Banking Blog

Ready to see a “litigation surcharge” on your next bank statement? Well, it may not literally say that, but don’t be surprised if fee increases get a little nastier thanks to a new wave of litigation against banks. Nelson Schwartz of the New York Times writes the Federal Housing Finance Agency is readying a fusillade

Yesterday I blogged about the revelation that Bank of America had allegedly limited customer service representatives’ conversations with homeowners trying to modify their mortgages to 10 minutes apiece. Banks, and large corporations generally, are pretty close-mouthed about their call-center procedures, but I thought Bank of America’s time limits might be more the rule than the

I focus on banking here, so I’ll let my mortgage-focused colleagues write on the broader implications of the state of Nevada’s charging Bank of America with “deceptive lending and loan servicing practices,” according to a story by Gretchen Morgenson that appeared yesterday in the New York Times. But besides the pretty devastating legal charges, something

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, two of America’s biggest banks are providing some short-term assistance for account holders. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo both notified customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut via email that certain bank fees will be waived as affected areas recover from the natural disaster. The fee-free period for

It seems like every week brings another member of the banking industry’s “Too Big to Fail” club announcing they’re killing off free checking and introducing new fees. Plenty of consumers will probably just pay up, but if you’re looking for a refuge from fees, smaller institutions are still an option. For example, in this year’s

Here’s some news that will make financial executives and savings account holders cheer together: Fewer banks are set to fail this year. According to a quarterly report released by the FDIC, the list of problem banks is smaller for the first time in nearly five years. Problem banks are FDIC-insured institutions that lack the necessary

If banking means powering up your smartphone, it’s time to get wise to which applications, or apps, are keeping your personal information secure. Digital forensics and security firm viaForensics conducted a mobile application security study to determine how well some of the most popular consumer apps protect sensitive data. Only 14 of 32 Android and iPhone financial

Banking giants the world over are struggling with falling stock prices, but Bank of America has had a particularly tough month. BoA executives watched in dismay as the bank’s stock price plummeted in August, reaching a low of $6.01 this week before surging on news that Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffett had made a massive

Five months after closing its debit rewards program to new customers, banking giant Wells Fargo announced this week it’s ending debit rewards programs for existing customers. From Blake Ellis at CNN Money: Beginning in October, customers who are already enrolled in the issuer’s debit card rewards program will no longer receive points for making debit

Overdraft fees charged by major U.S. banks remained largely unchanged from 2010 to this year. But many banks tinkered with their overdraft policies in ways that might cost consumers more (or less) money if they incur an overdraft. The median bank overdraft fee was unchanged at $35 with initial fees ranging from $33 to $37. A