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(Wall Street Journal) — Some big U.S. banks are starting to increase their lending to businesses as demand for loans rises and healthier banks seek to grab customers from weaker rivals. After declining steadily for most of the past two years, the amount of commercial and industrial loans held by commercial banks inched upward during […]
(AJC) — The past few years haven’t been kind to Georgia’s banking industry, but the past few quarters, and the year to come, could prove to be the time when the industry started its slow turn for the better. The state’s lenders collectively have lost more than $5 billion since 2008, according to Federal Deposit […]
(New York Times) — As least until recently, we’ve been in the midst of a refinancing boom. So consumers applying for refinancings should at least expect some delays. While lenders are leery about releasing details about how long refinancings are taking to close today versus a year ago, some are willing to admit that processing times are […]
(Wall Street Journal) — A set of new debit-card restrictions proposed by the Federal Reserve on Thursday was more aggressive than investors feared, potentially causing billions of dollars in lost revenue for U.S. banks and stiffening competition for credit-card providers. The new restrictions, most of which won’t be made final until April 21, aim to […]
(CNN Money) — The number of foreclosure notices filed in November plunged 21%, the biggest month-over-month drop ever recorded by RealtyTrac, the online foreclosure marketer. Filings fell 14% compared with November 2009. The number of Americans who actually lost their homes to bank repossessions plummeted even more steeply — to 67,428. That was off a […]
(LA Times) — The days of free checking accounts in America are waning. New laws that reduce overdraft fees and the charges that banks impose on merchants for handling transactions are cutting deep into bank revenues, prompting many financial institutions to add charges or extra conditions on their checking accounts. The portion of checking accounts […]
(Time) — Banks used to be good not just as holding pens for your money, but as places your money could grow slowly but surely. But considering the evil combo of rising fees and pathetic interest rates, the net result is a slow but sure loss of value even when there’s not much inflation. The […]
(New York Times) — Savers just can’t catch a break. Because of persistent low interest rates, anyone looking for decent returns that are also safe has had a tough time this year. Most of the best savings accounts, for instance, don’t even top a 1.5 percent annual yield. Sure, some people have made out nicely […]
(Wall Street Journal) — Big banks may soon start pushing a different type of plastic to their customers. Financial institutions such as U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. are exploring prepaid cards as a way to make up revenue that will likely be lost from federal restrictions on debit cards. That is because […]