Financial industry spending to influence Washington topped $150 million for the second year in a row, with emphasis shifting to regulators of the Dodd-Frank reform law, according to watchdog groups.
The fees keep coming. Citi is the latest big bank to slap customers with a round of fee hikes. This time, on its checking accounts.
In the immediate aftermath of Bank of America's new debit card fee announcement, many of the bank's customers have declared this is the last straw.
Medical debts that you paid off long ago can drag down your credit score for years after you've settled them. But recently proposed legislation could mean old doctor bills will finally be erased from your credit report.
Banks and credit card issuers got a break Wednesday from the Federal Reserve.
There's a myth in Washington that -- come its July 21 launch date -- the consumer financial protection bureau created by the Wall Street reform law has to sit on its hands without a Senate-confirmed director.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner called out Wall Street and lawmakers on Monday for trying to undermine last year's landmark financial reform law.
White House official Elizabeth Warren, best known for her outspoken criticism of the banking industry, praised that same group during a Tuesday conference on the one-year anniversary of the credit card laws.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Visa, MasterCard and American Express on Monday for allegedly anti-competitive practices that prevent merchants from offering discounts and raise prices for consumers.
New rules designed to protect credit card users from "unreasonable late payment and other penalty fees" went into effect Sunday as a result of the Credit Card Act of 2009.
The financial industry has spent $251 million on lobbying so far this year as lawmakers hammered out new rules of the road for Wall Street, according to the latest lobbying reports compiled by a watchdog group.
On Monday Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took up the growing issue of lack of lending to small businesses by banks, and the havoc it's causing in the economy. Lending to small businesses contracted by $40 billion for the first quarter of 2010 as compared to 2008. Only a third to half of small businesses were able to secure a loan or line of credit in 2009. And Small Business Administration lending all but disappeared in June, thanks to the end of a popular stimulus program. Because of the dry-up, Bernanke said small businesses "have had difficulty obtaining the credit that they need to expand and, in some cases, even to continue operating."
Americans are not as far behind on their bills as a year ago.
It's a brave new world for the derivatives market. Or is it?
Bank economists are forecasting moderate economic growth for the remainder of this year and all of next year, bringing the unemployment rate down "painfully slowly" to 8.5% by the end of 2011.
In the never-ending battle between credit card companies and their customers over interest rates, consumers still hold at least some of the cards.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told lawmakers Tuesday that a proposed bank fee could help stabilize the financial system and recoup bailout costs by targeting banks that engage in more risky behavior.
Sweeping credit card reforms took effect Monday, eliminating a host of nasty industry practices. For example, your card issuer can no longer arbitrarily increase the interest rate on an existing balance. Nor can it apply payments to balances at lower rates first.
updated: Fri Nov 20 2009 17:33:00
Would credit card companies consider adopting a one page contract? CNN's Jessica Yellin takes a look.
Have you ever read your credit card contract? If not, you're not alone. Most cardholders never read the long complicated legalese in a credit card agreement.
A far-reaching Senate proposal to overhaul the financial system would create three new agencies, while wiping out existing ones, to monitor risky bank practices and protect consumers.
The nation's banks are still sitting on tens of billions of toxic assets -- and they likely will be for quite a while.
A new battle is brewing in Congress, riding the same populist wave that pitted banks against consumers on credit card fees earlier this year.
The nation's banks raised credit card rates and increased their profit from lending to consumers in the first half of 2009, according to a consumer advocacy group.
Soaring unemployment and the housing bust are leaving consumers hard-pressed to make loan payments on everything from credit cards to cars.
Ally Bank, a lending arm of struggling car-and-house financier GMAC, has cut the rates it offers depositors after a friendly chat with regulators.
Though its name connotes friendliness, Ally Bank -- the lending unit of troubled financial services giant GMAC -- has found at least one powerful foe in Washington.
Bankers itching to put TARP in the rearview mirror are finding it hard to make a quick getaway.
Cash-strapped consumers got some welcome news on Thursday when regulators voted to rein in controversial credit card practices. But they'll have to wait another year and a half to get relief - the new rules won't take effect until July 1, 2010.
Cash-strapped consumers might get some welcome news on Thursday when regulators vote to rein in controversial credit card practices.
The powerful Service Employees International Union has decided that, because of the $700 billion financial-system bailout, it wants to organize bank workers.
When recruiting consultant Fran Quittel heard on her car radio one Friday afternoon in July that her bank, IndyMac, had been seized by federal regulators, she was surprised but unworried. An IndyMac customer for five years, Quittel had both personal accounts and business accounts at the bank, but she was confident her accounts contained less than the $100,000 insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The $700 billion bailout plan signed into law Friday may get banks to start lending to each other again. But it remains to be seen how long that will take to jumpstart an ailing economy.
After a weekend getaway in New York City, Joseph Lanza logged onto his Bank of America Visa account and was shocked to see that his line of available credit had been reduced to $1,000 from $3,800.
The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a set of new rules Wednesday which would ultimately ban the practice of so-called "naked" short selling, possibly providing some much-needed comfort for financial markets.
Danial Roy had about $30 left in his checking account when he made two small charges of less than $5 each. But when he then wrote a check for $435, he was hit with not one, but three overdraft fees of $35 each.
Ever find yourself going off on the customer service representative after a particularly steep credit card fee or unexpected rate increase? Well now is your chance to tell those who could ultimately change credit card laws in the United States.
When hackers infiltrated Citibank ATMs at 7-Eleven stores, they revived the fear of everyone looking to get out a few bucks for a Slurpee - is using this machine safe?
When Lehman Brothers reported a stunning $2.8 billion loss Monday, it was just the latest sign that bad mortgage loans continue to be a problem for the financial markets and the economy.
The Federal Reserve on Friday pushed ahead with a proposal to stop abuses by credit card issuers, a day after two other key bank regulatory agencies proposed effectively the same package of new rules.
When you fork over $36 billion, it stands to reason that you should know exactly what you're paying for.
You're late, you're out of cash and you hit the nearest ATM. In your haste, you agree to pay the fee the machine charges. But at the end of the month you may be surprised by just how much your bank statement reveals in fees and surcharges - which are only getting steeper.
Technology and financial services firms won a key patent reform victory Friday when the House approved legislation the industries have pushed for years by a vote of 220-175.
Stocks opened mixed Monday, but easing oil prices may help pave the way for the Dow to top the 12,000 mark.
Consumer groups are criticizing a Federal Reserve report that found credit card issuers are not offering credit to consumers "indiscriminately," according to a published report.
With retail sales proving more sluggish than expected -- and concerns that home heating bills will crimp sales even further -- many retailers are finding the need to be more creative this holiday season.
Retail gasoline prices continued to seesaw Thursday, climbing by less than a penny, according to AAA's daily fuel gauge report.
Hit by rising gasoline prices, a record percentage of credit-card accounts were delinquent in the second quarter, the American Bankers Association reported Wednesday.
The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, otherwise known as the "Check 21" law, went into effect Thursday.
U.S. consumers lost some of their appetite for credit earlier this year, according to a Fed report released Wednesday, but some analysts warned that consumers are still dangerously in debt, especially with interest rates set to rise.
With overseas outsourcing a hot U.S. election-year issue, big business is quietly mounting an offensive against state and federal efforts to keep jobs at home and otherwise restrain globalization, Monday's Wall Street Journal reported.
The record percentage of consumers behind on their credit-card payments could be the ugly result of a weakening housing market -- and an ominous sign of greater credit pain to come, economists said Wednesday.
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