Tuesday, February 28, 2012

UPDATE 1-U.S. housing secretary says FHA faces big risks

* FHA faces risks even with latest cash raising-Donovan

* Safeguarding FHA capital could help private market grow

Feb 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Housing Administration faces "considerable risks" to its finances and the Obama administration will continue to scale back the agency's presence in the mortgage market, the top U.S. housing official said on Tuesday.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan told Congress that efforts to protect the FHA's dwindling capital reserves were not only important in their own right, but that they could open the door to more private mortgage funding.

"Despite the unprecedented efforts of the (Obama) administration to alter the trajectory of FHA, considerable risks remain," he told the Senate Banking Committee.

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Monday, February 27, 2012

FHA hikes mortgage fees to bolster reserves

(Reuters) - The cost of government-insured credit will increase slightly for U.S. homebuyers, as the Federal Housing Administration on Monday said it would raise up-front fees on the mortgages it insures to shore up its dwindling reserves.

The premiums FHA charges to insure mortgages will rise by 75 basis points, or 0.75 percentage point, on most 30-year loans, acting Commissioner Carol Galante told reporters on a conference call. The higher premium will apply to loans taken out after April 1.

The changes, which will raise about $1.25 billion for the FHA, will be wrapped into the overall cost of mortgages to dampen the impact on borrowers, she said.

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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Making the illegal legal McNay's Musings

RICHMOND — “But happily ever after fails,

And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales.”

 — Bruce Hornsby and Don Henley

Even though I grew up in a community run by organized crime, the lines between what was legal and what was illegal were very clear.

Drug pushing was illegal. Loan sharking was illegal. Bribing politicians was illegal.

People did all three, but knew they could go to jail.

Things are different now.

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Community Reinvestment Fund, USA Helps Spur Economic Recovery With $75 Million New Markets Tax Credit Allocation

CRF Receives $75 Million in Total Allocations That It Will Use to Fund Loans for Operating Businesses in Economically Disadvantaged Areas

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Feb 23, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF), a Minneapolis-based national non-profit and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), today announced it received $75 million in federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) funds. CRF uses NMTCs to fund loans to help spur job and economic growth and fund operating businesses located in low-income communities across the country.

CRF is one of 70 organizations participating in the ninth round of NMTC funding. Since the program's inception, CRF has received a total of $749.5 million in NMTC allocations, making CRF one of the nation's largest NMTC allocatees focused solely on business financing.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

TransUnion: National Credit Card Delinquencies End 2011 Nearly 5% Lower Than Last Year

CHICAGO, IL, Feb 22, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The national credit card delinquency rate (the ratio of borrowers 90 or more days past due) reached 0.78% in the fourth quarter of 2011, a drop of almost 5% from the same period one year ago and continuing well below historical norms. Average credit card debt per borrower increased $239 from the same period last year to $5,204, though it too remains near record-low levels. For the quarter, credit card delinquencies and debt both experienced seasonal increases. This information is reported by TransUnion and is part of its ongoing series of quarterly analyses of credit-active U.S. consumers, evaluating how they are managing credit related to mortgages, credit cards and auto loans.

"2011 closed out with the lowest year-end card delinquency rate nationwide since 1995," said Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting in TransUnion's financial services business unit. "This is the net result of riskier loans having worked their way through the system, cautious risk management strategies on the part of lenders and consumers working to maintain the health and good status of their card relationships."

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Bankrate: Only 54% of Americans Have More Emergency Savings than Credit Card Debt

NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Only 54% of Americans have more emergency savings than credit card debt, according to a new poll released today by Bankrate.com RATE -0.73%  . One in four Americans (25%) has more credit card debt than emergency savings and 16% have neither credit card debt nor emergency savings.

Bankrate's monthly Financial Security Index held at 97.3, unchanged from January and tied for the highest level since June 2011. Any reading below 100 indicates a lower level of financial security compared with 12 months earlier.

Despite four straight months of improving sentiment, consumers' overall financial situation is still seen as negative. Twenty-seven percent of Americans report a lower level of financial security now versus one year ago and 24% report a higher level. Thirty-eight percent of Americans are less comfortable with their savings now compared with one year ago; only 14% are more comfortable.

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Sunday, February 19, 2012

PRESIDENT OBAMA TAKES ACTIONS TO PROMOTE AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND INCREASE US EXPORTS AT BOEING

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -- The White House Council of Economic Advisers issued the following news release:

Today, the President will visit the Boeing assembly facility in Everett, Washington, to announce new steps aimed at promoting American manufacturing and increasing U.S. exports. Manufacturing represents nearly 60% of total U.S. exports, and Boeing is one of the country's leading exporters of manufactured goods with more than $34 billion in total exports in 2011, up over 45% since 2006. Today's announcement will follow through on the President's commitment to provide sufficient export financing to put American manufacturers on an even footing with our foreign competitors, provide expanded support for small business exporters and take the next step in the President's proposal to reorganize the trade and competitiveness agencies by expanding the responsibilities of the Export Promotion Cabinet.This is the most recent of a series of executive actions the President has announced to put Americans back to work and strengthen the U.S. economy.

"Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years." said President Obama. "Today, we're on track to meet that goal - ahead of schedule. But we need to do more, which is why I'm pleased to announce several steps that will help more American businesses sell their products around the world, create jobs right here at home, and help us build an economy that lasts."

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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Chrysler gives up bid for federal green car loans

Chrysler today said it is withdrawing its application for a loan from the U.S. Department of Energy that it had been seeking since 2008. It had applied for a loan under a program designed to encourage development of hybrids and electric vehicles.

Ford received $5.9 billion and Nissan received $1.4 billion in loans from the program in 2009.

General Motors, in contrast, withdrew its $14 billion application in January 2011. Russian steelmaker Severstal's $730 million loan, which received conditional approval last year, was rejected last month.

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Capital One Has 21% Upside Off ING Deal: Citigroup (Update 1)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) Citigroup analyst Donald Fandetti says that Capital One (COF_) will see "~16% earnings accretion" from its pending acquisitions of ING Direct (USA) and HSBC's (HBC_) U.S. credit card portfolio.

The Federal Reserve late Tuesday approved Capital One's purchase of ING Direct from ING Groep (ING_) for roughly $9 billion in cash and stock, and Capital One said the merger would be completed "within the next few days."

Capital One's shares were up over 3% in early afternoon trading on Wednesday, to $49.42.

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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

TransUnion: National Mortgage Loan Delinquencies Increase for Second Time Since 2009

CHICAGO, IL, Feb 14, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The national mortgage delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 60 or more days past due) increased for only the second time since the end of 2009, edging upward to 6.01% at the end of the fourth quarter in 2011. This information is reported by TransUnion and is part of its ongoing series of quarterly analyses of credit-active U.S. consumers and how they are managing credit related to mortgages, credit cards and auto loans.

Between the third and fourth quarters of 2011, all but 13 states experienced increases in their mortgage delinquency rates. On a more granular level, 64% of metropolitan areas saw increases in their mortgage delinquency rates in Q4 2011. This is the same percentage as found in Q3 2011, but up from Q2 2011 when only 21% of MSAs experienced an increase.

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Monday, February 13, 2012

U.S. Eximbank not "corporate welfare" - GE's Immelt

(Reuters) - General Electric Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt on Monday defended the U.S. Export-Import Bank against charges the export-facilitating lender is "corporate welfare" and should be shut down.

"It's not really corporate welfare to put us on the same playing field that our global competitors are on," Immelt said during a panel discussion on the future of American manufacturing with Boeing Chairman Jim McNerney and Dow Chemical Chairman Andrew Liveris.

The Export-Import Bank is facing a tough reauthorization fight in Congress.

Immelt, who also heads an outside economic advisory council for President Barack Obama, said the United States needed the nearly 80-year-old bank to compete against the European Union and China in global markets for aircraft and other products.

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Sunday, February 12, 2012

USA shopping heaven for Turkish Travelers

Turkish people shopping abroad last year spent most money in the United States via debit and credit cards, according to Turkey’s Interbank Card Center (BKM) data.

Turks’ spending abroad via debit and credit cards jumped 33 percent in 2011. England, Italy, France and Germany followed the United States as the top market.

The volume created using cards for transactions hit 546 billion Turkish Liras (1 US$ is around 1.75TL) last year, the data also showed. Expenditure via credit cards increased 24 percent, while the figure was 54 percent in debit cards.

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Thursday, February 9, 2012

U.S. seals mortgage settlement with top banks

Federal and state officials announced Thursday morning a $25 billion settlement of a long-running probe into allegedly shoddy foreclosure practices at the nation's five largest banks, a deal that will include more than $1 billion in assistance to former and current Illinois homeowners.

The agreement between the federal government, state attorneys general and the five banks -- Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Financial  formerly known as GMAC -- will not help former homeowners get back properties they lost to foreclosure, even if there was wrongdoing by loan servicers in the foreclosure process. Nor will its limited scope assist all current homeowners who find themselves in financial straits or severely underwater. Most notably, the agreement does not cover mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

4 Factors to Consider Before Applying for a Secured Credit Card


Just before you start looking for the top secured credit card account, we recommend that you consider first the factors we've listed below. We believe that in so doing, you are able to enhance your chances of ending up having a credit line that may work for you and budget.

Four Factors to consider 
  • Your own finances. Credit applicants, for example yourself, are always reminded to consider time for you toreview their personal finances before they start shopping for a credit card. Why? Because making a budget will give you a chance to determine that you actually need and can afford a new secured credit card. Ask yourself, do I Need to have a new credit card, or will i just need a new credit card.
So, if you create your budget, you should list your complete bills. You may already know, secured credit cards are secured by a deposit you make for the credit card company. By making a budget it is possible to figure out how much money you must save each month til you have enough on your security deposit and charges. However, in case your budget reveals that you are basically living paycheck to paycheck and that your earnings barely covers your monthly expenses then, it might be wise to hold back until you feel more stable, financially before you think about getting a new credit card


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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

UPDATE 1-U.S. consumer credit rises $19.3 bln in December

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 - U.S. consumer credit expanded much more than expected in December, a positive signal for the economy as people used their credit cards more and borrowed money to buy cars and go to school.

Total consumer credit grew by $19.31 billion, more than twice the $7.7 billion increase expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Non-revolving credit, which includes auto loans as well as student loans made by the government, accounted for the bulk of the increase as outstanding credit rose $16.55 billion during the month. That was the biggest increase since November 2001, when credit was surging in the wake of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

But revolving credit, which mostly measures credit-card use, also climbed in December. It rose $2.76 billion for its fourth straight monthly gain.

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Monday, February 6, 2012

View From The Wing - Reader Questions about Rewards Credit Cards

Here are some recent questions from readers.

As y’all are aware, the single most lucrative thing you can do to earn miles and points is to pay attention to your credit card earning. First, there are big bonuses for signup. Second, several cards offer really good bonuses for specific kinds of spending. And third, day to day expenses really do add up quite nicely.

More miles are earned from credit card spend than from actually flying (the last time I saw the data this was true excluding elite bonuses, route bonuses, etc. although it’s possible that now it would be true even including those).

If you have any questions about rewards credit cards, please just fire away.

What’s the best non-airline/hotel loyalty program credit card?

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Sunday, February 5, 2012

Guard Yourself Towards ID Theft This Valentine’s Day


Certainly, individuals usually shop often and spend bigger throughout the holidays and with the Valentine’s coming, shops are getting ready for more sales. For merchants, Valentine’s day presents a chance to boost their sales. For identity thieves and scammers, the holidays are also present opportunities to victimize unsuspecting people. How can you protect oneself against ID theft, particularly this holiday season? Here are several reminders:

Secure your computer, laptop computer and mobile phone. If you have any device that will connect with the internet, make sure that it is protected having an anti-virus and anti-spyware software. A recent study by Norton reveals which more than 1,000 internet users in the US are certainly not fully aware of the threat of Identity theft when hooked up online.

The study, entitled “Connected but Careless”, further reports that 4 out of 10 people access the internet through their mobile phones and 52% of these users are not designed by even a basic level of protection.


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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Helm Bank USA grows loans $29M in Q4

Helm Bank USA ramped up the pace of its lending in the fourth quarter by growing its loan portfolio by $28.9 million.

That’s up from the $22 million in total loan growth that the Miami-based bank had in the third quarter. Helm Bank ended 2011 with $364.8 million in loans, an increase of $82.3 million, or 29 percent, from its loan total 12 months earlier.

Helm Bank earned $2.1 million in the fourth quarter, up from earnings of $1.7 million in the third quarter.

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Obama presses Congress to step up aid for homeowners

Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed a multi-billion-dollar package to help U.S. homeowners refinance and stave off foreclosure, part of an election-year push that is likely to face an uphill battle by the Republican opposition in Congress.

Obama moved to counter Republican criticism that the proposal would use taxpayer money to bail out irresponsible borrowers by stressing that only homeowners current on their payments could benefit. The president had sketched out the plan in his State of the Union address last week.

Home values have dropped 33 percent from their 2006 peak and nearly 11 million Americans now owe more than their homes are worth. Millions more have lost their homes in states that are up for grab in November's presidential election.

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