Stephen Brobeck
Stephen Brobeck
Stephen Brobeck is the director of the Consumer Federation of America...
banks borrowed dollars lose market money thousands
Banks are increasingly monitoring profitability. If you have borrowed a lot of money or have tens of thousands of dollars in a money market account, they won't want to lose you.
buy event good industry protection sells small
It's a small industry that sells protection in the event you can't make your payments. Essentially, you buy it and it's very expensive; it's not a good deal.
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It prevents credit unions from extending their services to small employee groups.
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They simply do not understand the power of making small regular contributions.
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Despite all of the news coverage about credit scores over the past year, many consumers still do not understand important facts about these increasingly influential numbers.
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This is an important finding because those who know their personal wealth are more likely to spend, borrow and save sensibly.
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This is not on the radar screen of the banking industry right now. They're not interested in small depositors.
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If consumers would simply maintain the minimum balance requirement, they wouldn't get hit with monthly fees and wouldn't bounce checks. You want to find a bank that has a minimum balance requirement you can meet.
account bank banks cd checking consumers credit demanding higher interest market pressure raise rates savings shift
If consumers started to shift money, however, ... from an interest checking or a traditional savings account into even a bank CD or from a bank to a credit union. That would place market pressure on the banks to raise those interest checking rates and those traditional savings rates. They (banks) do not feel as if consumers are demanding higher rates.
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It's discouraging. What we see is little change in the assets of the typical American household between 2001 and 2004, after substantial increases in the previous six years.
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It's important to pay attention to any mailings from issuers for changes in terms and conditions,