December 11th, 201729137They might sound tempting, but consumers need to be careful about trusting companies claiming they can reduce monthly car loan or lease payments to help avoid repossession.
That's according to a blog post from the Federal Trade Commission, the nation's consumer protection agency.
Falling behind on car loan payments can be a stressful experience. Most people need their vehicles to get to the grocery store, to work and to the doctors — few can afford to lose that transportation. But loan agencies have a right to take cars and trucks away from consumers who aren't keeping up with their payments.
Loan modification scams feed on this...
December 11th, 2017178The Federal Reserve is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for only the fifth time since the financial crisis, according to a New York Times article.
The Fed should raise the rate by one quarter of a percentage point as an acknowledgement of the strengthening economy, which saw robust job creation in November. The news comes as Republicans prepare a $1.5 trillion tax cut that President Donald Trump described as economic "rocket fuel."
The Fed has instituted three rate hikes this year, according to a USA Today article. Three bumps a year has become the norm for the institution since the financial crisis. But some...
December 5th, 2017094A source has told major media outlets that Deutsche Bank has been subpoenaed for information on accounts held by President Donald Trump's family.
That's according to reporting from The New York Times, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, all of which refer to the source as somebody close to the matter.
Deutsche Bank is a global banking and financial services company based out of Frankfurt, Germany. Public disclosures show the bank has lent more than $300 million to entities affiliated with Trump, according to the Wall Street Journal. Reuters reported that the bank was one of the few major lenders to give large amounts of credits to...
December 4th, 20170116The stock markets resumed with a boom Monday, the first day of trading after the Senate passed its tax reform bill Saturday morning.
The New York Post reported the Dow Jones industrial average was up 275 points at 10:15 a.m., 45 minutes into the trading day. The S&P 500 was up to 17 points.
It wasn't an unexpected trend. The U.S. stock market has been rallying the past few months as hopes rose that Washington would give significant tax cuts for corporations, according to an article by Reuters.
The Senate approved their bill, complete with corporate tax cuts, in a 51-9 vote in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Democrats...
November 29th, 201726111The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has one boss, again.
A U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. threw out the request for a restraining order Tuesday that would have blocked Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney from serving as interim director of the CFPB.
>>Related: Here are 5 things you need to know about the CFPB<<
Mulvaney was President Donald Trump's pick to temporarily lead the bureau after former President Barack Obama's appointee, Richard Cordray, left Nov. 24, months before his 5-year term was set to expire. Leandra English, Cordray's deputy director and his pick for interim...
November 28th, 201744382Let’s start this article with a word of caution: IRAs aren’t sources of fast cash. It’s not how they’re structured and it’s not the way they should be used.
These individual retirement accounts are meant for just that – retirement. It’s a type of savings apparatus that gives consumers tax breaks for investing money for their post-working years. IRAs are investment accounts set up through a brokerage firm, credit union or other financial institution. People add money to their IRAs over time and use it to purchase investments, according to Nerd Wallet.
>>Related: Here are 5 things you need to know about the...
November 28th, 201741528The following article appeared on the Delta Community Credit Union blog Nov. 9. Delta Community Credit Union Georgia’s largest credit union with 24 branches across metro Atlanta and three outside Georgia.
With the holidays in full swing, you may be planning on traveling to see family and friends. In between booking your flights and shopping for the perfect gifts, make sure you protect yourself from fraud and identity theft. A few simple security measures will give you peace of mind this holiday season.
Before leaving, notify your financial institution of your travel plans. To thwart criminals, your bank or credit union might block...
November 28th, 201799559Controversy at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has dominated the news cycle recently.
The drama began during Thanksgiving break, when CFPB director Richard Cordray left the agency. He appointed Leandra English to act as his deputy director and to take over in his absence. At the same time, President Donald Trump tapped Mick Mulvaney, the current director of the Office of Management and business.
The Monday after the holiday, both English and Mulvaney showed up to work as the new boss of the CFPB – and began vying for legitimacy.
But what is the CFPB? And why should the average American consumer care who leads...
November 27th, 20172790Every year millions of Americans become victims of fraud due to merchant data breaches.
In a late 2016 survey conducted by Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, 44 percent of respondents said they’d been victimized by fraud and/or identity theft. That was before the recent Equifax breach, which affected 145.5 million people. Although most consumers have probably only heard about a few breaches, more than 1,100 data security breaches have occurred so far this year. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, this has exposed more than 171 million data records.
The Georgia Department of Law Consumer Protection Unit notes than in 2015...
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