by Nikole Hannah-Jones ProPublica, Feb. 9, 2015, 11:06 a.m. One of the nation’s largest banks discriminates against black, Latino and Asian homebuyers by offering lesser qualified white borrowers higher loan amounts and using hidden racial criteria in one of its loan programs, according to a lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Manhattan. The suit also accuses the bank ... Read More »

A reader sent in a mailer about an offer from MiLEND for a new mortgage. MiLEND appears to be all licensed and registered so for once that’s not the issue. The offer appears to be legit and for a new mortgage and cash back “to use any way you like for just an additional $101.18 per month.” But this is ... Read More »

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has just announced a $4 million civil money penalty against U.S. Bank National Association, Cincinnati, Ohio, and ordered restitution of $47.9 million to more than 420,000 consumer accounts. The OCC says the bank unfairly billed customers for identity theft protection products marketed by the bank and sold by its vendor. The restitution ... Read More »

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff yesterday ordered Bank of America to pay a significant civil penalty of $1.27 billion for fraud it committed before and during the time taxpayers invested $45 billion in the bank through the TARP bailout. Additionally, former Bank of America executive Rebecca Mairone was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $1 million to the ... Read More »

It looks like other banks are taking the government warnings to clean up their act when it comes to how they handle dealing with their bad debt from credit card accounts that they used to sell off without much care. The American Banker is reporting: “Wells Fargo (WFC) has halted sales of its customers’ unpaid consumer loans to outside debt ... Read More »

Sheila Bair, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., shares her thoughts about on what went wrong in the banking industry and how to prevent financial collapse in the future. In this video she talks about how bankruptcy is now the strategy to deal with future banking failures, why over borrowing was a critical cause of the financial failures, ... Read More »

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris yesterday filed an enforcement action against JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase) alleging that the bank engaged in fraudulent and unlawful debt-collection practices against tens of thousands of Californians. The suit alleges that Chase engaged in widespread, illegal robo-signing, among other unlawful practices, to commit debt-collection abuses against approximately 100,000 California credit card borrowers over at ... Read More »

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana Dana J. Boente today announced that Reginald R. Harper, age 59, a resident of Hammond, Louisiana, the former president and chief executive officer of First Community Bank of Hammond, Louisiana, and Troy A. Fouquet, age 45, ... Read More »

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced today the issuance of a cease and desist order, by consent, against JPMorgan Chase, N.A., for unsafe and unsound practices and violations of law or regulation related to derivatives trading activities conducted on behalf of the bank by the Chief Investment Office (CIO). The OCC found that the bank’s internal ... Read More »

A kind reader and tipster (send in your tips here) let me know that the class action suit against Chase bank for raising minimum monthly payments is proceeding to paying out soon. The suit was brought in 2009 on behalf of consumers that had engaged in balance transfers to Chase Bank under the impression the minimum payment on the credit ... Read More »

You would not believe the number of credit offers I review and see. But this one caught my attention as usually interesting. I have no idea how many people have access to this offer but if you are a Bank of America card holder it might be worth calling customer service and seeing if you are eligible for it if ... Read More »

Belgium bank Banca Monte Paschi Belgio is launching a split personality credit card and debit card. It’s kind of weird but very cool. The PaschiCombo card on one side has a chip and PIN Maestro debit card on it. The card also has a button on it that users can press when they want to make online purchases but need ... Read More »

You know that Target card you have in your wallet. Not the debit card, but the credit card. Well Target has sold their book of customers and accounts to Toronto Dominion Bank (TD Bank) for a reported $6 billon. The price tag is equal to the entire amount of the amount due on the cards. The agreement does not have ... Read More »

by Paul Kiel ProPublica The idea behind the Independent Foreclosure Review seems simple. During the peak of the foreclosure crisis, the banks broke laws and made errors that hurt homeowners. In response, the government mandated they compensate the victims. But there is growing evidence some banks are playing a major role in identifying the victims of their own abuses, raising ... Read More »

Cease and Desist Orders District Of Columbia 2012-214 Independence Federal Savings Bank, Washington 8/27/2012 Montana 2012-215 Bank of The Rockies, National Association, White Sulphur Springs 8/30/2012 Utah 2012-212 American Express Bank, FSB, Salt Lake City 10/1/2012 Civil Money Penalty Orders Arkansas 2012-216 Marvin Sutterfield, Ozark Heritage Bank, National Association, Mountain View 8/10/2012 Utah 2012-213 American Express Bank, FSB, Salt Lake ... Read More »