silver-eagle
En-Route
The Wall Street Journal is reporting Bank of America has agreed to buy Countrywide Mortgage. Perhaps we should refer to BoA as a Highlander.
They didn't care, because they were selling 100% of the loan as soon as possible. They collect the fees and move on.Gawd, is it any wonder they had a problem with bad loans?
The news today that Bank of America will buy Countrywide Mortgage to rescue it from bankruptcy is no surprise to me.
...
They said the test was, "Can you fog a mirror?"They didn't care, because they were selling 100% of the loan as soon as possible. They collect the fees and move on.
The people who bought the loans sold out quickly - they securitized it and sold it in pieces on Wall Street.
Wall Street buyers looked only to the ratings provided by S&P and the like.
And S&P and the like didn't know what they were doing when it comes to the new alphabet soup Wall Street products like CDOs, SIVs, etc.
-Skip
BTW, I'm going to Barry's bank. They don't really have as many locations near me, but who needs locations? (He says, knowing he might regret that.) When the new bank asked why I was moving, I told them.
Hm, I have 8 accounts at BoA (only one is a loan) and I'm pretty happy with them.
OK, so the upshot is don't use their credit cards and don't sell stuff on Craigslist.
OK, so the upshot is don't use their credit cards and don't sell stuff on Craigslist.
I still have 8 accounts and I'm still pretty happy with them. Excellent online banking system. Decent though not stellar moneymarket rates. Convenient locations.
I'm sure it's only because I'm an Advantage Account holder!
OK, so the upshot is don't use their credit cards and don't sell stuff on Craigslist.
I still have 8 accounts and I'm still pretty happy with them. Excellent online banking system. Decent though not stellar moneymarket rates. Convenient locations.
I'm sure it's only because I'm an Advantage Account holder!
The racket that always ends up screwing me over is their policy of holding deposits anywere from 3 to 14 days!! that might have been needed 15 years ago however to do it now is just another way for them to "float" on your money, and hopefully cash in on some overdraft fees as a result of the hold. Most of the time I just wire or direct deposit funds in as needed, however last month I made a deposit at the in-store branch ( the worst kind). I was told that my deposit of around $4300. was going to be held for 10 days!!! and of course I had car payments and other things that were going to go through as well, when they did go through a couple of days later it took the available money out of my account right away, so when all my other little charges came thru (fast food,gas....)they showed up as an overdraft, so even though they had $4300 of MY money in the account that they were not going to release, they were going to still charge me $35 per transaction(11 of them)just as though I had no money at all in there. After throwing a total fit and going through 2 different people I had them removed. But what a bunch of low lifes.
Never had a hold of even a single day on any deposit at BoA, and I have deposited dozens of 10K+ checks and even a few over 40K.To be fair, my bank also told me upfront, as I deposited it, there would be a hold on a large check I deposited. I think it was 5 days.
I'm impressed. I can't seem to make even a modest deposit, in person, without being treated like a suspect. When we had BOA they did it, and with our credit union they do it.Never had a hold of even a single day on any deposit at BoA, and I have deposited dozens of 10K+ checks and even a few over 40K.
It is nice to deal with a bank that trusts you. I bank with the USAA Federal Savings Bank in Texas. They reimburse you for non-USAA bank ATM fees up to $10/month, and give you free postage envelopes for deposits. Can't wait for your money? You can scan in your deposits (up to $5g a day) and the funds are available instantly.I'm impressed. I can't seem to make even a modest deposit, in person, without being treated like a suspect. When we had BOA they did it, and with our credit union they do it.
They seem to like playing games with due dates and changing them w/o warning so that people with automatic payments get hit with late fees.
I might look into that. We have USAA insurance. Not having a local branch is less and less important I guess.It is nice to deal with a bank that trusts you. I bank with the USAA Federal Savings Bank in Texas. They reimburse you for non-USAA bank ATM fees up to $10/month, and give you free postage envelopes for deposits. Can't wait for your money? You can scan in your deposits (up to $5g a day) and the funds are available instantly.
-Skip
I love USAA insurance. Unfortunately they just non-renewed our vacation condo because they will no longer allow one policyholder to be insured for two dwellings in Florida. First hiccup ever from them.I might look into that. We have USAA insurance. Not having a local branch is less and less important I guess.
I'll have to ask when I set up the account. I'm waiting on my papers of origination before I can do that.Chuck - I'm not a banking expert, but I have worked with a lot of small businesses over the past couple of years...
YOu should be able to get an ACH process set up at just about any bank these days, though usually it requires a commercial banking account. I work with health clubs and gyms, many of them are small companies, but nearly all of them offer their members the option to pay via ACH draft. It works out to be a cheaper processing fee than accepting credit cards.
Hey Barry, since you know something about the industry...
I'm looking at buying some rental properties. To help ensure prompt rent payment, I want to offer my tenants an option to have their rent pulled automatically on the 1st of the month, and give them a discount for agreeing to this.
The question is - how hard would it be for me to do this while using a small, regional bank for my commercial account? Is this something pretty much any bank should be able to accommodate?
For CEOs, failure can be lucrative
Angelo Mozilo, the well-tanned chief exec of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.
After driving his company to the brink of bankruptcy (or so the rumor mill had it last week), Mozilo now stands to make as much as $115 million in severance-related compensation if an acquisition of Countrywide by Bank of America goes through, which it almost certainly will.
Accountability? We should all be so lucky.
"What's particularly egregious is that he's walking away with millions of dollars as people are being forced out of their homes because they can't make their mortgage payments," said Dan Pedrotty, director of the AFL-CIO's office of investment.
Mozilo, 69, made enormous amounts of money running Countrywide during the boom times. He pocketed $160 million in 2005 and $120 million in 2006, mostly in stock option gains.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-ceo-pay-story,1,5800619.story?page=1