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☆ Credit card interest rates are at record highs. Cards have 'never been this expensive,’ CFPB says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The share of consumers with "subprime" credit scores who hold a credit card has been "relatively stable," they said. Major credit card issuers got $25 billion in extra interest by raising their average APR margin over the last 10 years, the CFPB estimated. "Higher APR margins have allowed credit card companies to generate returns that are significantly higher than other bank activities." They're among the nation's biggest credit card issuers. How to manage credit card interest

Persons: Martinez, Seikel, Lindsey Johnson, Greg McBride, McBride, That's Organizations: Bank, Getty, Consumer Bankers Association, CBA, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Financial, Discover Financial Locations: Federal Reserve Bank of New York

☆ Credit card users can save over $400 a year by switching issuers, CFPB says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Olga Rolenko | Moment | Getty ImagesCard balances and total debt at are all-time highsThe agency's findings come as average credit card balances and total credit card debt hit all-time highs at the end of 2023. The average credit card interest rate for all accountholders was more than 21% in November, also a record, according to Federal Reserve data. The federal agency's analysis defines large lenders as the nation's 25 biggest, and small lenders as all others in its sample. Credit scores didn't impact findingsThe CFPB's new interest-rate findings are consistent regardless of a consumer's credit score, it said. Why interest rates may not matter for some usersThe CFPB report doesn't necessarily offer a complete picture of the credit card market, Rossman said.

Persons: Olga Rolenko, spokespeople, Lindsey Johnson, CFPB, Ted Rossman, Rossman, cardholders, Bankrate, Rohit Chopra Organizations: Federal Reserve, Consumer Bankers Association, American Bankers Association, —

Federal rules require banks to reimburse customers for payments made without their authorization, such as by hackers, but not when customers themselves make the transfer. Following its launch in 2017, Zelle grew to become one of the largest U.S. peer-to-peer payments networks by total payments. A March 2022 New York Times report that scams were flourishing on Zelle caught the attention of lawmakers frequently critical of big banks, including Senator Elizabeth Warren. He said Zelle has seen "a step-change reduction" in fraud and scam rates this year but declined to provide details. Chance said EWS has been engaging with policymakers on the need for a "holistic approach" to combating scams, including advocating for more dedicated law enforcement resources.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, Jane Fraser, Brian Moynihan, Banks, Ben Chance, Zelle, Elizabeth Warren, Warren, Dimon, EWS, Chance, ”, Trace, Carla Sanchez, Adams, we're, Lindsey Johnson, Hannah Lang, Chris Prentice, Michelle Price, Rod Nickel Organizations: JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Capitol, Warning, Reuters, Federal, JPMorgan, New York Times, Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, PayPal, National Consumer Law, Consumer Bankers Association, Thomson Locations: Zelle, U.S, Warren, Washington, New York

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The top U.S. consumer financial watchdog on Tuesday proposed to regulate tech giants' digital payments and smartphone wallet services, saying they rival traditional payment methods in scale and scope but lack consumer safeguards. In a statement on Tuesday, Chopra said the tech sector had expanded into financial services traditionally provided by the closely regulated banking sector. "Today's rule would crack down on one avenue for regulatory arbitrage by ensuring large technology firms and other nonbank payments companies are subjected to appropriate oversight," he said. Representatives of Big Tech companies have previously highlighted their efforts to protect consumer data. The agency said the rule would also foster competition by ensuring that both traditional financial players and the tech sector were equally subject to the same oversight.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Block's, CashApp, Rohit Chopra, Chopra, CFPB, Lindsey Johnson, Douglas Gillison, Hannah Lang, Chris Prentice, Matthew Lewis, Mark Potter, David Gregorio Our Organizations: PayPal, REUTERS, Rights, Consumer, Apple, Big Tech, Consumer Bankers Association, Electronic Transactions Association, Thomson Locations: Washington, New York

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators will begin grading banks on which communities and geographies they service via online lending under tougher new rules modernizing fair lending standards to be finalized on Tuesday. The changes to 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations draw a line under a contentious multiyear effort that was delayed amid fierce lobbying by community groups and lenders, as well as by a change of presidential administrations. Conceived to prevent red lining, CRA regulations are central to banks' overall supervisory performance. Historically, CRA grades focused on how well banks serviced low-income communities where banks have branches. Banks on Tuesday said they supported fair lending but flagged concerns with the final rule.

Persons: Michael Barr, Michelle Bowman, Banks, Randy Benjenk, Lindsey Johnson, Pete Schroeder, Andrea Ricci, Michelle Price, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Federal, Fed, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office, Covington, Consumer Bankers Association, Thomson Locations: U.S, Burling

Banks' commercial real estate portfolios performed better than expected, showing $65 billion in losses or 8.8% of average loan losses, slightly down on last year's 9.8%, the Fed said. "Some may ask how all the banks can get a regulatory thumbs-up when the industry just went through a period of turmoil. The test assesses whether banks would stay above the required minimum 4.5% capital ratio. The average capital ratio for the 23 banks was 10.1%, the Fed said. That compares with 9.7% last year, when the central bank tested 34 lenders against a slightly easier scenario.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, Michael Barr, ” Barr, Banks, Barr, Lindsey Johnson, Dennis Kelleher, Ian Katz, Pete Schroeder, Caroline Valetkevich, Deepa Babington, Stephen Coates Organizations: Federal, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Charles Schwab Corp, Deutsche Bank's, Financial Corp, U.S . Bancorp, Valley Bank, Wells, JPMorgan, Industry, Consumer Bankers Association, U.S, Treasury, T Bank, PNC Financial, Citizens Financial, Better, Fed, Capital Alpha Partners, Thomson Locations: Big U.S, Wells Fargo, U.S

☆ US banks rethink social media as a threat, not a marketing tool
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Greg Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, blamed social media as an "unprecedented" factor in the lender's demise. The former CEO of First Republic Bank, Michael Roffler, also blamed social media for its collapse two months later. Bank executives and directors have ordered their companies to add social media into risk-management programs, according to regional bank executives who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. "NIP IT IN THE BUD"Banks are also contacting customers who complain on social media to address their issues quickly. The Financial Stability Board, an international body, is also investigating the role of social media in recent market turmoil, a source said.

☆ Quotes: Fed plans broad revamp of bank oversight in wake of SVB collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

The assertion in the introduction that the Fed should focus on large bank capital requirements is disconnected from the report's conclusions. AMERICAN BANK ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT AND CEO ROB NICOLS"We take any bank failure seriously, and we will review the findings and proposed policy changes in these reports carefully, including where the conclusions may differ. JONATHAN MONDILLO, HEAD OF NORTH AMERICAN FIXED INCOME AT ABRDN"We're likely to see higher capital requirements. What that means for the overall markets is that the devil is in the details: how stringent those capital requirements will be. A potential First Republic Bank failure could similarly present a risk to the long-term investment strategy of high net-worth individuals."

Las Vegas, March 29 (Reuters) - Consumer and mid-sized banks are planning to monitor their internal processes more closely and hold more frequent discussions with regulators as the industry tries to move forward from weeks of turmoil, industry executives say. She spoke as senior executives from regional and mid-sized U.S. banks gathered alongside regulators for the association's annual conference this week. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said regulators were focused on maintaining stability of the financial system. In recent weeks, President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and industry executives have made public statements aimed at reassuring depositors. "The banking system is pretty sound," and large and regional banks are well-capitalized, Citigroup Inc (C.N) CEO Jane Fraser said last week.

☆ Big U.S. bank CEOs to be grilled by Congress on consumer, social issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Pete Schroeder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The line-up includes the CEOs of the four largest U.S. banks: JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, Bank of America's Brian Moynihan, Citi's Jane Fraser and Wells Fargo's Charles Scharf. They will be joined by USBancorp (USB.N) CEO Andy Cecere, PNC Financial (PNC.N) CEO William Demchak, and Truist Financial CEO William Rogers, who run the country's largest regional lenders. That's a message the banks' executives, lobbyists, and trade groups have conveyed during a marathon of private meetings with key lawmakers over the past few weeks, the sources said. But bank executives are also wary of growing criticism from Republicans, traditionally allies who have pushed back against heavy regulation, over what they see as Wall Street's increasingly liberal leanings on environment and social issues. While executives faced some critical questions from Republicans on such issues last year, the pressure will be greater this time, said analysts.

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