Banking

12 November 2009 -- CHICAGO -- Today, Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL) issued the following statement after the Federal Reserve announced it will prohibit banks from charging overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions without a customer’s permission.

“The financial misfortune of the past year has taught Washington a valuable lesson, that we must do a better job protecting consumers. As we continue to recover from the irresponsibility, greed and opaque practices of Wall Street, reforming overdraft fees further shifts the balance of power away from banks and back to Main Street.    » read more »

November 12, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – In response to today's news that the Federal Reserve will take the initial step of instituting new rules restricting overdraft fees on debit cards, U.S. Representative Kendrick B. Meek today called for a full curb on excessive and unfair bank overdraft fees.

"This is a great first step to ensure consumer protection, but Congress can move further on this pocketbook issue," said Congressman Meek.    » read more »

November 12, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today offered this statement on changes to debit-card overdraft rules announced by the Federal Reserve today:

“I'm glad that the Federal Reserve has recognized the need to address outrageous overdraft policies by requiring a strong affirmative opt-in to debit-card overdraft plans, and I commend Chairman Bernanke for taking the regulators in this direction. The Fed’s rule is an endorsement of the need for more overdraft protection for consumers.    » read more »

Supports Tough New Rules on Banks

November 13, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- Congressman Paul Hodes today announced his support for new rules that would ban banks from charging many overdraft fees to customers without first getting the customer’s consent. The Federal Reserve announced the new rules aimed at protecting consumers from banks who earned $37 billion in overdraft fees alone last year. However, Congressman Hodes supports stricter rules to provide even more support to consumers who have fallen victim to Wall Street banks’ practices.    » read more »

Op-Ed By Barney Frank, The Boston Globe

November 11, 2009 -- MANY MARKET and regulatory failures led to the collapse of the nation’s financial markets last year. That collapse has led to a steep and painful recession and placed extraordinary burdens on working families. In response, the House Financial Services Committee, which I chair, is crafting a series of measures that will produce a comprehensive response by, among other things, regulating derivatives, ensuring proper mortgage lending, and making sure taxpayers never again have to take responsibility for reckless and irresponsible business decisions.    » read more »

Fed Will Require Customers’ Permission Before Banks Can Charge Overdraft Fees

November 12, 2009 -- Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) welcomed today’s release of a new Federal Reserve rule that will require banks to get a customer’s consent before enrolling them in an overdraft coverage program. Banks use these programs allow customers to overdraw their accounts without their knowledge, and then slap them with fees of upwards of $30 for this “courtesy.”    » read more »

November 10, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown issued the following statement in response to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd’s (D-CT) unveiling of the discussion draft of comprehensive financial reform legislation.

“Across the nation, middle class families like those in Loveland and Toledo and Painesville are still suffering from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

“We need regulatory reform to protect consumers from the bad actors in our financial system. Too many banks are reaping billions from overdraft and other banking fees, with consumers learning about the excessive charges afterwards.    » read more »

Bill is needed to protect consumers and investors and to provide appropriate oversight of the financial marketplace.

November 10, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- The Consumer Federation of America today released the following statements on the introduction of Senator Dodd’s Financial Reform proposal.    » read more »

Study shows lack of liquidity leads to forced selling in distressed markets

BOSTON, November 10, 2009 — Long-term investors must plan for the short and medium term in order to avoid forced selling in distressed markets, according to a recent analysis by BNY Mellon Asset Management.

"This is exactly what happened to many university endowments during the 2008 market meltdown," said Robert A. Jaeger, senior market strategist for BNY Mellon Asset Management and co-author of the study. "Every long-term investor is also a short-term investor and a medium-term investor. We believe that endowments and other long-term investors would be well-served to explicitly divide their portfolios into long-term, medium-term, and short-term components."    » read more »

New Hires to Help Families Buy, Refinance Homes

Iselin, N.J., November 10, 2009 - Chase, one of the nation's leading home lenders, today announced that it plans to hire 1,200 mortgage loan officers by the end of 2010, increasing the sales force 60 percent to help more Chase customers finance home purchases or reduce their monthly payments through refinances.

"We have made a number of strategic investments in our organization," said Dave Lowman, head of home lending at Chase. "We have invested in new systems, aggressively grown our capacity and now are looking to increase our sales force. With our vast branch network and growing customer base, the opportunity for Chase loan officers is tremendous."    » read more »

Proposal to Create a Sound Economic Foundation to Grow Jobs, Protect Consumers, Rein in Wall Street, End Too Big to Fail, Prevent Another Financial Crisis

November 10, 2009 -- Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) was joined by fellow committee members Jack Reed (D-RI), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) to unveil a tough, bold bill to reform the way that our financial system is regulated.    » read more »

Cantwell Introduces Legislation to Help Stop Abusive Speculation Practices

November 10,2009 -- WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), together with Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), proposed legislation empowering state gambling regulators and attorneys general to examine unregulated derivatives trading and take appropriate action to protect citizens from practices which can harm the foundations of our economy. As part of a broader effort by Congress to pass comprehensive financial regulatory reform, Cantwell’s proposal treats derivatives trading for what it is: a sophisticated form of gambling.    » read more »

November 9, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced that the Capital Assistance Program (CAP) which was set up to provide a mechanism for additional taxpayer support in financial institutions subject to the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program (SCAP) will close today with no investments having been made. Earlier today, the Federal Reserve announced that 18 of the 19 banks participating in the SCAP or "stress tests" were shown to have no additional capital need or have now fulfilled their need in the private market.    » read more »

Will hire 325 additional bankers to help business owners Demonstrates Chase's support for small business, overall U.S. economy

NEW YORK, November 9, 2009 - Chase announced today that it plans to increase its lending to small businesses by up to $4 billion in 2010, boosting expected new lending to about $10 billion to this vital segment of the U.S. economy.

This will provide businesses with increased access to working capital, term loans for expansion, commercial mortgages, lines of credit, and business credit cards. While the $4 billion in additional credit will be available to qualified businesses with annual sales of less than $20 million, the majority of new loans will be targeted to companies with sales of less than $10 million.    » read more »

Nearly $760 Billion in Credit Extended Since TARP Investment Began

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 9 -- Today, Bank of America issued its third quarterly Lending & Investing Initiative report, which outlines the company's progress in driving economic recovery through 10 key areas, including lending to consumers and businesses of all sizes, support for municipalities and nonprofits, community development and other initiatives.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050720/CLW086LOGO-b )

The report, which delivers on a commitment to provide greater transparency into the company's lending and investing efforts across the enterprise, demonstrates how Bank of America is using the government's investment in the company to support the U.S. economy.    » read more »