by Paul Kiel ProPublica Late last year, the country’s bank regulators launched a massive program to evaluate millions of foreclosure cases and compensate homeowners who fell victim to the banks’ flawed or illegal practices. Regulators dubbed it the “Independent Foreclosure Review” to emphasize that the banks would not be making key decisions about loans they had made or serviced. But ... Read More »

Bank Cease and Desist Orders Alabama 2012-182 Southfirst Bank, Sylacauga 8/15/2012 Florida 2012-183 Home Federal Bank of Hollywood, Hallandale Beach 7/27/2012 2012-184 Atlantic Coast Bank, Jacksonville 8/10/2012 Illinois 2012-185 United Trust Bank, Palos Heights 8/15/2012 Kentucky 2012-186 The Farmers National Bank of Cynthiana, Cynthiana 8/22/2012 Civil Money Penalty Orders Texas 2012-187 Milton Yang, Golden Bank, National Association, Houston 8/3/2012 Formal ... Read More »

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced enforcement actions against Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., for violations and compliance deficiencies related to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA provides servicemembers relief from certain obligations and temporarily suspends judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions involving civil liabilities when military service affects ... Read More »

JPMorgan has agreed to pay $100 million to dispose of a suit filed alleging that Chase Bank jacked up the minimum payments due on credit cards, improperly. The $100 million settlement is 45 percent of the $220 million in alleged up-front transactional fees that consumers paid for the promotional balance transfer loans. The suit alleges Chase Bank wanted consumers to ... Read More »

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its first public enforcement action with an order requiring Capital One Bank (U.S.A.), N.A. to refund approximately $140 million to two million customers and pay an additional $25 million penalty. This action results from a CFPB examination that identified deceptive marketing tactics used by Capital One’s vendors to pressure or mislead consumers into ... Read More »

Those in Ohio who are receiving unemployment benefits will be getting a bit of a reasonable break come July 18, reports Policy matters Ohio. Seems that until now, the Reliacard prepaid debit cards that are issued by US Bank to deposit benefits on would hit the unemployed with a $17 overdraft charge. But you’ve got to wonder, since it is ... Read More »

If you are the victim of identity theft the last thing you want to worry about is what to do next. Thanks to the kind folks at the FTC here is a comprehensive guide on what to do if you discover you are a victim of identity theft. This step-by-step guide will make it extremely easy for you to take ... Read More »

Delton de Armas, a former chief financial officer (CFO) of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failure of TBW. De Armas was sentenced June 15, 2012 by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern ... Read More »

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Robert E. O’Neill today announced that United States District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell yesterday sentenced Jerry J. Williams (52, Fort Worth, Texas), former President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Orion ... Read More »

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver for Security Bank National Association, North Lauderdale, Florida. As of March 31, 2012, the bank had approximately $101 million of total assets. The OCC acted after finding that the bank had experienced substantial dissipation of assets and earnings due to unsafe ... Read More »

From the kind folks over at Cambridge Credit Counseling comes this warning and advice about overdraft fees. “At one time or another, you may have had the misfortune of over-drafting your bank account. An overdraft occurs when you make a purchase or ATM transaction but don’t have enough money in your bank account to cover it. For a fee, anywhere ... Read More »

WASHINGTON, DC – The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana Jim Letten today announced that Reginald R. Harper, age 58, of Hammond, Louisiana, the former president and chief executive officer of First Community Bank of Hammond, La., pleaded guilty yesterday to one count ... Read More »

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) yesterday appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver for Fort Lee Federal Savings Bank, Fort Lee, New Jersey, a federal savings association. As of December 31, 2011, the institution had approximately $51.9 million in total assets. The OCC acted after finding that the institution had experienced substantial dissipation of ... Read More »

The OCC announced it has sent a cease and desist letter to Citibank regarding “identified deficiencies in the Bank’s overall program for Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (“BSA/AML”) compliance” As we all know, banks make mistakes. It just seems that typically it is the consumers that wind up paying for them. The OCC found that the bank’s BSA compliance program had ... Read More »

Delton de Armas, a former chief financial officer (CFO) of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), pleaded guilty today to making false statements and conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of TBW and Colonial Bank. The guilty plea was announced March 20, ... Read More »