Credit Suisse launches new service for Indian billionaires

Credit Suisse has launched a Single Family Office in India with the new service aimed at ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals with large family-owned enterprises.

Why Britain, chose not to join the euro zone!

In what would be the first step toward a European banking union, the European Central Bank will become the main regulator for the biggest banks in the 17 nations that use the euro as their currency as soon as Jan. 1.

FICO released data about its best credit risks

How to achieve best credit score. The credit scoring company, FICO, released data about its best credit risks – the people who score in the top 25 of all credit scores.

Credit Cards: There are two different interest rates

One of the very simple but so important factors in any loan is the interest rate. Depending on how you calculate

A new industry to regulate: on the penalty of debt will begin to work from January, 2 2013

Starting January 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will have a new industry to regulate: debt collectors. The CFPB is making waves in consumer finance, striking deals with the credit card industry as well as bankers at large to make the industry operate on rules that stress fairness and clarity for consumers.

Some tips of Protect Your Finances living in a shared apartment

Living with a significant other may not seem like a typical roommate situation, but when it comes to finances, more people should treat it like one. At least that’s the advice in a recent article from Fox Business.

Two federal agencies announced that they are working together!

Two federal agencies announced on Thursday that they are working together to create the first comprehensive repository of detailed mortgage loan information. 

Questions on why Pandit had to leave.

As it becomes increasingly clear that Vikram Pandit was forced out as chief executive of Citigroup (C) on Oct. 16, the question for the board is why.

Pleasant news: Mortgage rates rose slightly

Mortgage rates rose slightly on Tuesday, even though financial markets were fully closed due to Hurricane Sandy.  The market closure meant that there was no trading on the secondary mortgage market, but most lenders remained open, and released rate sheets accordingly.

FICO researchers explain how to earn high credit scores!

Bankers helped enrich the lives of more than 130,000 American children by participating in Get Smart About Credit Day during October. The American Bankers Association Education Foundation and its partner banks staged financial literacy events in over 450 communities.

Four tips on how to avoid credit repair scams.

Lenders use your credit score to measure your ability to repay debts. The better your score is, the more likely you are to qualify for credit cards and loans at favorable interest rates.

Innovation: IBT has developed a strategic identity theft prevention plan with Red Flag Alerts in Real-Time

IBT, a leading innovator of best of breed solutions of cost effective enterprise-wide technology for financial institutions, now offers real-time red flag alerts to its fraud prevention initiatives product suite for Internet banking and mobile banking.

Will introduce new rules to control debt collection

The country's largest debt collection companies will face new oversight starting in January, the federal consumer watchdog agency said Wednesday -- a move designed to ensure that businesses play by the rules in their contacts with consumers.

The basic principles of saving accounts

The banking profession is almost as old as civilization itself. In their simplest form, banks took the money of a large number of people and lent that money to borrowers.

Spyware snooping around your credit card

Your credit card could soon be tattling on you to marketers.

At least that’s the conclusion being drawn by the Financial Times and Wired after analyzing an online presentation from MasterCard, offering up cardholder data to online marketers looking to zero in on holiday shoppers (the presentation has since been taken down).

Mortgage Rates Finally Hold Their Ground

After moving higher every day this week mortgage rates finally held their ground today.  Despite moderately lower Treasury yields and healthy improvements in the mortgage-backed-securities market, the actual rates that made their way onto lenders' rate sheets represented more of a "ground-holding" than a triumphant "bounce back" to previously lower levels.

Data helps MasterCard and its partners determine advertising that would be most attractive to the credit card user.

Data into DollarsMasterCard, the largest global payment network, is under scrutiny for a data digging project that raises some concerns about privacy. The company was said to have launched a new business whereby it uses consumer data to determine more about their users. This information is then sold to third parties for advertising and marketing campaigns.

Possibility of finding a Reward Card for budget hotels

Free airline flights are easily the best known travel rewards perks. However, for frequent travelers, cashing in travel rewards for free hotel stays can offer great value, particularly when traveling to big cities where hotels can easily cost upwards of $300 a night.

Restaurant owners reject proposed Visa, Mastercard

The country's largest restaurant trade group joined a chorus of detractors claiming that a proposed settlement over credit card interchange fees doesn't go far enough to foster competition among merchant banks. In a statement to reporters, Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, said that the pending deal with Visa, MasterCard, and a host of member banks will not "fundamentally change a broken marketplace in which swipe fees are set."

Mortgage Rates interest rates remain conventional loans at 3.25%

After managing to improve on Thursday and Friday,mortgage rates begin the current week slightly higher.  Even so, the changes between Friday and today are minimal in most cases and several lenders are actually unchanged or slightly lower in rate/fee.  This leaves the prevailing Best-Execution rate for 30yr fixed, conventional loans at 3.25%.

Some ways to part with your credit card

It was love at first swipe: That shiny piece of plastic caught your eye, every purchase brought a thrill and you planned on a bright future together.

Mortgage rates welcome improvement items!

Mortgage rates finally improved on Thursday after moving sideways or higher since last Thursday.  The drop in rates/costs was broad-based with less of the stratification between lenders noted yesterday. 

Banks have been aggressive in lending only to customers with good or better credit scores.

Consumer LendingBanks are stocking up on cash in a move that may soon put more credit cards, car loans, and consumer loans in the hands of consumers. The market for asset-backed securities is stronger than ever, suggesting that credit card rates may be headed lower, and rewards may be getting even juicier.

FTC prevent fraud with platinum credit card

Marketers behind the "Platinum Trust Card" and the "Express Platinum Card" can never sell credit cards or make cold calls again, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Risk management Regulations drafted in the wake of the global financial crisis!

Bank executives like to say that their most important job is managing risk. This does not mean they’re good at it. Banks the world over have often failed to monitor hazards properly, blowing up spectacularly every few decades.

Ten steps to correct errors in credit reports!

If you've already spent the past several months -- or even years -- trying to scrub errors from your credit reports, it may feel like you have no choice but to live with the inaccurate marks.

The national average annual percentage rate (APR) on new card offers has stayed at 15 percent

Interest rates on new credit card offers remained at 15 percent on Wednesday, according to the CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report.  After hovering just below 15 percent for two consecutive months, the national average annual percentage rate (APR)  on new card offers has stayed at 15 percent for the past three weeks.

Master Card provides ATM network to support EMV

MasterCard officials expanded its roadmap for EMV debit and credit card technology to include automatic teller machines. After October 2016, banks can hold ATM operators liable for fraudulent withdrawals and cash advances from debit and credit cards.

Mortgage rates have started a small increase

Mortgage rates moved gently lower to begin the week (and month), ending a two day run toward higher rates on Thursday and Friday.  Trading levels in the secondary mortgage market began the day in the same territory as Friday afternoon and gradually improved throughout the day. 

Groupon announced a new service to process mobile payments!

Mobile Payment Processing PartyBetter known for coupons than credit cards, internet discount company Groupon announced a new service to process mobile payments. The company says it will seek to develop a system that charges the “lowest rates in today’s marketplace”.

Debts have to be returned!

Do you have a debt from years ago that you never paid? If so, beware. That old account could come lurching back to life when you least expect it.

Visa - improve safety!

Visa intends to pave the way for merchant acceptance of EMV credit cards with help from a new data encryption service that launches early next year. According to company spokeswoman Ellen Richey, the payment platform provider intends to offer a point-to-point security solution that scrambles customer data at the terminal, reducing the likelihood of credit card fraud and identity theft.

Mortgage Rates Lower all week!

Mortgage rates began moving lower last Thursday and since then have fallen every single day, crossing into new all-time lows in the process.  Today simply continues that trend and makes for newer, slightly lower all-time lows.  We began in neutral territory but market improvements throughout the day led several lenders to reprice for the better.

America's banking sector loses customers

Americans are turning away from banks and turning to quasi-banking services. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), nearly 12 million Americans are managing their money without the help of a banking institution. This is up one-half of one percent from 2009 to 8.2% of all American households.

Credit Counseling and Credit Scores

According to recent statistics, nearly 135,000 Americans sought advice from a credit counseling agency in June 2012. That figure represents an increase of over a third from the same period a year earlier, underscoring the financial pressure faced by citizens across the country. Many Americans find themselves searching for answers in the wake of sudden job losses, illnesses, or family emergencies that can stunt household income.

What Are The Benefits Of A Second Home Loan Mortgage

The words “second mortgage” can conjure up thoughts of fear and desperation. This is because most people believe that you should only take out a second mortgage if you’re dead broke and you've decided to raid your biggest asset – your home. However, taking out a second mortgage is not necessarily a move of financial desperation. In fact, there are some situations where it might be better to take out a second mortgage than to get a personal loan or refinance your first mortgage.

Wine is a promising investment

With the number of different investment vehicles on the rise, some investors are raising a glass to wine, a tasty "liquid" asset.

Some consider wine to be a promising investment that has been steadily increasing in value since the introduction of the Wine Spectator Auction Index, which tracks average sales of top Bordeaux wines and other varietals through the United States' top commercial auction houses. In the first quarter of 2011, the index showed wine sales at an all-time high. However, sales dipped more than 13 points in the second quarter of the year.

New security features The MasterCard SecureCode

Imagine having a safeguard in place that no one can duplicate, that will prevent unauthorized people from making charges on your card? MasterCard has made that safeguard possible with their SecureCode technology, allowing cardholders to create a code that ensures every purchase is approved.

Banks curtail credit consumer protection program

Many of the nation's largest credit card issuers are scaling back their offerings of credit protection plans, following years of scrutiny by consumer activists and regulators.

Libor, great fraud!

These are parched times for law firms. Clients just aren’t willing to pay what they used to for associates’ billable souls.
How fortuitous then that a multitrillion-dollar financial scandal promises to throw the lawsuit industry beaucoup fees, from both the alleged aggressors and their aggrieved. Thanks to the Barclays blowup, we now know that Libor, the most widely used and quoted benchmark for valuing about $360 trillion in financial products, has been rather rigged. Throw in the fact that this gauge is set by Wall Street, the villain à la mode, and a heretofore harmless interest rate could join the likes of asbestos and tobacco in one-word liability infamy.

USAA best credit card issuer - worse SunTrust

As promised, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published its live database of credit card complaints registered with the bureau's toll free hotline and website. The raw data includes the name of the issuer, the broad topic for each complaint, and a flag indicating whether the credit card company resolved the complaint.

Ways to borrow money!

Borrowing money is always a last resort, but for anyone who's been in a pinch between paychecks, sometimes it's a necessary evil. But who or where you choose to borrow from can take your predicament from a temporary dollar dilemma to a long-term financial nightmare.

Credit card interest rates rise steady!

The national average annual percentage rate (APR) on new card offers climbed to 14.97 percent Wednesday -- the highest it's been since March. This is just the fourth time this year that average interest rates have spiked.

Changes by Chase and Capital One spurred the jump in rates. Chase raised the APR on two of its business credit cards -- the Chase Business Ink card and the Chase Ink Cash card. Both cards previously featured a flat APR of 10.24 percent. Applicants are now offered a 13.24 percent interest rate, which is a full 3 percentage points higher.

People are keeping debt levels down, number of consumer bankruptcy filings plunged by 14 percent.

Tighter credit in years past means fewer need debts discharged today

The tightening of consumer credit during the economic downturn may be paying off now, as the number of consumer bankruptcy filings plunged by 14 percent during the first half of the year, continuing the steep decline that began last year.

The euro slipped to a two-year low against the dollar.

NEW YORK - The euro slipped to a two-year low against the dollar and a near 12-year trough against the yen on Monday over fears that Spain may need a bailout.

Taxes must be paid...

HM Treasury has outlined Government proposals to crack down on “contrived and aggressive” tax avoidance schemes.

Plans include increasing the pressure on advisers who market “abusive” schemes while making it easier for taxpayers to identify such schemes.

After the scandal a further seven banks UK have had agreed to pay compensation customers

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator said a further seven banks have agreed to compensate customers they misled about interest rate hedging products and review their sales practices.

Payments Strategy Board created to reform Payments industry

The Government has published a consultation on the future regulation and governance of the UK payments industry.

According to Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban, the industry has not always responded effectively to the needs of consumers, most notably over plans to abolish cheques, so reform is needed.

Capital One should return to customers about $150 million

More than 2 million Capital One credit card customers will get refunds totaling $150 million as part of a settlement reached with federal banking and consumer protection regulators. The bank also must pay $60 million in penalties for deceptive marketing and billing practices, according to the agreement announced Wednesday.

Payments by credit card prevails over cash

Consumers could expect to see more chances to save money by paying cash for merchandise, following a landmark settlement reached between credit card companies and retailers.