Banking

October 15, 2009 -- New York -- Citigroup today reported net income for the third quarter 2009 of $101 million, and a $0.27 loss per share, based on an average 12.1 billion shares outstanding2. Third quarter revenues were $20.4 billion. Results included $8.0 billion in net credit losses and an $802 million net loan loss reserve build.    » read more »

Double-Dip Recession Fears Fade; Investors See Brighter Corporate Profits on Horizon - Shift from Cash to Equities

NEW YORK and LONDON, Oct. 14 -- Investors' risk appetite has reached its highest point in more than three years amid continued optimism about the prospects for a global economic recovery and rising corporate profits, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for October.

Investors are increasingly confident that the threat of a double-dip recession is waning. A net 65 percent of respondents believe a global recession is unlikely in the next 12 months, up from 47 percent a month earlier. A net 72 percent of respondents believe the outlook for corporate profits will improve in the next year, up from 68 percent a month earlier.    » read more »

October 14, 2009 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Tim Johnson, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, held a hearing today that focused on the current conditions of our nation’s financial institutions and examined the continuing challenges institutions face.    » read more »

October 9, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after President Obama delivered remarks at the White House on the need for a consumer financial protection agency to protect the financial interests of America’s families.

“Congress is working with President Obama to protect American taxpayers by ushering in an era of honesty, fairness, transparency, and accountability in our financial marketplace and preventing the abusive anti-consumer practices that resulted in the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression. We will help achieve this goal by establishing a consumer financial protection agency, whose sole purpose is to protect the financial interests of America’s families.    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- Today, Congressman Paul Hodes announced his support for legislation that would prevent credit card companies from arbitrarily increasing interest rates. He is a cosponsor of H.R. 3639, the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009, which would speed up new credit card regulations and put them into effect on December 1, 2009, instead of next year.

Congressman Hodes supported legislation that would prevent interest rate increases and certain contract changes beginning in February of 2010. In response to the passage of this legislation, some credit card issuers have raised interest rates in an effort to skirt the new regulations.    » read more »

Congressional Letter Already Has Some Credit Card Companies Promising Not to Raise Rates

WASHINGTON, DC - On behalf of 16th Congressional District constituents, U.S. Congressman John Boccieri (D-Alliance) along with eighteen of his House colleagues recently sent a letter to Citigroup Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit requesting major credit card companies, including Citigroup, avoid changing credit card account terms before the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act) takes effect in February 2010.    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- Discover Financial Services CEO David Nelms has assured U.S. Representatives Neil Abercrombie (HI), Betsy Markey (CO) and a group of House Members that Discover “will not initiate any change in terms” on credit card accounts to beat a new federal credit card reform law into effect.

Markey, Abercrombie and sixteen other representatives wrote the Chief Executive Officers of JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, Discover Financial Services, American Express, Capital One Financial Corp. and Citigroup asking them not to change the terms on credit card accounts ahead of federal reform legislation. Discover joins Bank of America in announcing that no change in consumer credit card accounts will be made.    » read more »

Average Net Worth of Hong Kong HNWIs Remains Highest in the Region

NEW YORK, Oct. 13 -- Asia Pacific's population of high net worth individuals (HNWIs)(1) fell 14.2% to 2.4 million in 2008 amid a global economic downturn and market volatility, according to the Asia-Pacific Wealth Report released today by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini. The combined wealth of the region's HNWIs dropped 22.3% to US$7.4 trillion.

Ultra-HNWIs, or individuals with investable assets of at least US$30 million, witnessed steeper wealth erosion than the HNWI population in the region. The number of ultra-HNWIs in Asia Pacific fell 29.6% to 14,300 and their total wealth shrank 35.1%.

China and India to Lead Growth in Asia Pacific HNWI Wealth    » read more »

10/12/2009 -- To help prevent California homeowners and homebuyers from being negatively impacted by the fraudulent mortgage practices that have arisen in the aftermath of the national foreclosure crisis, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation to increase protections for consumers in the lending market and provide law enforcement with more tools to crack down on deceitful mortgage practices.

These bills aim to strengthen California’s reverse mortgage laws by providing senior homeowners with greater consumer protections when considering reverse mortgage agreements, make it a felony to commit fraud in connection with a mortgage application and promote responsibility and accountability in the real estate market.    » read more »

Begich Co-sponsors Act to Save Taxpayer Funds and Ensure Efficient Spending

October 8, 2009 -- In an effort to end irresponsible and illegal expenditures of taxpayer money by federal employees the U.S. Senate has passed the Government Charge Card Abuse Act S.942, co-sponsored by Senator Mark Begich. A bipartisan piece of legislation passed by unanimous consent, the law will work to increase levels of accountability for federal employees, create new policies to improve transparency, and provide training to federal employees.    » read more »

October 8, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- Today, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) sent a letter to Obama administration pay czar Kenneth Feinberg requesting action to prevent outgoing Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis and executives at other banks receiving taxpayer funds from receiving multimillion-dollar retirement, severance, or compensation packages.    » read more »

Credit Card Holders’ Bill of Rights will curtail predatory practices, but Kilroy wants to make sure companies are not taking advantage of the timeframe to adversely affect constituents

October 7, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy today joined 18 House members calling on country’s major credit card companies to not change the terms on consumer credit card accounts ahead of federal credit card reform legislation slated to go into effect early next year.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- Congressman Paul Hodes issued the following statement after the release of a new report that shows that the Treasury Department misled the public in statements on the TARP program. Special Inspector General Neil M. Barofsky’s report charges that Treasury officials made inaccurate statements regarding the financial health of some of the nation’s biggest banks while they were receiving billions of dollars in aid from taxpayers.

"The details of this report are troubling," said Congressman Hodes. "Treasury officials must be accountable to American taxpayers, especially when taxpayers are being asked to pay for the mistakes and greed of Wall Street. Granite Staters have a right to know exactly how their tax dollars are being spent.    » read more »

10/07/09 -- Washington, D.C. - Wednesday, Representatives Teague, Heinrich and Lujan joined 15 of their colleagues in the House in sending a letter to the country’s major credit card companies, calling on them to pledge to not change the terms on consumer credit card accounts ahead of federal credit card reform legislation slated to go into effect early next year.    » read more »

Calls on companies to provide relief for middle class families

07 October 2009 -- Washington DC - Congressman John Adler, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to the country's major credit card companies, calling on them to pledge to not change the terms on consumer credit card accounts ahead of federal credit card reform legislation slated to go into effect early next year.

The letter came in response to claims that credit card companies are unfairly hiking their interest rates before the Credit CARD Act takes effect.    » read more »