A House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the controversial merger between Bank of America and Merrill Lynch has been postponed “due to additional documents recently received,” the panel announced today.
The hearing, initially to be held Thursday, has not been rescheduled.
By 35 percent in just two years, according to a report released today by the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group. Those overdraft fees — applied when consumers exceed account balances when making debit card purchases — generated $23.7 billion in 2008, up from More…
The congressional Democrats leading the effort to protect consumers from overdraft fees said today that, despite Tuesday’s news that Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase will adopt some of those protections voluntary, there remains the need to make the safeguards permanent through legislation.
“These are More…
For months, Congress has had its eyes on reining in the overdraft fees tacked on by many banks when consumers — often unbeknownest to them — exceed their balances with debit card purchases. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced a consumer protection bill earlier in the year, and Sen. More…
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) — the notorious budget hawk who almost became President Obama’s Commerce Secretary — has accepted a spot on the powerful Banking Committee just as discussions are heating up over legislation (not yet unveiled) to reform the finance industry. The seat was vacated More…
Here’s the money quote from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, interviewed Monday by CNN about the role of government in regulating Wall Street:
The financial markets are too important to the economy to be left to the markets alone. You need a strong framework of regulations, a much stronger
Consumer advocates for years have warned that the payday loan industry preys on low-income borrowers who become reliant on one loan to pay off another — with enormous interest rates applied all the while. But a report released yesterday offers what is perhaps the most clear evidence to date More…
To the surprise of no one, the House approved sweeping reforms to the credit card industry Thursday, including provisions banning retroactive rate increases, warning card owners 45 days in advance of rate increases and giving consumers more time to pay their bills.
The vote was 357 to 70. Several consumer-friendly More…
As we’ve had beaten into our heads, President Obama met with executives from the largest credit card companies this afternoon, urging cooperation on a number of consumer-friendly reforms that Democrats hope to enact this year (even if they don’t go into effect for 14 months more).
The More…
Pointing to unregulated lending as the root of the economic meltdown, the head of the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday delivered two distinct messages before a gathering of bankers: One, you are not to blame for the crisis and, two, prepare to be regulated.
If only the regulated banks More…
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