Government lawyers announced a settlement has been reached with the 5 largest mortgage lenders in the country.  The settlement came in response to the banks deceptive practices relating to foreclosures. A draft of the settlement s with the parties for review.

The deal is unlikely to really benefit those who lost their homes over the last few years,  they will not be able to return to their houses.  They may be eligible for up to $1,800 in reimbursement for their troubles.  The settlement is said to be for around $25 billion dollars, second only to the settlement between the States and Big Tobacco.

The major benefit to the agreement is that those who are in trouble with their mortgages may find it much easier to restructure their payments allowing them to stay in their homes.

Five major banks — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Financial in addition to the States Attorneys general could adopt the deal within weeks.

Nearly 8 million Americans have faced foreclosure since the housing bubble burst. In some cases, companies that process mortgages failed to verify the information on foreclosure documents. The worst practices, known collectively as “robo-signing,” included employees signing documents they hadn’t read or using fake signatures to sign off on foreclosures.

Sources say President Barack Obama is going to talk about the settlement in the State of the Union address. There are some who are not happy with the deal because they say no one is being held responsible for the illegal actions of some of the banks.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was less than thrilled with the settlement said in a statement,

“Wall Street again is trying to pass the buck. Instead of criminal prosecutions, we’re talking about something that’s not more than a slap on the wrist.”

As part of the deal about a million homeowners will be able to restructure loans where they owe more than the house is worth. Up until now these people had very little hope of being able to refinance.

The deal allegedly is made up of the following points,

– $17 billion would help struggling homeowners reduce the principal of their loans.

– $5 billion would be placed in State escrow to pay $1,800 to those who lost their home due to the banks deceptive practices

– About $3 billion would to help homeowners refinance at 5.25 percent.

Do you think the banks are getting off easy with this settlement?

5 Largest Mortgage Lenders Reach Settlement With States is a post from: The Inquisitr

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal a source close to the banks operations the company is close to exercising a contingency plan it drew up last year under the insistence of the Federal Reserve.

If the plan goes into effect it’s like a sign that the banks mortgage and other financial sectors have worsened. It could also mean that the bank will close more than the 570 of 5,7000 branches already marked for shutdown.

Following the new led Newser to wittingly quip:

Should we start calling it Bank of Some of America?

According to the bank source officials only want to cut back on the number of branches if absolutely necessary since Bank of America spent huge sums of cash luring customers to those branches.

As the Journal points out it was only a matter of time before Bank of America pulled out of smaller, less profitable cities especially as the company continues to cut more than 40,000 current jobs from the payroll.

Do you think Bank of America needs to contract their business or work on finding more profitable ways to operate?

Bank Of America Pulling Out Of Some US Markets is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bank of America on Wednesday was ordered by the Justice Department to pay a $335 million settlement for the company’s part in a discriminatory lending market that denied black and Hispanic home buyers the approval needed to purchase homes.

The settlement involved Countrywide, a company that BofA purchased in 2008.

According to the Wall Street Journal the $335 million is the ”largest residential fair-lending settlement in history.”

Allegations against Countrywide involved more than 200,000 minority borrowers and found that Countrywide charged those lenders more money than they charged to white borrowers with similar credit profiles from 2004 through 2008.

According to the filing Countrywide lenders forced black and hispanic borrowers to take out subprime loans even when they qualified for the lower rate home loans.

According to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan the settlement is:

“A very important step in state and federal efforts to hold mortgage lenders accountable for the devastation they have caused to American families and their finances.”

Because of the settlement borrowers who received bad loan arrangements will receive at least some of their money back.

Speaking about the settlement Dan Frahm, a Bank of America spokesman, said in a statement:

“We discontinued Countrywide products and practices that were not in keeping with our commitment and will continue to resolve and put behind us the remaining Countrywide issues.”

Do you believe you were offered a less than stellar loan based on your race? Share your Countrywide lending story in our comments section.

[Image via Lowe Llaguno / Shutterstock.com]

Bank Of America To Pay $335 Million Minority Loan Discrimination Settlement is a post from: The Inquisitr

Standard & Poor’s has taken their credit downgrade from the United States government to the banks that led to the countries downgrade.

The agency announced on Tuesday that 37 banks around the world would be downgraded. In the US the countries largest banks are among those in trouble with Standards & Poor including Bank of America and it’s main subsidiaries which include CitiGroup, Goldman Sachs, Chase, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan.

Outside of the United States banks downgraded include some of the biggest banking brands in the UK:

Barclays, HSBC Holdings, Lloyds Banking Group, and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

While several European banks have not been downgraded including Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and Societe Generale.

According to the agency their decision comes from a shift in the worldwide financial industry and macroeconomic trends. The team at S&P says their decision includes the role of governments and central banks involved in industry funding.

Do you think the banks listed above deserved to be downgraded?

[Image via Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com]

S&P Goes On Banking Downgrade Crusade is a post from: The Inquisitr

While on paper Bank of America dropping their $5 per month debit card fee was a small victory for customers the company has found new “under the radar” ways to once again increase the cost of banking for their customers.

According to the New York Times the average customer account costs Bank of America $200-$300 per year to maintain and in an attempt to earn back some of that money they are finding new ways to recoup expenses.

The move to add new fees or increase other fees comes at a time when government regulations have placed limitations on card swipe fees (the fees banks could charge retailers for accepting debit cards) while lowering the amount banks could earn for each overdrafted account.

To make back their money Bank of America has raised their basic checking account fee from just under $9 earlier in the year to $12 dollars today.

According to a co-founder of MyBankTracker.com:

“Banks tried the in-your-face fee with debit cards, and consumers said enough … What most people don’t realize is that they have been adding new charges or taking fees that have always existed and increased them, or are making them harder to avoid.”

Among other fees to watch for include a fee for paper statements (most banks allow for digital only statements at no cost if requested), higher ATM withdrawal fees and raising the account balance required to avoid fees.

Are you prepared to switch to a new bank if you’re banking institution continues to rise the cost of doing business at their locations?

[Image via SeanPavonePhoto / Shutterstock.com]

Bank Of America Uses “Under The Radar” Fee Increases After Dropping Debit Card Fee is a post from: The Inquisitr

The news of BoFA’s change of heart comes after rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo decided against similar charges, leaving the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm the only U.S. lender among the biggest five with plans to introduce the fee.

“We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee,” bank Co-chief Operating Officer David Darnell said in a statement. “Our customers’ voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.”

Citigroup Inc. and U.S. Bancorp had already rejected the idea, while SunTrust and Regions Bank eliminated their check-card fees yesterday.

Following BoFA’s announcement, Change.org, a political action group, claimed credit for the huge decision, saying, “300,000 people from all 50 states joined a viral campaign on Change.org started by 22-year-old Bank of American customer Molly Katchpole.

“Citi, Chase, Wells Fargo and SunTrust all dropped debit card fees after Molly’s popular campaign inspired others to launch similar campaigns on Change.org against their banks,” the group said.

Will you continue (or start) banking with BoFA now that they will not impose monthly debit card fees?

via ABC

Bank of America Abandons Planned $5 Debit Card Fee is a post from: The Inquisitr

The major banks are so unpopular and divisive right now I would not be surprised if the GOP unapologetically ran them as a 2012 presidential candidate to attempt to defeat Barack Obama. (Seriously, if faced with a choice of Michele Bachmann or a Chase/Bank of America ticket, who would you choose? Thought so.)

Although we’ve got the Occupy Everywhere protests (with Occupy Chicago, Occupy Wall Street and Occupy LA in the news), it seems that demonstrations in the street aren’t even the tipping point for a coming exodus to online banks and credit unions. It all began in earnest when the issue of exorbitant bank fees (even after the massive taxpayer funded Troubled Asset Relief Protection (TARP) bailouts caused the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Bill, limiting the ways in which big banks could squeeze blood from the stone that is their strapped based of customers) became more prominent.

At this point, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase and Citibank began trying to behave more transparently and cut the crap, so relieved they were that the American people showed them kindness and mercy after their gambling addiction was revealed along with its devastating effect on the economy. Just kidding! Bank of America announced a hefty $5 debit card fee and the other three axed points programs and free checking, ensuring that consumers would not only pay more to bank but also that the idea “government regulations cost you money” would become more entrenched and strapped consumers would feel terrified and back off calling for reform.

Part of the “Occupy” movement is a small push for everyone to leave their big bank behind and move their money to a credit union (most Americans qualify for at least one, and you can check findacreditunion.com to locate yours) or online bank like ING or Ally to get away from the ever increasing web of fees.

Will you be moving your money to an online bank or credit union ahead of new fees?

Online Banks Eyed By Consumers With “Fee Fatigue” is a post from: The Inquisitr

Last week Bank of America angered its customer base by adding a $5 monthly fee for debit card users. Citibank will also have some unhappy customers as the company announced today that it will add a $20 checking account fee to certain accounts.

The Business Insider reports that the new checking account fees will be applied to customers who fail to maintain a balance of $15,000. Citibank used to charge a similar fee to customers who didn’t maintain a $6,000 balance. EZ checking account holders will now have to maintain a $6000 balance or pay a $15 monthly fee. There used to be no minimum for an EZ checking account.

Citibank is also planning on phasing out the EZ checking accounts altogether. Business Insider writes:

“(Citibank) is phasing out EZ Checking, replacing it with the option of either a Citibank account or Basic Checking account, which of course carries fees ($10 per month, up from $8 in September) unless these customers maintain a $1,500 minimum balance or make at least one online payment or direct deposit transaction a month.”

According to Time Magazine, customers with the new Basic Checking account can have their fee waved if they have one direct deposit and one bill pay on their account every month.

The new checking account fees will start next month on November 14th.

What do you think about the new checking account fees? Will you be keeping your money at Citibank?

Citibank Raises Checking Account Fees is a post from: The Inquisitr

Democrats in congress are going after Bank of America over their recent announcement that a $5 debit card fee will be charged to “free checking” customers on a monthly basis.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Rep. Brad Milling are creating legislation that would assist customers in swapping their electronic bills, direct deposit and other automated features when they leave their bank. At the same time Durbin is urging BofA customers to stop using their debit cards all together.

In the meantime a coalition representing banks called it:

“Astounding that Senator Durbin, who created today’s chaos, is now trying to point the finger at everyone but himself.”

The increase in debit card fees for customers comes after Durbin helped enact the “swipe fee reform” which limits the amount banks can charge merchants for accepting debit card fees. Swipe fees were limited to nearly half their former $.45 ceiling rates under the bill.

Bank of America argues that they have to charge the new debit card fee in order to make up nearly $5 billion annually they are losing under the new swipe fee charge reduction.

In the meantime some consumer protection groups are arguing that the new limits actually open up the free market by requiring banks to compete against one another for customers through the use of free systems that big banks are abandoning.

Democrats Go After Bank of America, Other Institutions Over Debit Card Fees is a post from: The Inquisitr

Warren Buffett on Friday said Berkshire Hathaway will continue to invest in the economy even as the company prepares their first ever share buyback program.

Speaking during a CNBC interview Buffett said Berkshire will continue to make acquisitions and spend on infrastructure for their portfolio of companies.

The announcement to purchase back their own shares stunned many analysts in the market and led some investors to believe the company could be undervalued by 30 percent or more, making the buyback program a smart move for the “Oracle of Omaha.”

After the company’s announcement Berkshire Class A shares were down 0.9 percent at $108,202 in afternoon trade on Friday.

Speaking about the economy Buffett says he still supports Bank of America for whom he purchased a bunch of long-lasting warrants and received a lucrative dividend.

Speaking about the Bank he said they have a “fabulous business, but it’s got a lot of problems from the past.” Buffett acknowledged that CEO Brian Moynihan will need years to fix his company’s problems.

In the meantime BofA will cut 30,000 jobs during their “New BAC” program while shedding various assets needed to raise capital which is needed to meet industry standards that will go into effect in 2013.

If I could buy back part of my multi-billion dollar company for pennies on the dollar I would probably be feeling pretty good about the economy as well.

Do you feel as confident about the U.S. economy as Warrent Buffett does? I’m pretty sure Bank of America employees being fired under the “New BAC” plan don’t feel the same way.

Warren Buffett Backs Up Economy and Bank of America As Berkshire Plans First Ever Share Buyback is a post from: The Inquisitr

Customers at Bank of America will soon be charged $5 per month for the right to carry a debit card. According to the company the new charge is an effort to offset federal regulations which has limited the amount banks can charge customers for accepting the cards.

A bank spokesperson tells Bloomberg:

“The economics of offering a debit card have changed.”

The announcement comes after the Dodd-Frank Act caps debit card fees at 21 to 24 cents per transaction swipe as of Oct. 1. Under the old structure a merchant could be charged up to 44 cents per transaction.

Under the new debit network structure banks are expected to lose $8 billion in annual revenue.

In the meantime Bank of America representatives say ATM rates (which are already astronomical) will not be touched and their premium accounts customers within their Merrill Lynch division will also avoid fees.

Recent monthly charges for “free checking” accounts have been criticized for their lack of protection for poor customers who often can not afford the fees charged by their institutions, while minimums upwards of $1,500 or more to avoid fees are often unattainable.

In the meantime consumer protection agencies are urging customers to open accounts at smaller banks and credit unions where customers are not typically being gauged by increasing and unnecessary fees at every turn.

Have you switched to a different bank recently because of all the new charges your “big” bank has began charging? Share your stories with us and make sure to name the bank that’s increased fees.

Bank Of America Prepares $5 Per Month Debit Charge is a post from: The Inquisitr

It’s becoming quite possible that Bank of America Corp (BofA) officially will fire nearly 40,000 employees as part of a new restructuring plan. According to rumors CEO Brian Moynihan will announce the layoffs on Monday.

The layoffs will not occur all at one time, instead they will be spread out over several years and there’s a chance the number being terminated could change before Monday’s announcement.

According to sources close to the deal, Moynihan is attempting to bolster profits during a slowed US economy, specifically to offset mortgage-related losses and various lawsuits. The company’s non-interest expenses of $22.9 billion in the second quarter were 32% higher than the same period last year.

BofA shares have taken a pounding in 2011, down nearly 50% to levels last seen in early 2009.

Jobs will likely be cut from various BofA positions globally, although at this time how many U.S. jobs will be lost is still unknown.

At the end of June the company employed 288,000 full-time employees and jobs were expected to be lost from that huge pool of individuals when the company announced “Project New BAC” the company’s plan to cut expenses and people.

In the meantime Bank of America continues to sell off parts of the company, specifically sectors that are not considered part of their “core assets.”

What do you think of Brian Moynihan’s plan to cut nearly 15% of his banks workforce?

Bank of America Could Slash 40,000 Jobs Under Restructuring Plan is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bank of America Corp. has announced that they are planning to fire 3,500 workers before the end of the current quarter as part of a plan to overhaul the company.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal an insider says the company will likely cut an additional 6,500 jobs after initial cuts are completed, disposing of 3.5% of their work force.

In a memo to company managers last night CEO Brian Moynihan wrote:

“I know it is tough to have to manage through reductions,” while adding, “But we owe it to our customers and our shareholders to remain competitive, efficient and manage our expenses carefully.”

The firings are part of “Project New BAC” which is an effort by Moynihan and his board of directors to boost company profits and ultimately stock prices which are down 47% on the year.

Along with the firing of 3,500 workers the company plans to close 750 branches over the next few years.

Bank of America Cutting 3,500 Jobs, More To Follow In Near Future is a post from: The Inquisitr

Official word from the banks – Bank of America and Wells Fargo – themselves, however, gives the assurance that existing loan holders can rest easy, as while they will not originate any new reverse mortgages, they will continue to honor and service their existing ones.

“We will continue to service all of our portfolio,” said Greg Gwizdz, Wells Fargo national sales manager. “Don’t expect any changes in terms.”

Reverse mortgages, which are officially called Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, were created by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the late 80′s to benefit home owners aged 62 or older. Federally insured, they make it possible for owners in need of additional income for any reason, to borrow against their home’s equity after first having received counseling on their obligations and their alternatives.

The loan is repaid after the owner dies, leaves the home or it is sold.

As for the reason why BofA and Wells Fargo are leaving the market, it’s simple. Being that HECM’s are government-controlled, the banks – whose primary primary reason for joining any market is to make money – are being faced with the problem of declining home values and limiting HUD restrictions, the latter which prevents lenders from obtaining financial information that would answer the question of whether or not a homeowner could meet his or her financial obligations.

Although lenders have long sought from HUD greater freedom to obtain financial information on borrowers, those efforts have not progress enough to keep Wells Fargo and Bank of America in the game.

“If you’re not able to verify the information, a senior may have no money in the bank and no ability to pay home owners insurance or taxes or to maintain the property. So, the lender is at risk from day one, ” explained Gwitzdz.

Logically, if property values fall and unpaid fees accumulate, the amount owed could quickly exceed the value of the property, leaving both the borrower and lender in a bad spot.

Says John Lunde of Reverse Market Insight, “It’s a recipe for forclosure…Nobody wants a loan that winds up in foreclosure.”

Watch the following video for more information regarding the Pros and Cons of reverse mortgages:

via ABC

Reverse Mortgage Market Giants Exit the Game is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Florida based Bank of America branch nearly had their locations furniture repossessed this week when they failed to pay a couple $2,500 owed to them after withdrawing a lawsuit that ended in 2010.

According to the Fort Myers News-Press the couple was accidentally sued by BofA two years ago for foreclosure, a lawsuit that ended up being a mistake on behalf of the bank. The couple eventually requested reimbursement for legal fees on several occasions and the bank ignored those requests.

According to a bank rep:

“The original request went to an outside attorney who is no longer in business.”

Honestly the couple shouldn’t have been required to request the reimbursement, Bank of America should have immediately righted their wrong.

Bank of America Branch Nearly Has Furniture Repossessed is a post from: The Inquisitr

Why do banking website failures always seem to occur on payday?

If you have your money at Bank of America, you may have noticed that their site has been down for the count for most of the workday today. Tweeters at Bank of America’s customer service account (@BofA_help) are twittering as fast as possible at a disgruntled base of users who cannot log on to their accounts, pay bills through the site, check balances or perform other simple Bank of America online banking tasks.

Official BoA word on a possible cause of the outage has been drowned in a sea of tweets to customers seeking help, but one earlier tweet simply stated the following:

We are aware of a sporadic Online Banking issue affecting certain groups of customers and are working to restore capability quickly.

From here, the site fails to load and times out. Are you a Bank of America customer? Have you been able to access the site at all today? If not, can you perform tasks through texting or mobile banking apps?

Bank of America website remains down, six hours and counting is a post from: The Inquisitr

Wikileaks has been taking a lot of crap following it’s recent data dump of US diplomatic cables. From having it’s domain yanked to having it’s money supply chain cut off. Most recently Bank of America has indicated that it plans of cutting off any transfers of any kinds that are indicated to be for Wikileaks.

In the lead up to this it appears that Bank of America is going on a domain buying spree snapping up any domains that relate to how the company or company executive suck or blow. From Domain Name Wire:

For example, the company registered a number of domains for CEO Brian Moynihan: BrianMoynihanBlows.com, BrianMoynihanSucks.com, BrianTMoynihanBlows.com, and BrianTMoynihanSucks.com. Just to be sure, it also picked up the .net version of these names and some .orgs as well.

I count hundreds of such domain name registrations on December 17 alone. They were registered through an intermediary that frequently registers domain names on behalf of large companies.

Some of the other names are for CFO Charles Noski, Chairman of the Board Charles Holliday, and board member Charles Rossotti (who is also Senior Advisor, The Carlyle Group).

What is perhaps even more interesting is that in the follow up to the whole Cablegate data dump even military men like Secretary of  Defense downplayed the whole leak. Yet prior to a reported upcoming dump about the banking system Wikileaks is facing its most intense attach by the very companies that they supposedly will be releasing a whole bunch of secrets about.

According to a report from Fox Business Bank of America has setup a “war room” to combat this next round of bank related leaks. Looks like they could be far more interesting than a bunch of infighting from backstabbing diplomats.

Bank of America prepares for Wikileaks backlash by snapping up “You Suck” domains is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bank of America’s site is down currently, leaving customers grown reliant on online banking unable to manage their money through the BoA website.

The bank that’s too big to fail when it comes to taking taxpayer dollars apparently is fine with failing their customers, with the site down since morning and no word from BoA on why they’re not operational online. Reports indicate that Bank of America apps for the iPhone and Blackberry are loading fine, but the website- where one would imagine most actual transactions occur- is still unavailable as of 4:15pm EST. That’s a lot of time to be offline, particularly with the weekend coming up. (Update: the site loaded for me after 15 minutes of trying to connect, can any current BoA customers confirm functionality in the comments?)

Speculation is that the Bank of America website is down due to a cyber attack, but with a reaction from the bank that’s the opposite of proactive, it’s up to a bunch of angry customers to connect the dots until the bank explains their outage. (And hopefully profusely apologizes.)

UPDATE 2: Commenters here are reporting mixed functionality, most commonly through Google workarounds. (Still not very convenient, BoA.) Commenter Lee says:

Still having trouble viewing your account? Simply Google “bofa,” and click the Sign In hyperlink under it’s search results, or you can go to:

Just be sure to enter your state ID e.g. CA, OR, WA, etc…

Earlier in the day, the person or persons behind the BoA Twitter account posted this tweet, implying that the problem was local and limited, which appears not to be the case.

Our website is available. However, some customers are having intermittent issues with access. We are working to determine the root cause.

Update: Bank of America site down, why? is a post from: The Inquisitr

In an attempt to not “offend” customers, a Bank of America branch in South Carolina has managed to drive some high-yield ones away.

A branch manager at a Gaffney location ordered the removal of several small American flags lining the funeral route of a fallen Marine. Lance Corporal Christopher Fowlkes, 20, was killed last week in an explosion in the Helmand province. When a private citizen attempted to place flags on the bank’s lawn to mark his funeral procession, the manager intervened and threatened to throw out the flags if they were not retrieved by the woman who placed them. (She is not a Bank of America employee.)

Local government has moved now to cease dealing with the branch:

Monday night, the Cherokee County Council voted 5 to 1 to withdraw county money from any accounts held by Bank of America.

Councilman Quay Little said that totals more than $500,000, but that number could skyrocket. If all county officials close their accounts, Bank of America would lose more than $1.5 million in customer funds, Little said.

Bank of America released a statement, but it appears the damage may already be done:

“We want to ensure the community knows how deeply proud we are of the men and women who have sacrificed so much in service to our country. The bank does fly the American Flag at our locations throughout the country and flags were displayed in front of our banking center in Gaffney the evening prior to our dedicated Marine returning home.”

Bank of America loses customers in flag controversy is a post from: The Inquisitr