Banking
CARD ACT: CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS NEW LOOK
Wed, 08/18/2010 - 12:35 | 
Beginning of this month, we saw an update on the CARD Act and talked about possible changes expected to happen in response to the bill both from credit companies perspective and personal level. Making credit card statement simple and easy to read is one among many changes requested by law. Many credit companies and banks made those changes way ahead and you should be getting new version of your credit card statements now. It is really very detailed in every aspect for the consumer. Thanks to Card Act 2009.
If you are an American express credit card member, you should have also got a pamphlet explaining the changes in your credit card statement. Not all banks and credit unions spent time and money to explain the changes to their consumer. Let us see the changes in details by looking at the old and new statement side by side.
| OLD | NEW | |
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If you look at the old statement, it is simple and abstract with just about details. It shows the amount due, minimum amount due, transactions details and available credit. That's about it. If you incur any financial charges, it shows that in the bottom. It doesn't explain, whats it is the minimum payment due, how it can affect your balance? What are the fees on this statement? It is very basic and only helps people who are familiar about how credit card works.
NEW Statement
On the other hand, new statement is very elaborate and detailed. Even for first timer, it is clear and tells what happens when only minimum payment due is only paid. It surely will help many consumer looking for answers to their basic questions on their statement. Lets look at new sections added in the statement one by one.
1. Warnings Section
This warning section clearly explains about late fees and minimum payment due. It will really help to put the things into perspective if they only make minimum payments. We can hope many consumers who will be alarmed to see the numbers and may consider paying full on time.
2. Summary Section
In this section, they summarized full activity of the credit account clearly to give a detail picture by breaking it down to show the fees, advances, interest and so forth. It is a very important section which will surely help even experienced credit consumer.
3. Fees and Interest Breakdown
This last section at the bottom might seem redundant but it another break down of fees and interest charges. If you have fees for late payment or cash advances, this will break it down to show them. Also if you have many different interest changes, Interest charged section will show that in detail. Last but not least, Interest charge calculation section gives an idea how interest is calculated and charged.
I took my DCU credit card statement and AMEX had similar sections and most credit card statements should have them as well according to the law. These new addon sections to the credit card statement comes real handy for any type of consumer. We can only hope atleast now everyone reads their credit card statement and not give silly excuses they don't understand it.
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CARD Act & Act of Credit card companies
Few months back, I got a letter from Citibank regarding my cashReturns credit card like many other consumers. The letter states that they will start charging annual fees from April 2010 onwards.
Thanks to new credit card rule changes by CARD(Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure) Act 2009 which took effect last month.(July 2010) It is causing waves of destruction to many good credit card holders. It's good and dandy to have rules to protect creditcard consumers but it shouldn't come at the cost of efficient credit handlers causing lot of hassles and loss of benefits.
Click here to refresh your memory by taking a Quick lookup at CARD Act.
After Effects, Moves and Maneuvers
Adding to the bloodshed caused by the economy downturn and higher defaults, the new law changes costs more for the credit card companies. In order to compensate the loss, many companies worked tirelessly since last year when the bill was signed, trying to find new ways to tackle the bills and balance their income sheet. They either hiked the already existing fees or invented new fees and pushed to consumers. Afterall credit card companies are in the business to make money.
Below are the list of some common after effects and maneuvers by companies to get over this bump.
Resurection of Annual fees: Annual fees are back again after 10 years to make another round. They used to only exists for air miles related cards but now it is going to be ordinary credit cards as well. Several banks adding these annual fees to even existing accounts like Citirgroup. Many Citigroup customers will start paying a $60 annual fee on April 1. They offered an option on how to get the fee waived by averaging monthly charges above or equal to $200. According to their new process, they will credit the fee first and reimbursed part of the fees every month depending on the usage of the card $200/average per month. Check out the letter copy if you want.
Vanishing Rewards Programs: My Visa credit card provided by DCU offered reward points and it is going away as per their recent communication. Their excuse, high cost associated with the program and also CARD act. They are planning to offer reward programs seperately with high percentage credit cards. It doesn't make sense. If a good consumer who has a credit card with low percentage won't get rewarded and cannot earn points for their best effort to their account. That's totally not right.
Raise old fees and add New fees: These include a $1 processing fee for paper statements for cards issued by stores such as Victoria’s Secret and Ann Taylor. Inactive fee starting from $15 will be charged if the card is not used for certain period, example $19 inactivity fee charged by Fifth Third Bank. no customer activity for six months. Also overdraft fees are increased as well.
Rate Increases: The average rate offered for a new card climbed to 13.6 percent last month from 10.7 percent during the same week a year ago — meaning cardholders had to pay almost 30 percent more in interest, according to Bankrate.com. Many banks including JPMorgan Chase raised their cost of balance transfers to 5 percent of the transfer from 3 percent.
Some cards linked to rewards programs for purchases like gasoline were shut down. Card companies also slashed credit limits for millions of accounts that remain open. Besides making credit more expensive, banks also made it harder to get and keep credit cards. One big reason: Since the financial meltdown, many credit card issuers have been trying to reduce risk.
These changes might not come as surprise to many but still we have to adapt and make proper changes in our credit card usage. As per me, I already closed my Citigroup card which started charging annual fees and will continue carry cards with no annual fees. There are many good things came out of this bill particularly now the bills are clear and very detail. That will be very good thing for average consumers.
Recommendation
Keep an eye out for credit card statement and policy changes and take the decision to whether you want to continue to carry the costliest card or go for cover under a better card with no strings attached like Costco Truesavings or Bank offered credit cards.
Sources: chronicle.northcoastnow.com & Chron.com
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NOTHING IS TOO BIG TO FAIL - FINAL PART
In my last week blog post, Nothing is too big to fail - Part 1, I shared information about Citibank and CIT, biggest commercial lender. How these big companies are struggling in this tough economy? As I concluded, this week final part will have an another interesting story about Harvard facing hardship on its own. I did my conclusion with lesson learned from these stories. So Read on...
What's up with Harvard?
It is not just financial companies which are failing in this recession. Harvard University is facing what some say is the worst financial crisis of its 373-year history. While many of the nation's top universities are experiencing problems as a result of the financial meltdown — even Harvard University, which has the largest endowment of all universities by far. University's $37 billion endowment a year ago has shrunk to an estimated $26 billion today.
What got Harvard into so much trouble?
Harvard did what many Americans did: It overspent. In this decade, it's added 6.2 million square feet. That's roughly equal to the space occupied by the Pentagon. These land acquisitions have cost Harvard more than $4 billion. It has had huge expenses built up while the number of students stayed constant.
"It's rather like someone who has taken on a mortgage, bought a house that far exceeds what it can afford, and they're now facing really what is the worst, most dangerous financial crisis in their 373-year history," according to Nina Munk, contributing editor at Vanity Fair, told NPR's Linda Wertheimer. To read the article, goto npr.org
Should big Companies allowed to fail?
Thats a very hard question even to Bernake. Being a big shark in a ocean is not an easy task. Playing a big role in the economy doesn't protect against economy downfall. I see it as a double edge sword. A company has to take chances and risk by investing their money in order to make more money. If it avoids taking risk or chances, consumers won't see new products and services at the same time company cannot grow and make money.
On other hand, if economy is falling because of companies fault and bad practicies, it does needs to be regulated and corrected. At the same time, If these companies are penalized by allowing to fail for taking risk to grow is not the right way. But I agree a company should act and forecast before stepping into risky modes of operation.
So if these companies are always left to fail, there is a bigger chance of snowball or avalanche effect which is actually averted by Fed last year. Taking last years episode, if every big banks which faced problems are let to fail without bail out, just imagine the impact it would have created. It would have devastating effect twice worse than great depression. It is not prudent to always struggling company to fail. Everybody needs a lending hand sometimes and more so during bad times.
Obviously, it is really hard to say which companies should be allowed fail and not others. It all depends on the time and position. I hope that also answers the question, Why financial institution gets billions to when big GM and Chyrsler are allowed to fail. Check out these articles related to this story from SeekingAlpha and npr.org.
Lesson Learned
I am fully convinced that no company is too big to fail and government won't always come for help. So if you are investing in securities and bonds, please be cautions and invest in right company analysing their porfolio and performance. Don't by stocks just because the company is too big and it will never will fail. As we all know now, NO COMPANY IS TOO BIG TO FAIL.
NEW CREDIT CARD HOLDERS PROTECTION BILL - Changes and Challenges
President signed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 into law on May 22, 2009. Amending the Truth in Lending Act, the Credit Card Act of 2009 requires certain measures to be implemented by the credit card companies in order to comply the new law and help consumers, taking efffect on July 2010. Let me share the changes and challenges of this new law from my research.
Changes
Some changes to look out from the credit card companies:
- Require CC companies and banks to give customers a reasonable time, such as 21 days, to pay the bill before it is considered late.
- Bans double-cycle billing, which eliminates the interest-free period for consumers who move from paying the full balance monthly to carrying a balance.
- Prohibits retroactive rate increases unless the cardholder is at least 60 days behind in paying the bill. If a person does fall behind and the rate on past buys is increased, lenders must restore the lower rate after six months if the cardholder has paid monthly bills on time.
- Requires lenders to post their credit card agreements on the Internet.
- Requires that customers receive 45 days notice prior to any change in the annual percentage rate (APR). The notification must also inform cardholders that they have the right to cancel the account before the effective date of the rate increase. If a cardholder cancels the account, the cancellation cannot be considered a default on the account, and cannot trigger an obligation to repay the account in full.
- Prohibited from increasing annual percentage rates (APRs) that apply to existing balances unless specific conditions apply. An APR may be increased only if
1) the index on which the rate is based changes,
2) it is a promotional rate that has expired,
3) a cardholder fails to comply with a hardship workout plan,
4) the account falls 60 days past due.
- Requires anyone under 21 to prove that they can repay the money before being given a card, or have a parent or guardian promise to pay off their debt if they default. (Big blow for college students)
- Prohibits over-the-limit fees unless a cardholder elects to be allowed to go over a limit.
- Requires lenders to say how much time it would take and how much money in interest would be paid if only the minimum monthly payments are made.
- Requires that gift cards remain valid for five years. Under the Senate’s rule, retailers and others that issue Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover gift cards or certificates will have to print explicit dormancy fee information on the card. Sellers of the cards will also have to inform the buyer of the fee.
- Bans "pay-to-pay" fees, which are charged when someone pays the bill by phone or on the Internet.
- CC companies need your permission before allowing you the “privilege” of spending more than your credit limit and paying a fat $39 fee for that privilege.
Other features of the Credit CARD Act of 2009 include:
If different APRs apply to separate portions of an outstanding balance, the amount of any payment beyond the minimum payment due must be applied to the portion of the balance with the highest APR.
If the payment due date is a date when a creditor does not receive or accept payments by mail (e.g., weekends and holidays), the creditor cannot treat a payment received on the next business date as a late payment.
Credit card companies are prohibited from charging a fee based on the manner in which a payment is made (e.g., on line, by telephone).
Some of these reforms are already on track to take effect in July 2010, under new rules by the Federal Reserve.
Challenges
The new law will be a savior for many credit card holders who are facing credit card debts with high fees during this tough times. But for people who pay off their bills in full each month, and milk card rewards programs for everything they’re worth, there is some cause for concern. After Home affordability and stability plan, this new law is passed to help distressed credit card holders affects consumers who act and does thing right. They might be less in percentage compared to the other group but still a reasonable crowd not really happy about this change for certain reasons.
1. These restrictions will cost more expenses for the credit card companies. To compensate, there are chances of them assessing annnual fees and increase or add other fees.
2. Good credit customers are offered happy rate of 0% APR which already vanished the scene and will never been for a long time to come.
3. With added restrictions, it is going to be hard to get credit cards, which might make more people strapped for money in this tough times.
4. Stripping reward programs - For months now, the card companies have been threatening to cut rewards programs sharply to make up for revenue lost because of the new restrictions. So will credit card companies kill reward programs or drastically scale most of them back? Of course not.
“If you strip away the reward component of a credit card, it’s essentially a commodity,” said Rick Ferguson, editorial director at the loyalty marketing company LoyaltyOne. “The reward is what gives it its personality. It works from a branding perspective as well as a mechanism to influence customer behavior and consolidate spending on a particular card.”
In all, I would say, this new credit card protection bill has lot of good measures packed to help all credit card holders whether they going thru tough times or not. It is very good step forward and should be welcomed but we will have to wait and see how it plays out in the field.
Image source: abcnews.com
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Every dollar matters - Cry baby Cry - Bargain Bank Accounts - Part II
Last week, I started a blog series title Cry baby Cry sharing few real life stories to save/get back the dollars I truly deserve by my money management. In the previous blog post, I wrote how I was able to get credit card financial charges refunded back to my account. This blog post, I am going to share an interesting story on how I got stuck in string of cross product sales during my hunt to find a good business banking service.
Bank Account -A Search for Free Business Banking
Large bank chains have a habit of throwing a small fly at you to lure you in for a big catch. They entice customers advertising free offers with free cash bonus. To be charged later with big account service fees and maintenance charges. Once you step inside their door, customer reps will try to sell products with all attractive free add-on services, valid only for limited period. In my case, the bank was Bank of America(BOA) and add-on service was Payroll processing service. Here comes the story.
I needed payroll processing service for my consulting company. As a bargain hunter, I was looking for an affordable service. Charges from many payroll servicers in the market, start with minimum $20/month for just simple service. I felt $20 was bit on the higher side to process just my paycheck.
At that time, I was referred by a CPA to check on BOA's free payroll processing service. Obviously, thats was a good deal. I can save $20/month which is $240/year. So I decided to stopby at nearby BOA branch to check it out. After talking to the Customer Rep, I found out there are lot of strings attached to this free offer. First, I needed to start a business checking account in order to use their payroll processing service. (1st catch) That I expected. It didn't stop there.
Payroll processing is only free if the salaires of company employees get deposited dierctly to their BOA checking account. If the employees don't have BOA checking account, they needed to open new one. That is practically impossible for any small business asking their employee to open new checking accounts. (2nd catch). Since I don't have any employees, they needed me to open a personal checking for myself in order to get the business checking free. (3rd catch) They went still further. I also need to make my paychecks direct deposited to my personal checking account. (4th catch). It was too many strings but I am getting what I wanted except few new accounts to maintain than I realized. I signed up without any second thought, hoping to save some money.
What happened next?
Six months passed, I found out that I don't need to process my payroll. I was doing it wrongly to start with. So I immediately stopped using BOA payroll service. As I soon as I stopped processing payroll and direct deposits to my checking account, BOA started charging $5 as account maintenance fee to my personal checking account from the next month. I visited the branch and asked, how can I maintain my business and personal checking accounts without payroll service. They said, I needed some form of direct deposit to my personal account to both accounts free. Otherwise the fee will be charged as per terms.
I am self employed for my own LLC, I don't get any other income to direct deposit. I asked for any other option but they couldn't find anything to suit my need. They didn't want to lose me as a customer as well, so they gave me 3 months of fee waiver until new offers arrives at later time. I also got the fees for 2 months refunded to my account. After 3 months, they started charging again. I called and talked to the same rep one more time. She found a different offer this time. That 2nd offer, I need to use my check card to make atleast one purchase a month. I don't purchase regularly for my business. I can't avail that offer. So she gave me 3 more months of fee waiver. I was living in the grace of the rep with just fee waivers and don't like to call every 3months. Next time fee waiver elapsed, I just went ahead and closed the accounts to avoid future trouble.
No Free lunch
My CFP Certification course has taught me clearly, there is no concept of free lunch. There is always cost associated in making even the so called free lunch. It is not actually free even if they offer it free. Similarly, there is always an opportunity cost associated with any free service. You either pay for the service as fee upfront or pay by giving them business. You are keeping your money in their bank which is similar to lending your money. They are using your money for their business. Either way, they are winning. You better find the common ground to make the best of the situation to get something you wanted which is well worth your time.
I like to conclude with few lessons to learn from my story:
1. Avoid opting for offers with too many strings attached. It will work only if your situation stays constant. That is not always the case in our ever changing lives. Always try to open accounts or signup for services without too many obligations or limitations.
2. Special deals are not always best for all situations. Try negotiating if your situation changes to get most out and reduce your cost. If it doesn't work out, just get out as soon you can find a way out.
3. Finally, not all free offers are real deals. Avoid your impulse purchase or signup's on accounts if you even get $100 bonus credit. It always comes with strings attached in fine prints, we often overlook.
You time is also a very valuable commodity. Go for bargains if it worth your time and money without too many strings.
Happy and Careful Bargaining !!! More stories to come...
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CITIBANK - TOO BIG TO FAIL
Economy Struggle
A wild, life threatening roller coaster ride is being played out in the Stock Market all over the world. I did mean life threatening for a reason to make a point. Like a uneven ride dangerous to riders, many people jobs are at stake including 53,000 from CITI Group because of the upheaval in stock market. Blood shed in wall street has been worse these past few weeks. It affected the Main street to large extent. US economy is going thru a real tough time similar to 1929 great depression and witnessing yet another big job loss since 1991, 16 year high. It is bad as it gets and it might get worse as we are approaching the year end.
"The economy is deteriorating tremendously fast," says Raghuram Rajan, a finance expert at the University of Chicago. "The concern is how much more [risk] is there. This stuff seems unbounded. That's what the investor is really worried about at this point."
CITIBANK ISSUES
Being said all about the market, CITI GROUP banking giant is been talks for long time being a major victim of toxic mortgages and bad corporate decisions. Once the biggest U.S. bank, with a market value of $274 billion at the end of 2006, Citigroup has now slipped to No. 5 behind Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp. Last week was one of the bad weeks for the 11 year old group which is formed after merger of CITIBANK and Travellers group in 1998.. It has lost so many billions and has around 2 trillions of dollars in bad debt. It already wrote off billions of dollars as bad debt in books for the last few quarters. Even after announcing 10% last April and 20% job cuts next year to tackle the situation, stock plummeted badly as investor concern about bad debt to 70% last friday since this year..
Including a $25 billion capital injection from the U.S. Treasury under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, the company has at least $50 billion of capital above the amount required by regulators to qualify as “well capitalized.” according to bloomberg.com. But still, it won't be able to survive the storm and weather out unless it gets special attention to avoid its bad assets getting on his neck pushing for sell off or bankruptcy. An endorsement by billionaire Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal by investing around 7 billions but still that's not enough to keep the company afloat.
CITI BANKRUPTCY, TOO BIG TO FAIL
There were worries all over world and even rumors about company spinning off certain parts of its assets. Even rumors about a possible sell off, but who can buy this bank giant. It will be like frog eating a snake, bad for both companies whoever end up buying it. If it collapses to announce a bankrupt Chapter 11, that would be big blow to US economy.
US Government which bailed out AIG which was an insurance Giant came for another rescue by announcing a special massive bail out offer on Nov 24, 2008 designed to rescue the company from bankruptcy while giving the government a major say in its operations. It was the largest bailout in history. The Treasury will provide another $20 billion in (Troubled Assistance Relief Program)TARP funds in addition to $25 billion given in October. The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC will cover 90% of the losses on its $335-billion portfolio after Citigroup absorbs the first $29 billion in losses.In return the bank will give Washington $27 billion of preferred shares and warrants to acquire stock. The government will obtain wide powers over banking operations.
Is my deposits safe?
If I want to say something about CITIGROUP, I like to say CITI GROUP will never go out of business or nobody can buy this big of a financial service company. SO US Government will do all its best to keep this company alive. With that note, all US bank desposits will be covered under FDIC to the max of 250K. Interestingly, there are lot many credit cards offered by CITI compared to Bank deposits directly to consumers. There might not be a direct impact to consumers like other bank failures.
To be cautious, you will be better to split the deposits and have it different banks. Share your comments and thoughts...
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You, Your Money and Current Financial Crisis - Part 2 - Q & A
The financial crisis sweeping Wall Street and global banking and financial institutions has understandably raised alarms among consumers on the risks to their savings, retirement and brokerage accounts. Here are some pointers on navigating the financial minefields.
How does this crisis affect you?
Many individuals who close to retirement have all their eggs in retirement baskets comprising mutual funds and stocks, which have seen their values drained one-third of their capital. It is a big blow for them and many will suffer consequences for years to come as the withdrawals can’t meet their needs.
People who are saving up for their kids college education also have sustained major losses, but many of them still have time on their side as market conditions improve. Families who put their money in savings accounts and CD’s, are weighted by the dismally low interesting earnings on these accounts.
Products and services from distressed companies will also likely suffer and employees in these companies are at risk of losing their jobs. Cumulatively, this economic meltdown is likely to have a huge impact and it will likely stay for long time to come.
What you can do to avoid losing your money?
There is no silver bullet solution. But there are a number of things you can do to secure your savings. If you are already invested in the financial market directly as a stock investor or indirectly through your mutual fund portfolios, just stay put and don’t do anything. This turmoil will eventually end and your portfolio might emerge better in few years. If you cash out now, you might take a bit hit. You can’t withdraw your funds from your retirement and 529 accounts anyways, although you can alter the distribution of your portfolio. For that you should seed advice from your financial advisor or fund counselor. Don’t follow the herd. You need someone to analyze your particular portfolio. If you have more than $100,000 in a one or more accounts in one bank, try to split it up and put it in different banks or financial institution.
You are only covered by FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an independent federal agency) insurance or NCUA (National Credit Union Administration, another federal agency) insurance as one person for all your accounts in one bank. If you have a joint account, you are covered up to $200,000 in that particular bank or credit union. Many people lost their money during the IndyMac bank failure as they had more than $100,000 in that bank. Don’t make that mistake.
With the recent legislation changes, $100,000 amount for each individual has been increased to $250,000 till Dec 2009. Don't know whether it will be made permanent.
What bank to open an account?
No one really knows which bank is safe or at risk at this time. Even the CEO’s of the financial institutions are unsure. But you don’t have to worry about the institution. Whether it’s a local bank or a national brand bank or a credit union, so long as it is FDIC or NCUA insured, you are covered up to $100,000 in that bank in the past. Right now, you are covered $250,000 till Dec 2009 according to the new bill passed 2 weeks ago.
What is the guarantee for my funds in bank and brokerage accounts from the government?
Let’s split these questions. Your bank or financial bank accounts, like savings, checking and CD’s are covered under FDIC or NCUA. Even your money market account is covered under these insurances only up to $100,000 per person. It is a common misconception that each account is covered for $100,000. In fact, the total amount in all your accounts in a single bank is covered up to $100,000. The $100,000 is been increased to $250,000 recently to help tackle the situation and losing consumer confidence. It is only till Dec 2009 and may be made as permanent measure. Also President announced Oct 15, 2008, there will be a full insurance coverage for money in non-interest bearning accounts for business accounts. No formal announcements about it yet.
Retirement accounts like IRA or Roth IRA in banks or credit unions are covered separately. After recent legislative changes, insurance coverage on certain retirement accounts, such as IRAs and Keoghs, is extended for up to $250,000 in both banks and credit unions covered by FDIC and NCUA. No Change made in his policy.
Next let’s get to your regular investments in a brokerage account or 401k. What happens if your brokerage firm fails? Hold onto your stocks and bonds; they are most likely safe. SIPC, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, a nonprofit, membership corporation, funded by its member securities broker-dealers, seeks to restore funds to investors with assets in the hands of bankrupt and otherwise financially troubled brokerage firms.
Of course, there is no insurance against market losses. However, as long as your securities are registered in your name, or are in the process of being registered, you own them, no matter what happens to the brokerage. You just need your statements to prove ownership of the securities to receive your refund. The SIPC covers customer up to a maximum of $500,000, including a maximum of $100,000 on claims for cash.
Conclusion
We are under a deep economic downturn. Eventually, however, the clouds will dissipate. We are already started seeing some signs, like slowing down in the decline in home sales, which is an indication that housing market could pick up. It is important because when the housing market stabilizes the economic conditions will improve. Be hopeful, be patient. That may be hard to do, but there is little else you can do but sit back and watch the market roller caster play out.
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