In 2009 and 2010, lenders have flocked to the  guarantees offered by the Federal Housing Administration‘s loan program.

I have seen the first hints of that trend in Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data that I pulled from some of the bigger banks. FHA lending is way up. This is not just a reflection of how those guarantees appeal to lenders. It also shows something about the ability of buyers. FHA loans often come with higher origination fees. Nonetheless, many borrowers can only qualify for an FHA loan, because they do not have the down payment that is needed for a conventional loan.

Up until the end of the first-time homebuyer tax credit, home sales were slow. Now, they are sputtering. The supply of homes on the market is growing, and the number of sales is (more…)

Banks only have two more weeks to get their existing customers to opt-in for overdraft protection.

I couldn’t believe it at first, but its true: banks are spending their time and money trying to understand the psychological makeup of the typical overdraft user.  One consultant says that it is all about helping the customer to make a “Good NSF Decision.” I will let you guess how they define “good.” The hunt is on. Now.

During the NSF-Hunt, a smart banker seeks first to understand. This is what the consultants are for, of course.  The rules don’t prohibit overdrafts. They just make it a requirement that a consumer gives his or her consent for an overdraft service first.

Still, there’s not a lot of time. If in two weeks, the banks have not found a way to get a consumer to opt-in, then that fee stream will be gone.

It is all about the right “relationship.”You’ve heard that term. It is often the come on for a heavy package of wealth management services, or for private banking.

“The relationship banker is the person who is going to fulfill his or her professional mission by putting himself or herself at the disposal of a decision maker. You’re not building your career on their back, they’re building their industrial purpose on your back.” (Fortune Magazine)

That’s nice. But there are so many people out there, and so little time before August 15th. Moreover, the consumer that knowingly opts-in for overdraft is not typical.

They’re looking for a different type of person. They are seeking to find the co-dependent customer, ideally for a long-term relationship.

To help those bankers with on their NSF hunting, they are seeking help.

The Wall Street Journal has a feature on one of those consultants – David Peterson. Peterson wants the bankers to understand things.

What does a person feel when they get an overdraft? According to Peterson, it is a (more…)

The popularity of debit cards seems to have blossomed faster than the ability of wonks to find a means to describe them.

General purpose reloadable (GPR) cards are going to be the new way for low-income households to access the payments system. NetSpend estimates that LMI households will need to deposit more than $1.1 trillion in paychecks and government payments annually.  They may put some of those deposits into banks. However, they’ll also use (more…)

Recent IRS rules impose additional reporting requirements on small non-profits. Having been in place for several years, those rules are now about to have an impact. Thousands and thousands of small non-profits previously did not have to file financial disclosures. Now they do.

In North Carolina, there are many non-profits in this space. Most are small clubs.  Here (more…)

Mark Ernst’s comments at CERCA created expectations that rulemakers would be thinking about how to improve settlement on tax preparation fees. His speech, given in May, was candid and cutting for its clear sense that the debt indicator was no serving a public purpose. Ernst noted that prices on RALs have gone up in the period since the debt indicator was re-instituted.

Since then, there has been little talk and no action. John Hewitt did shake things up for a while.

Well, it is almost August.Something is going to happen soon.

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