Banking
« Previous EntriesGMAC Bank is Now Ally Bank
Friday, May 15th, 2009I just got the following email regarding my GMAC Bank account:
GMAC Bank is now Ally Bank.
Dear JLP,
We told you that you’d be among the first to know about the changes coming to GMAC Bank. We’re excited to fulfill that promise today with the news that GMAC Bank is now Ally Bank.
We’ve kept everything you’ve loved [...]
Rethinking Our Kids’ Allowances
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008I’ve written in the past about how my wife and I handle our kids’ allowances. Basically, we pay our boys $10 per week. That allowance means that my wife and I are not hassled for stuff every time we go to a store. If they want to buy something extra, they have [...]
Robert Rubin Disappoints Me
Saturday, November 29th, 2008A front-page article in today’s Wall Street Journal talked about Robert Rubin’s role ($) during the Citigroup turmoil. From the article:
Mr. Rubin said it is a company’s risk-management executives who are responsible for avoiding problems like the ones Citigroup faces. “The board can’t run the risk book of a company,” he said. “The board [...]
Goldman Top Executives to Forgo 2008 Bonuses
Monday, November 17th, 2008I like this move. Goldman’s reasoning for giving up the bonuses for top executives:
“While the firm has distinguished itself through many aspects of the crisis, we cannot ignore the fact that we are part of an industry that is directly associated with the ongoing economic distress,” the firm spokesman said late Sunday.
Source: Goldman Chiefs [...]
Looking Back: Regulations and Financial Crises
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008I think the article Regulation and the Mortgage Crisis is worth mentioning. According to the author, it aims “to provide perspective” on the “finger-pointing about responsibility for the absence of effective regulation that would have stopped or moderated the crisis.” It’s a really interesting read.
There are two sectors where more extensive regulation might [...]
The REAL ‘Victim’ In All This Mess
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008Sorry to keep harping on the subject of the housing/mortgage/credit/bailout crisis but I keep reading stuff that just makes cringe. The latest comes from an article I read this morning in the Wall Street Journal about protests at the annual convention for the Mortgage Bankers Association that was held this week in San Francisco.
Here [...]
Is a 100% Credit Freeze in Our Future?
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008I got this email from a long-time AFM reader earlier this afternoon (modified slightly to protect anonymity):
Through a reliable source, I was told that there is a strong potential for a credit freeze come January 2009. According to this source, absolutely NO loans will be granted…for anything (mortgages, vehicles or otherwise). Although I [...]
Stephen Schwarzman on How We Got Where We Are
Saturday, September 27th, 2008I saw this in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal and thought it worth sharing. It’s Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of Blackstone Group, talking about how we got into this credit crisis ($):
“It’s a perfect storm. It started with Congress encouraging lending to lower-income people. You went from subprime loans being 2% of total loans in 2002 [...]
My Brother’s Nasty Bank of America Experience
Thursday, September 4th, 2008Make a couple of late payments and Bank of America will jack your interest rate up to 29.99%!
My brother just sent this to me:
I handle pretty much all my financial business online. I don’t get paper statements for many accounts at all. I wanted to know what my Interest Rate was on my [...]
How You Can Insure More Than $100,000 at the Same Bank
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008In light of the all the news about bank failures, I thought this little tidbit from last Monday’s Wall Street Journal might be helpful. It comes in the form of a Q&A article about what the FDIC insures. Here’s the Q&A I wanted to highlight:
Q: What do depositors do if they have more [...]