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Banking

Your B of A Satire Website Targets Bank of America

by Luke Landes

The Rainforest Action Network is an environmental non-violent activist organization, working to influence corporations to consider the environment during the course of business. They’ve had Bank of America in their sights in the past, bringing attention to the way the bank puts profits ahead of the health of the communities in which it exists. The ... Continue reading this article…

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Aurora Bank’s Deposits to Be Acquired By New York Community Bank

by Luke Landes

Last year, I opened a money market account with Aurora Bank, a division of Lehman Brothers. If it seemed like an odd thing to do, it probably was. Lehman Brothers had filed for bankruptcy in 2008, yet in 2011, they were promoting their online retail bank and looking for new customers. Not wanting to associate ... Continue reading this article…

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TIAA Direct High-Yield Savings Account

by Luke Landes
TIAA ATM

Just when you thought the era of new online banks splashing into the market was over, TIAA-CREF is on the hunt for customers’ deposits. TIAA-CREF Trust Company, FSB was established in 1998, and the bank just began offering deposit accounts in the last month. The products, under the name TIAA Direct, are intended to compete ... Continue reading this article…

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Should the Government Ban Banks’ Payday Loans?

by Luke Landes
Check

When we think of predatory lending practices, the first thought that often comes to mind is the payday loan industry, catering to people barely, if at all, living paycheck to paycheck. Payday loans service communities with an aversion or without a need for or trust of the mainstream financial industry. Offering short-term loans designed to ... Continue reading this article…

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More Fees for Bank of America Customers

by Luke Landes
Bank of America

Just when you thought it was safe, Bank of America and other large, national banks, are still finding ways to charge customers new fees. Only a few months ago, word of a new $5 monthly fee for debit card users sent Bank of America customers into a frenzy, threatening to move money away from the ... Continue reading this article…

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The Best Online Savings Accounts, May 2013

by Luke Landes

The best online savings accounts offer high interest rates and great customer service. Savings accounts, particularly so-called high-yield savings accounts, are best for money you might need within a year. Any money that you don’t want to subject to the short-term risk and volatility in the stock market should be held safe in a savings ... Continue reading this article…

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Federal Reserve Approves Capital One’s Acquisition of ING Direct

by Luke Landes
ING Direct

After several delays, the Federal Reserve Board has approved Capital One’s request to purchase ING Direct and ShareBuilder. This deal has been in the works for a while. When ING Direct’s parent company was bailed out, the Dutch government gave the condition that it must divest its business in the United States. Several buyers courted ... Continue reading this article…

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Bank Switch Kit and Checklist

by Luke Landes
Broken piggy bank

With Wells Fargo changing their policies to be less consumer-oriented this week, I’ve received several questions about the logistics switching banks. In previous decades, closing your account at one bank and opening an account at another was a simple process. All that was required was to walk into one branch, ask to close your account, ... Continue reading this article…

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Bank of America Class Action Lawsuits – Did You Receive a Check?

by Luke Landes

Many Consumerism Commentary readers have written in to let me know that they recently received a check for about $98 from Bank of America. If you received this check prior to November 2012, this check is not a result of the Bank of America overdraft fee class action lawsuit, but it is the result of ... Continue reading this article…

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Binding Arbitration: Wells Fargo Taking Away Customers’ Rights

by Luke Landes
Wells Fargo

February 14, 2012 update: The change in terms described here goes into effect tomorrow. It’s not too late to switch banks. If you enter into an agreement with a company, and that company does something to wrong you, most of the time you can avail yourself of the American judicial system to correct the problem. ... Continue reading this article…

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Wal-Mart Offering Check Cashing Services

by Luke Landes
Wal-Mart

Many Wal-Mart locations around the country now have Money Center departments. These developments create an incredibly convenient way to take your paycheck into the store, have it cashed at the Money Center, and use your cash for your shopping trip. With Wal-Mart’s trend to become a one-stop shop for all household needs, including groceries, each ... Continue reading this article…

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Credit Unions Successfully Woo 650,000 New Customers

by Luke Landes

Bank of America has given into the pressure of losing more than just a few unprofitable customers, canceling its planned $5 monthly debit card fee. The damage, not just to Bank of America but to retail banking overall, has already been done. The Credit Union National Association has counted, state by state, a total of ... Continue reading this article…

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HSBC Banking Network Down

by Luke Landes

Reports are coming in with many HSBC customers around the world experiencing declined card transactions, no website access, and no phone system. HSBC’s network in the UK is apparently unavailable at the moment, and other areas may be affected throughout the world. HSBC is the largest bank in the United Kingdom, and all HSBC card ... Continue reading this article…

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We Did It: Bank of America Dropping $5 Debit Card Fee Proposal

by Luke Landes

After Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, SunTrust Bank, and Regions Bank dropped their plans for debit card fees yesterday, the largest bank in the United States, the only bank holding onto its policy of eliminating unprofitable customers by annoying them with inconvenient fees, dropped their own plans to enact a $5 monthly debit card fee in ... Continue reading this article…

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More Banks Drop Debit Card Fees

by Luke Landes
Chase Bank

Consumer outrage and backlash does work, apparently. Wells Fargo Bank and Chase Bank have been testing debit card fees in a small number of locations within the United States, but due to the anger unleashed after the largest bank, Bank of America, announced it would add a $5 debit card fee in 2012, the two ... Continue reading this article…

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EverBank Checking Account Offering $60 Cash Limited Time Bonus

by Luke Landes

As I’ve pointed out recently, banking customers have grown accustomed to the concept of free checking. Thanks to profits in the banking industry from a variety of sources, banks could justify offering checking account services, including debit cards, without charging any fees. The industry has changed over the past year, and many banks, particularly large ... Continue reading this article…

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Banks Offering Remote Deposit

by Luke Landes

Almost ten years ago, the government passed a law that made electronic images of paper checks just as legitimate as the paper checks themselves. As banks implemented the law, it saved time and money by allowing banks of first deposit to scan checks after a customers deposit them for verification with the originating bank. With ... Continue reading this article…

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Wells Fargo Sent Statements to Wrong Customers

by Luke Landes

The fourth largest bank in the United States by assets, Wells Fargo, admitted last week that many of its customers received statements with other customers’ banking information included. In this security breach, those affected might have received a statement with a stranger’s account number, transaction detail, and in some cases, Social Security number. Other affected ... Continue reading this article…

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Bank Transfer Day

by Luke Landes

Kristen Christian has declared November 5, 2011 to be Bank Transfer Day. Fed up with the big banks’ claims that regulation would make the institutions unprofitable, and with research to back that up, Kristen started a movement on Facebook to encourage more people to withdraw money from large banks and use these funds to open ... Continue reading this article…

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The Best Online Checking Accounts, November 2012

by Luke Landes

As consumers grow increasingly frustrated by the checking account options offered by traditional banks, more are seeking out the best online checking accounts for better interest rates and service. Large banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America are continuing to add fees, such as debit card fees, and are not concerned with scaring the ... Continue reading this article…

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