Banks Under Fire to Stop Mixing Savings, Investments

Senator Paul Jankorsky wants to reinstate some form of the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated banking activities from more speculative investing activities and was repealed in 1999. Jankorsky's mission appears to be gaining ground, but faces opposition from bankers. Bank rates could change if rules that govern bank behavior change.

Posted 11/20/2009

Monthly Checking Account Maintenance Fees Growing

While Congress is focusing on overdraft fees, a Money Rates survey shows that maintenance fees have been growing more quickly in recent months.

Posted 11/14/2009

Goldman, Buffett Want Fannie Mae Tax Credits

Investment bank Goldman Sachs and investor Warren Buffett want to purchase federal tax credits from Fannie Mae, the government-owned mortgage finance company. Fannie Mae cannot use the tax credits because the entity already has so many losses. Analysts estimate that Goldman and Buffett would net annualized returns of 30 percent from the deal.

Posted 11/09/2009

CIT, Major Commercial Lender, Finally Files for Bankruptcy

After a year of struggling to remain afloat, CIT has officially filed for bankruptcy. CIT is a major commercial lender that has been in business for more than 100 years. The move to file bankruptcy will give the bank the best chance to reorganize and stay in business, according to analyts

Posted 11/06/2009

Geithner Says New Laws Won't Mean More Bank Bailouts

Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner believes that new bank regulations being pondered by the U.S. Congress may not, as Republicans have been arguing, further cement the notion that certain banks are "too big to fail" and thus automatically receive taxpayer dollars if their businesses go sour.

Posted 11/01/2009

High Savings Rates Can Be Maintained by Continuing Good Habits

Shopping for the best savings account rates, and other good habits acquired in the recession, can be continued in the recovery so you can keep building your savings rate.

Posted 10/29/2009

Certificates of Deposits To Be Issued by Federal Reserve?

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke has been talking publicly about how he plans to prevent inflation in the coming years. One idea that came up recently was for the Federal Reserve to essentially issue certificates of deposit, i.e. hold deposits and pay pre-set interest rates, like a bank.

Posted 10/26/2009

JPMorgan and Goldman Cruising, Citi Muddles Along

As bank earnings for the third quarter are released this week, results have been mixed. JPMorgan Chase reported a massive $3.6 billion profit for the third quarter, while rival giant Citigroup eked out net income of $101 million. Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, reported a third quarter profit of $3.2 billion.

Posted 10/21/2009