceaseless threats from collection agents and lawsuits from creditors." ...more...
Topics:
Chapter 13
Bankruptcy
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Foreclosure
Legislation
"Debt settlement companies offer help to individuals in financial turmoil. Peter S. Goodman reports on the growing criticism the industry has inspired." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Bankruptcy
Foreclosure
"Federal prosecutors have charged 1,215 people in hundreds of mortgage fraud cases that resulted in estimated losses of $2.3 billion, administration officials said on Thursday, unveiling a crackdown after the housing market collapse." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Legislation
Legal Research
Financial Crisis
Bankruptcy
"Lawsuits filed by consumers against debt collection agencies are on pace to hit another record this year, according to the latest stats from a firm tracking the legal actions." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Chapter 13
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Legislation
Legal Research
"The Supreme Court has just issued its opinion in Hamilton v. Lanning, a case interpreting the "means test" that the 2005 bankruptcy amendments added to chapter 13. The issue was chapter 13's requirement that the debtor commit his or her "projected disposable income" to a plan, and whether projected disposable income should be determined in a mechanical way (based on the debtor's income for the past six months as defined in the means test) or whether projected disposable income should include reliance on some estimate of the debtor's income in the future during the plan period. The Supreme Court rejected the mechanical approach, which was argued for by the debtor trustee and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, and adopted the forward-looking approach. The decision, authored by Justice Alito, was 8-1, with a dissent by Justice Scalia arguing the plain meaning of the text supported the mechanical approach." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
Financial Planning
"As measures take effect this year to overhaul credit card and overdraft practices, "What you're essentially doing is squeezing the balloon, (so fees) are going to pop up somewhere else," says Bart Narter, senior vice president at Celent, a bank research and consulting firm. Yet, ongoing regulatory scrutiny means that new fees rolled out by the industry will generally be "more fair," and unlike overdraft charges, won't disproportionately affect the poorest consumers, Narter says." ...more...
Topics:
Legislation
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Foreclosure
Financial Planning
"The vote was 59 to 39, with four Republicans joining the Democratic majority in favor of the bill. Two Democrats opposed the measure, saying it was still not tough enough." ...more...
Topics:
Legislation
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Foreclosure
"Consumer Protection: Creates a federal regulator to write and enforce rules protecting consumers of financial products like checking accounts, mortgages and payday loans. Increases the authority of state regulators to enforce protections." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Financial Planning
Legislation
"The holdouts, Senators Maria Cantwell of Washington and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, joined with 39 Republicans to block an effort by the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, to wrap up debate on the bill." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
"New credit card and overdraft restrictions will save U.S. consumers from being charged at least $5 billion in fees this year alone at the largest U.S. retail banks and credit card companies, a USA TODAY analysis reveals." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Debt Collection
"Apparently, when you publish your Social Security number prominently on your website and billboards, people take it as an invitation to steal your identity.
LifeLock CEO Todd Davis, whose number is displayed in the company’s ubiquitous advertisements, has by now learned that lesson. He’s been a victim of identity theft at least 13 times, according to the Phoenix New Times.
That’s 12 more times than has previously been known." ...more...
Topics:
Legislation
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Foreclosure
"The Senate is currently debating legislation that would call for the farthest reaching overhaul of financial regulation since the Great Depression. The House, mainly along party lines, passed a similar overhaul bill in December. The New York Times has highlighted some of the bill's 378 amendments below." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"U.S. loans at least 30 days overdue, a signal of future write-offs, dropped to 6.73 percent in April compared with 7.07 percent in the previous month, the Charlotte, North Carolina- based bank said today in a regulatory filing. Write-offs climbed to 12.71 percent last month from 12.54 percent in March." ...more...
Topics:
Legislation
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"The Senate approved a series of amendments unfavorable to the banking industry over the last week, but this one was widely regarded as the most surprising. Meddling in dealings between businesses generally is anathema to Republicans and a relatively low priority for Democrats.
And this was not an easy vote. Lobbyists for the wounded but formidable banking industry made clear to some senators that this decision would affect future campaign donations, according to people who participated in those conversations.
But retailers mounted an unusually effective yearlong campaign to frame the issue as a chance for Congress to help small business. A leading trade group for chain retailers worked with small-business groups to make sure that every time a senator held a town hall meeting back home, a local business owner showed up to ask about card fees." ...more...
Topics:
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
"A small but growing number of lawyers and consumers are fighting back against bill collectors and violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act." ...more...
Topics:
Means Test
Credit Cards
Foreclosure
Legislation
Debt Collection
"With straightforward majority reasoning of "ignorance of the law is no excuse" and a dissent that included fears of plaintiffs' attorneys run amok, the ruling has something for everyone. But an ARM legal expert notes that the impact will be immediate and burdensome for collection lawyers." ...more...
Topics:
Legislation
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Credit Cards
"Under the new so-called Card Act, credit card companies will have a harder time raising or imposing fees. But some consumer advocates worry the law will have unintended side effects. John Ulzheimer, a credit expert with Credit.com, talks with Michele Norris about these concerns." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"At the end of February, total outstanding revolving debt was $858.1 billion, a level not seen since September 2006. Since its peak in September 2008, credit card debt has declined $117.6 billion, with most of the decline due to bank chargeoffs (“Chargeoffs a Key Driver in Declining Credit Card Balances,” Sept. 23, 2009)." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Legislation
Financial Planning
"FreeCreditReport.com, of course, is not free. To use the service, you must enroll in "Triple Advantage," a credit monitoring service that you can get for the not-so-low price of $14.95/month. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had recently taken action to prevent these sorts of abusive practices. Under rules that just went into effect, any web site that purported to offer a "free" credit report had to include prominent text and a link at the top of the page directing consumers to AnnualCreditReport.com, which is the legitimate site offering consumers to request a free credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
In what appears to be a transparent attempt to evade this new regulation, FreeCreditReport.com's owner, Experian, has begun charging $1 for FreeCreditReport.com and says it will donate the $1 to charity. Under Experian's reasoning, FreeCreditReport.com is no longer "free," and hence it doesn't have to comply with the new FTC rule." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Debt Collection
Financial Crisis
"Consumer loan delinquencies fell in most loan categories in the fourth quarter of 2009, marking the second quarter in a row of broad-based improvement, according to the American Bankers Association’s Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin." ...more...
Topics:
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Bankruptcy
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
"One of the worst economic downturns of modern history has produced a big increase in the number of delinquent borrowers, and creditors are suing them by the millions. Concern is mounting in government and among consumer advocates that the debtors are not always getting a fair shake in these cases.
Most consumers never offer a defense, and creditors win their lawsuits without having to offer proof of the debts, much less justify to a judge the huge interest charges and penalties they often tack on." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Legislation
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
"She is an Oklahoma native, a janitor’s daughter, a bankruptcy expert at Harvard Law School and a former Sunday School teacher who cites John Wesley — the co-founder of Methodism and a public health crusader — as an inspiration. She brims with cheer, yet she is she is such a fearsome interrogator that Bruce Mann, her husband, describes her as a grandmother who can make grown men cry. Back at Harvard, Ms. Warren’s teaching style is “Socratic with a machine gun,” as one former student put it. In Washington, she grills bankers and Treasury officials just as relentlessly." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Legislation
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
"President Obama and Congressional leaders have vowed to enact the farthest reaching overhaul of financial regulation since the Depression. On Dec. 11, the House voted 223 to 202 for an overhaul bill shepherded through by Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee. After several months of negotiations with Republicans, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, introduced a Democratic bill on March 15. The committee approved the bill, 13-10, on March 22 with technical amendments and sent it to the Senate floor. Here is a look at how the bills compare:" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
"The Federal Reserve reported Friday that consumer borrowing rose by $4.96 billion in January, surprising economists who were looking for borrowing to decline by $4.5 billion. It was the first gain after a record 11 straight declines and the largest increase since July 2008.
In percentage terms, the overall increase was an advance of 2.43% and followed a revised 2.23% drop in December.
The strength in January came from a $6.62 billion increase in borrowing for auto loans and other types of nonrevolving debt. That represented a 5.01% gain and followed a 3.69% rise in the auto loan category in December.
Credit cards and other types of revolving credit fell $1.66 billion or 2.3%. Even with the decline, it was a much smaller drop than the 12.9% plunge in December. Credit card borrowing has now fallen for a record 16 straight months, although the January decline was the smallest since July." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Bankruptcy
"Moody’s reported that credit card charge-offs advanced above 11 percent in January, for the first time ever, to 11.15 percent. The ratings agency predicted that credit card charge-offs will peak at close to 12 percent in the next several months.
Moody’s reported that the delinquency rate – which it calculates as payments more than 30 days late -- dropped to 5.96 percent in January, the first month below 6 percent since September. The amount of a cardholder’s balance paid slid to 17.53 percent in January after increasing in December." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
Financial Planning
"As the government cracks down on the way banks charge fees for overspending on debit cards, the industry is mounting an aggressive campaign aimed at keeping billions of dollars in penalty income flowing into its coffers. Chase and other banks are preparing a full-court marketing blitz, which is likely to include filling mailboxes with various aggressive and persuasive letters, calling account holders directly, and sending a steady stream of e-mail to urge consumers to keep their overdraft service turned on." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Legislation
"After Congress passed credit card legislation last May, new rules governing credit card companies take effect Monday. Some changes to the way companies can set interest rates and pay schedules already took effect last August. For an idea of what consumers can expect from the new changes, we spoke to Adam Levin, chairman and founder of Credit.com, a consumer education and advocacy group. He's also the former director of New Jersey's consumer affairs division." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
"The Federal Reserve's new rules for credit card companies mean new credit card protections for you. Here are some key changes you should expect from your credit card company beginning on February 22, 2010." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
"Beginning Monday, some of the more outrageous practices of credit card issuers will be outlawed. But just like a bully on a playground who doesn't punch when the teacher is watching, lenders will find ways to continue pummeling consumers." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Debt Collection
"There's nothing free about FreeCreditReport.com's credit-monitoring service, which carries a $14.95-per-month charge. Erica Possin went to the site to check her credit before buying a new car. She says she entered her credit card information and received her report, but she didn't realize she would be automatically enrolled in the monitoring service.
.....
The only authorized site from which to get a truly free report is AnnualCreditReport.com, which is run by the FTC. Most people are legally entitled to a no-cost report once a year from each of the credit agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Legislation
"Frontline episode being rebroadcast this week on PBS stations nationwide, outlines the ‘art’ of deceptive business practices that credit card companies seem to feel is their birthright." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
"Credit card issuers are concerned, of course, that these rules will crimp their profits. So some companies are devising creative ways to generate new revenue.
An example is Alliance Data Systems, a big issuer of private-label credit cards like those that specialty stores offer. It has decided to levy a $1 monthly surcharge to customers who choose to receive account statements by mail.
Proof, yet again, that if you close the door, they will come in through the window. And if you close the window, they blow through the door.
The $1 statement fee from Alliance certainly seems to flout the spirit of both the Fed’s regulations and the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. But because it is labeled a statement fee, it does not appear to violate the letter of the law, which barred credit card issuers from levying separate fees when a consumer submitted a payment, whether “by mail, electronic transfer, telephone authorization, or other means, unless such payment involves an expedited service by a service representative of the creditor.”" ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
"November marked the 14th consecutive month for credit card debt contraction. Since September 2008, more than $101 billion in credit card debt has been wiped off the books of credit issuing banks.
Non-revolving debt, like that found in auto, student and personal loans, declined by $3.8 billion, or at an annual rate of 2.9 percent." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
"Now, even before most of the Credit CARD Act's provisions have gone effective, a new report from the Center for Responsible Lending finds that the card industry has already invented a new bunch of tricks and traps." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"After falling a month earlier, financial institutions reported rising credit card defaults in November. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) still leads all big banks with a 13 percent default rate, but Citigroup (NYSE: C) posted the largest rise as defaults jumped 1.5 percent to top 10 percent in November.
JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), the nation’s largest credit card issuer, saw defaults rise to 8.81 percent in November, which marks a new high for the year. However, the bank did report a small drop in delinquencies, which represent payments 30 days past due, to 4.9 percent from 4.95 percent in October." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Figures released this week by the Federal Reserve showed that Americans owed $10.8 trillion on home mortgages at the end of the third quarter, down 2.2 percent from a year earlier and the lowest level since mid-2007.
Similarly, the Fed said that outstanding credit card bills in October totaled $888 billion, down 8.5 percent from a year earlier. That number was the lowest since March 2007.
Those trends do not, however, necessarily indicate that Americans have paid down their debts and are starting to lead the more frugal lives that some financial planners have been recommending for years. There has undoubtedly been some of that, but the declines also indicate that banks have been forced to write off a lot of bad debts and have grown more stingy in granting credit.
As can be seen from the accompanying charts, banks’ credit card write-offs have soared, to an annual rate of 10.2 percent in the third quarter of this year." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
Financial Crisis
"As Congress debates how to rein in credit and debit card companies in the United States, Australia’s experience is being pointed to as an example of just how tricky that can be: for one thing, if regulators limit one fee or rate, banks are likely to find another way to keep revenue flowing." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Legislation
Debt Collection
"Consumer lawsuits against debt collectors claiming violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) are on the rise.
With SearchReceivables.com, you can quickly search hundreds of ARM sites for the latest news on FDCPA lawsuits. (see a search on "FDCPA lawsuits"). Although this a site for creditors, it follows both creditor-focused and consumer-focused websites and blogs." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Bankruptcy
"U.S. credit card companies said on Monday that defaults fell more than expected in October, but delinquencies mostly rose in a sign consumers remain under stress and the sector can expect more pain ahead.
The drop in defaults reflected a decline in late payments earlier this year thanks to tax refunds and economic stimulus actions." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Foreclosure
"Accounts receivable management companies are shifting their collection strategies to include more settlement offers and payment arrangements as debtors struggle through a recession that shows little sign of letting up on the American consumer.
In insideARM’s most recent Credit & Debt Collection Industry Confidence Survey, more than 72 percent of collection agency respondents said that they have tried “more payment arrangements” in the past six months in an effort to increase revenue. Nearly 68 percent of debt buyers responded in a similar way." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Legislation
"Some of the key points of the bill include:
— Establishing a consumer financial protection agency that will end abusive practices and provide clear and accurate information to Americans.
— Ending the era of "too big to fail" regulation in order to prevent large and complex companies from harming the U.S. and global economy. This would include imposing new capital requirements on such companies and requiring them to write their own "funeral plans" in the event that they fail.
— Creating a single federal bank regulator in lieu of a system in which multiple regulators have unnecessary overlap and conflicting regulators. Dodd said the system now in use enables large banks to shop for a regulator that fits their needs rather than the public interest." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Bankruptcy
"Since September 2008, Americans have shed $86.2 billion in credit card debt. Although many credit consumers restrained card spending, much of the mathematical credit for the plunge can be given to soaring charge off rates at banks (“Banks Charging Off Debt at a Higher Rate than in Great Depression,” Oct. 28)." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
Financial Planning
"Banks began raising interest rates and pulling back credit lines about a year ago as delinquencies crept upward and regulators discussed reforms. As banks have become more aggressive in making changes, lawmakers have accused them of trying to impose rate increases before many of the new rules take effect in February.
On Monday, the Federal Reserve provided new evidence of the banks’ actions. About 50 percent of the banks responding to the Fed’s survey said they were increasing interest rates and reducing credit lines on borrowers with good credit scores. About 40 percent said they were imposing higher fees. The banks also said they were demanding higher minimum credit scores and tightening other requirements." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Advanta became notorious among small business borrowers for offering credit cards at attractive low interest rates and then raising APRs steeply, often to over 30%. The company stopped all new credit card lending in May and entered into a settlement with the FDIC over the interest rate hikes, which the regulator said constituted unfair and deceptive practices. (Advanta didn’t admit or deny liability in the settlement.) When settlement checks began arriving in September, the average settlement of $131 seemed laughable to many business owners who were still paying sky-high interest on thousands of dollars of charges they made under the initial low rates. At least one group filed a lawsuit seeking class action status. (An Advanta spokesman declined to comment about any pending litigation.)" ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
"Borrowing by consumers for revolving credit, including credit cards, fell at an annual rate of 13.3 percent in September, the same as August. This category has declined for a record 12 straight months.
Borrowing for non-revolving loans, including auto loans, dropped at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in September after edging up 0.1 percent in August. The August gain reflected the surge in car sales as consumers rushed to take advantage of the government's Cash for Clunkers program.
The $14.8 billion overall decline in borrowing left total consumer credit at $2.46 trillion in September. The 7.2 percent annual rate of decline followed a 4.8 percent drop in August. The Fed's report doesn't include mortgages or other loans secured by real estate." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Planning
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Federal law guarantees free credit reports each year, but many consumers who got theirs from FreeCreditReport.com unintentionally paid for an expensive credit monitoring service" ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
Foreclosure
"Slowly, Wall Street is reprising its critical role in the credit markets. In the third quarter investment banks sold nearly $20 billion worth of car loans, six times as much as in the same period of 2008. The yields on bonds backed by credit-card payments have fallen drastically, a sign that investor appetite is back. And the volume of mortgage securities, the largest segment of the credit market, is on track this year to nearly match the peak levels of 2005. "The core consumer finance sectors seem to be reasonably intact," says Joseph R. Mason, a finance professor at Louisiana State University." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Legislation
"None of the credit cards offered online by the 12 largest U.S. banks would meet requirements of new federal curbs on the industry’s rates and fees, a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts said.
All of the cards surveyed used practices considered “unfair or deceptive” by the Federal Reserve, according to the report released today by the Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization. The study examined almost 400 cards advertised by banks and credit unions and compared terms for cards offered in July 2009 and December 2008." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Credit Cards
Legislation
"Lawmakers worked this week on defining what the agency covers and what it doesn't.
These kinds of credit will face scrutiny: payday loans, paycheck cashing, debit cards, overdraft protection and mortgages.
Providers would have to register with the new agency, pay its fees and fines; and face its regulators.
Not included are: auto dealers, retail stores, doctors, lawyers and anyone else who's not in the finance business but who might extend credit." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Bankruptcy
Financial Crisis
"The Federal Reserve reported late Wednesday that revolving debt, mostly from credit cards, dipped at an annual rate of 13.1 percent in August. Almost $10 billion in credit card accounts outstanding were wiped off of banks’ books in the month. Both numbers are among the highest ever reported for a month.
August marked the 11th consecutive month of declines in credit card debt. Since September 2008, when card debt peaked at an all-time high of $975 billion, banks have shed nearly $76 billion in card account balances. The Fed said that the total outstanding figure was $899 million at the end of August.
The last time the figure was that low was May 2007, meaning the contraction in card balances is much more rapid than the growth before the downturn." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Planning
Credit Cards
"For many people who do not have bank accounts, or cannot get a credit card, the appeal is irresistible, making the reloadable cards among the consumer banking industry’s fastest-growing products. But their convenience comes with a catch: fees, often hidden in the fine print.
The MiCash Prepaid MasterCard docks cardholders a $9.95 activation fee. Like many competitors, it then charges numerous recurring fees, including $1.75 for each A.T.M. withdrawal, $1 for each A.T.M. balance inquiry, 50 cents for each purchase, $4 for monthly maintenance, $2 for inactivity after 60 days and $1 for a call to customer service." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Credit card debt outstanding has plummeted in the past year, and the prevailing narrative has credited the decline to consumer frugality. But with charge-off rates well beyond historic highs, other factors are at play." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Legislation
"Beginning Oct. 19, Bank of America will stop charging any fees for customers who overdraw their accounts by less than $10 in a single day. It will also limit the number of overdraft fees it charges to four a day, although the bank will continue to charge a fee of $35 per overdraft.
Chase will cap the number of overdraft fees it charges a day to three. It will stop charging fees when accounts are overdrawn by less than $5. Chase’s overdraft fees are $25 for the first fee each year, $32 for the next four and $35 after that.
Current customers who want to opt out of Bank of America’s automatic overdraft protection can go into their branch on Oct. 19 and turn off the ability to overdraw their accounts. The bank will cut them off when their debit card purchases or A.T.M. withdrawals go beyond the money in their checking account, and will no longer cover bounced checks." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"A weak U.S. labor market led to bigger bank writedowns of credit card debt in August as a record-high jobless rate left consumers struggling to pay their bills.
Charge-offs, or the writedown of uncollectible debt by banks, increased 81 basis points to 10.62 percent in August, after a 31 basis points decline to 9.81 percent in July. On the retail front, credit card writedowns increased 49 basis points to 9.99 percent in August, according to JPMorgan Securities." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Credit card debt outstanding in the United States has fallen by nearly $70 billion in less than a year and continues its downward spiral, according to a government report released yesterday.
The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that consumer credit outstanding in the U.S. declined by $21.5 billion in July, the largest monthly drop on record. The annualized rate of decline, 10.4 percent, was also the largest on record." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"When Peter Means returned to graduate school after a career as a civil servant, he turned to a debit card to help him spend his money more carefully.
So he was stunned when his bank charged him seven $34 fees to cover seven purchases when there was not enough cash in his account, notifying him only afterward. He paid $4.14 for a coffee at Starbucks — and a $34 fee. He got the $6.50 student discount at the movie theater — but no discount on the $34 fee. He paid $6.76 at Lowe’s for screws — and yet another $34 fee. All told, he owed $238 in extra charges for just a day’s worth of activity." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
"Ron Lieber, author of the Your Money column, explains the inner workings of debit cards and how to avoid overdraft fees that can cost hundreds of dollars a month." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
Bankruptcy
"Outstanding credit balances classified as subprime or deep subprime have grown by more than 33 percent since the third quarter of 2008, according to a study released this week by Experian.
Further, the number of consumers in the highest grade, superprime, has declined by 10 percent since Q3 2008." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Planning
Credit Cards
Foreclosure
"The National Top 10 Consumer Complaints List for 2008 is:
Debt Collection
Auto Sales
Home Repair/Construction
Credit Cards (tie)
Internet Goods and Services (tie)
Predatory Lending/Mortgages
Telemarketing/Do-Not-Call
Auto Repair
Auto Warranties (tie)
Telecom/Slamming/Cramming (tie)" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
"Last year, debit card use surpassed credit card use for the first time in history: Americans made 28.4 billion debit purchases compared with 21 billion credit card purchases, according to payment systems newsletter The Nilson Report.
It happened, industry watchers say, because of tighter credit, recession-weary and strapped consumers, wider acceptance of debit cards for small purchases, and a burgeoning youth market that prefers paying with debit cards." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Late last week, rating agency Moody’s said that the charge-off rate on U.S. cards in July was 10.52 percent, down from a record-high of 10.76 percent in June. The overall delinquency rate fell to 5.73 percent in July -- the lowest level all year -- from 5.81 percent in June." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
"On Thursday, the first of a set of new rules went into effect resulting from the landmark credit card legislation earlier this year.
Banks must now provide written notice to customers 45 days before increasing the interest rate or changing the terms on a card. So banks raced to get out in front of that requirement, making a bunch of changes before Thursday, lest they have to give you a month and a half of warning.
Irritated by the changes? Inclined to take your business elsewhere now? This is exactly the right instinct, since plenty of people can still get a better deal from a different card. Fee-free balance transfers still exist. And banks have barely touched the most lucrative rewards programs — and wouldn’t dare fiddle too much given the revenue they generate.
The best revenge is a better card. Here’s how to find one." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
"Advocates say the new rules are a good first step but don't go far enough in protecting consumers. For instance, even though issuers now must give 45 days notice of "any significant change," account closures and credit line reductions don't count as major changes." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
"What debt should you pay first, and what debt should wait till last, with CNBC's Suze Orman." ...more...
Topics:
Legislation
Credit Cards
"Starting Thursday, credit-card users are getting more time to avoid late fees and maybe rate hikes.
A new consumer-protection law won’t lift all debt burdens, by any means, but supporters call it a victory against some of the most abusive practices of the bank-card industry.
Here’s a rundown on what the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act means to you, both right now and in February when Phase 2 takes effect." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Legislation
"Not many people would knowingly pay more than $35 for a cup of coffee. But far too many people are getting saddled — with no warning — with outsized bills for minor purchases, under a euphemistically labeled “overdraft protection program” that most major banks have adopted over the last 10 years." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Chapter 13
"according to data from the 2007 Consumer Bankruptcy Project, the mean credit card debt for bankruptcy filers is $23,543, with a median of $13,279. Among chapter 7 filers, the mean credit card debt was $26,267 and the median $17,032. For chapter 13, those numbers were $18,076 and $6,079, respectively. This actually seems fairly modest when you consider that, by the end of 2008, the average accredit-card balance was $8,329, more than a quarter the average bankruptcy total of $23,543. In addition, 7.9% of our chapter 7 filers and 18.2% of those in chapter 13 reported no credit card debt at all. In the general population, 53.9% of Americans held no credit card debt – a much larger difference." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Revolving credit, principally credit card accounts, led the declines, dropping at an annual rate of 6.8 percent. Non-revolving debt – like that found in auto, student and personal loans – contracted at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in June.
For the second quarter, revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 8.2 percent. Over the past three quarters, revolving credit has declined 7.86 percent. Overall consumer credit has declined 4 percent." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"Vulnerable consumers are turning to credit cards for necessities, not luxuries, Demo's survey shows. For instance, more than half of households say medical expenses contributed to their credit card debt.
"The frivolous spending idea, that's not what's driving families into crazy debt," says Jose Garcia, a Demos associate director. "The expense that most affects families is the cost of living."" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Bankruptcy
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
"While the economic recession continues to threaten the financial security of low- and middle-income households, its effects have been heightened by the reality that, even before the downturn, millions of households were experiencing difficulties meeting the most basic expenses. Now, as families experience declining home values and tightened credit markets, many are falling behind on their mortgage and credit card payments." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Bankruptcy
"“They’ve done the math on their account and they’re very angry,” said Corey Calabrese, a Fordham Law student who is an administrator of the school’s walk-in clinic for debtors at Manhattan Civil Court. Public sentiment is on their side, she added: “For the first time, Americans are no longer blaming the borrower but are looking at the credit card companies.”
(That’s certainly true in the mortgage crisis. According to a Quinnipiac University poll in February, 62 percent of those polled blamed lenders “who loaned the money to people who may not be able to pay it back.” Only a quarter blamed homeowners.)" ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
Legislation
Credit Cards
Foreclosure
"It would create a one-stop financial protection agency for consumers, with authority over financial products from credit cards and home mortgages to payday loans. Proponents say the measure would stop people from getting mortgages, for example, that they don't understand and can't pay for. Opponents say the new entity would create unnecessary bureaucracy and shrink consumer choices.
Committees on both sides of the Capitol started working on the legislation this week. The Senate banking committee heard from Assistant Treasury Secretary Michael Barr. He said that even with half a dozen regulators out there, the system has major gaps.
"The present system of consumer protection is not designed to be independent or accountable, effective or balanced," Barr said. "It is designed to fail."" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
"Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, said net charge-offs on its credit-card trust rose to 13.86 percent in June from 12.5 percent a month earlier.
Payments overdue by 30 days or more fell to 7.73 percent from 7.95 percent in May, according to data posted today by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender on it Web site.
Bank of America’s charge-off rate was the highest among five U.S. credit-card issuers that reported today, and one of only two that climbed from the previous month." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Debt Collection
Credit Cards
Foreclosure
Legislation
"The total number of lawsuits filed by consumers against accounts receivable management firms claiming violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) increased nearly 30 percent from May to June this year." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Planning
Financial Crisis
Legislation
"A full three quarters of loan volume of the payday lending industry is generated by borrowers who, after meeting the short-term due date of the loan, must re-borrow before their next pay period" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
Bankruptcy
"Card loss rates have been closely tracking the unemployment rate over the past year, according to Fitch Ratings. The firm expects credit card performance to “deteriorate further over the balance of the year as unemployment rises and card portfolios contract” according to a recent analysis report." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Foreclosure
Financial Crisis
Financial Planning
"Why congress should adopt Obama’s proposal for a consumer financial protection agency" ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
"As they confront unprecedented numbers of troubled customers, credit card companies are increasingly doing something they have historically scorned: settling delinquent accounts for substantially less than the amount owed." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Foreclosure
Financial Crisis
"At issue: Coercing debtors into waiving rights they don't know they have." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
Bankruptcy
"Total credit card debt outstanding can contract on a monthly basis if consumers pay off their balances at a quicker rate than they make purchases on the cards. U.S. banks have been slashing credit limits over the past two quarters, making less credit available to consumers. But the figure can also drop when banks increase their credit card chargeoffs." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Legislation
"The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to put new restrictions on the credit card industry, passing a bill whose backers say will make card-issuers spell out their terms in fewer words, using plain English, and treat customers more fairly.
The 90-to-5 vote, following a 357-to-70 vote in the House on April 30, made it likely that President Obama will have a measure on his desk before the Memorial Day recess." ...more...
Topics:
Legislation
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"First, let’s lay out the things we know will change because of the new legislation. The bill is chock-full of new rules, which will take effect at various points in the year after President Obama signs the final legislation." ...more...
Topics:
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
"Dozens of specially trained agents work on the third floor of DCM Services here, calling up the dear departed’s next of kin and kindly asking if they want to settle the balance on a credit card or bank loan, or perhaps make that final utility bill or cellphone payment.
The people on the other end of the line often have no legal obligation to assume the debt of a spouse, sibling or parent. But they take responsibility for it anyway." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"A recent study found that the typical family who filed for bankruptcy in 2007 was carrying about 21 percent more in secured debts, like mortgages and car loans, and about 44 percent more in unsecured debts, like credit cards and medical and utility bills, than filers in 2001.
Their incomes, meanwhile, remained static over those six years, according to the study, which used data from the 2007 Consumer Bankruptcy Project, a joint effort of law professors, sociologists and physicians. Researchers surveyed 2,500 households nationwide that filed for bankruptcy in February and March 2007." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Election 2008
"to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other purposes" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Bankruptcy
Financial Crisis
"Cap One reported an annualized charge-off rate of 5.96 percent in its U.S. Card unit, down from the 6.08 percent annual rate in July. The company reported net charge-offs of $341 million in its card unit for August.
But the 30 Days + Delinquency rate rose in the card unit rose in August to 4.07 percent, compared to 3.96 percent in July.
Cap One’s auto finance unit, meanwhile, reported a fairly sharp increase in its charge-off rate. The annualized charge-off rate in the auto finance unit was 5.35 percent in August, up from 4.67 percent in July. Delinquencies in the auto finance unit were also up, with the 30 Days + Delinquency rate standing at 8.84 percent in August compared to 8.33 percent in July." ...more...
Topics:
Student Loans
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"seniors will be facing a “perfect storm” of financial struggle after graduation, especially due to increased college student credit card debt
31 percent of students polled did not worry about college student credit card debt because they believed they could pay back outstanding balances once they were out of school and earning a regular paycheck." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Election 2008
"" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Election 2008
"The bill would require credit card issuers to give account holders 45 days notice of any increases in interest rates. Monthly bills would have to be mailed at least 25 days before the due date, up from the current minimum of 14 days, and fees could not be charged on the remaining interest-only balance of a customer who has paid their bill on time." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Student Loans
"More than a quarter of college students think it is reasonable to run up a debt that might take months or years to pay off to "enjoy the moment."" ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Financial Crisis
"consumers continued to cut discretionary spending from their monthly budgets – with more than 69 percent of respondents to Discover indicating cut backs to entertainment expenses and 62 percent having changed vacation plans – overall spending has continued unabated. Price inflation can be singled out as one of the most prominent factors contributing to overall spending increase." ...more...
Topics:
Credit Cards
Election 2008
"Vote totals ran mostly along party lines, with all Democrats on the committee voting in favor of the bill and two Republicans joining their ranks. The bill, HR 5244, now moves to the full House for consideration." ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
"" ...more...
Topics:
Bankruptcy
Financial Crisis
Credit Cards
"Consumer reporter at USA Today that routinely writes interesting and timely articles." ...more...