MoneyRates Blog
Bank Reform Debate Continues Even as Recovery Continues
It’s not surprising that former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker has voiced the opinion that banking reform must include the break-up of large institutions, including the separation of commercial and investment banking operations. However, having John S. Reed’s voice join the same chorus is really reason for pause.
Paul Volcker’s regime as Fed Chairman was strikingly different from that of [...]
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“Too Big To Fail” Legislative Talk Has Disturbing Overtones
Just about everybody except bank executives with a vested interest agrees that some legislative changes need to be made in the wake of last year’s banking crisis. However, legislating in the wake of a crisis is not without risk — sometimes an overreaction can exacerbate a crisis.
In a subtle way, one has to look no farther [...]
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A Modest Proposal for Bank Regulation: Revisit Glass-Steagall
A year after the banking crisis, politicians continue to posture for public consumption about imposing new regulations on the banks. So far though, congress has been more talk than action when it comes to fixing the banking system, and even that talk has merely nibbled around the edges of the problem.
Congress has taken the populist [...]
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Banking or Health Care: Which Is In Greater Need of Reform?
Talk of Federal regulation is swirling around two industries: banking and health care. Both are essential to our modern way of life, and both have their critics and backers. The health care system has never gone through a massive meltdown like banking did a year ago, but many people see it as suffering a slow [...]
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Pending Rule Will Make Bank Rates A Possible Sign of Health
Banks offering high interest rates on savings accounts, CDs, and other deposits are attractive to savvy bank shoppers anyway, but a pending FDIC rule could make them even more appealing. Effective January 1, 2010, the FDIC will put a cap on bank rates offered by institutions categorized as “less than well capitalized.”
The new rule addresses [...]
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Mixed Message from FDIC Leaves Bank Rates Up in the Air
Last week, the FDIC went out of its way to clarify its accounting policies, to show that the draw down of its deposit insurance fund was not as severe as it seems. This week, they are rather publicly weighing options for giving that fund an emergency shot in the arm.
So which is it — is [...]
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What’s the Right Cure for High Bank Fee Rates?
Senator Christopher Dodd is reportedly planning on introducing legislation to curb high bank overdraft charges. These charges have been on the rise lately, as banks look for various ways of shoring up profitability. Certainly, overdraft charges can seem excessive, but is legislating against them really the right solution?
According to research firm Moebs Services, the average [...]
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An Odd Wrinkle In Mortgage Rates
One of the reasons that money-rates.com exists is that the market for bank rates — including deposit account interest and mortgage rates – is far from efficient. Everyone may talk about interest rates going up and down as if they all moved uniformly, but as you can see every day on money-rates.com, different banks offer very [...]
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