October 1, 2009 By LOUISE STORY and ERIC DASH Click here for link Less than a year ago, Bank of America’s chief executive, Kenneth D. Lewis, celebrated his daring takeover of Merrill Lynch as the crowning triumph of a long career. On Wednesday, that conquest
The New York Times ran this excellent editorial on September 13, 2009. Here’s an excerpt explaining the need for a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA): CONSUMER PROTECTIONThe financial crisis would have been less severe — or largely avoided — if regulators had curbed abusive
Jim Hightower: Bank fees are more outrageous than ever before Excerpt: How’s this for gratitude? Wall Street bankers, whom we’ve propped up with a $12 trillion bailout, are quietly slipping offensive little notes into your and my monthly credit card bills and bank statements. The
Posted by Phyllis Salowe-Kaye/ Star-Ledger Guest Columnist August 06, 2009 5:16AM Categories: Economy ANDREW MILLS/THE STAR-LEDGER Elizabeth Warren is the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the U.S. banking bailout, formally known as the TARP -Troubled Assets Relief Program. Most reasonable people
By Bill Ragen, SEIU An incentive system similar to one at the top is at work at the street level of the biggest banks. In the tens of thousands of bank branches and call centers of our biggest banks, employees-including bank tellers earning an average
Angela Canterbury Public Citizen We would have had more warning of the collapse of Wall Street and the subsequent economy crisis if there had been more protections and avenues for disclosure for employees willing to raise concerns. Whistleblowers are critical to combating fraud, gross mismanagement,
By Maya Jackson Randall and Jessica Holzer Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–Only 9% of eligible borrowers have received trial modifications under the Obama administration’s ambitious effort to help struggling homeowners, according to data released by the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday. Participating mortgage
Banks Fall Short on Mortgage Help Govt. Report Shows 15 Percent of Eligible Borrowers Offered Help; Bank of America, Wells Fargo Lag Behind Other Big Banks By MATTHEW JAFFE and ALICE GOMSTYNAugust 4, 2009 Fewer than one in five homeowners eligible for the Obama administration’s
Posted on Sat, Aug. 01, 2009 By BRIAN BURNES The Kansas City Star The American Dream shouldn’t become a nightmare. So said Stevie Wakes, pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Kansas City, Kan. He was among several speakers at a Saturday meeting organized by
The Philadelphia Inquirer ran this excellent opinion piece on August 3. Here’s an excerpt: Credit card and mortgage consumers need help to level the playing field. By Adam Benforado The $3-trillion-a-year consumer financial-services industry wants you to play a game with them, one on one.