A bill to adjust North Carolina’s Consumer Finance Act (H810) passed out of committee on a 15-6 vote yesterday. The vote, which came on last-minute notice on Wednesday evening, will increase the maximum loan amounts for short-term unsecured loans in the state. The bill also gives lenders the right to charge a 5 percent processing fee on all loans.

The bill has been the subject of a lot of press attention. There is a short report from Americans For Prosperity which summarizes some of the views held by the bill’s supporters.Here is a study written by the North Carolina Credit and Personal Finance Council that defends the bill. Al Ripley, an attorney for the NC Justice Center, offers this retort.

A garrison commander from Fort Bragg, Col. Stephen Sicinski, has traveled to Raleigh to campaign against the (more…)

This is what remains of a Commerce Bank branch in Joplin, Missouri after this week's tornado that destroyed much of the city.

This is a picture of a branch of Commerce Bank that was hit by the tornado earlier this week in Joplin, Missouri.

The concrete block contains the vault.

This branch is located at 1804 E. 20th Street.

Incredible.

Jackson Hewitt declared bankruptcy today, ending a period when such a plan had been expected but still not realized. The plan, characterized as “pre-packaged,” will address their huge liabilities.

Jackson Hewitt finished the tax year with $12 million in cash, but $95 million in current liabilities. They had other current assets, although those included outstanding debts held against their franchisees. The trigger event were payments due on an outstanding line of credit with Wells Fargo. In all, they listed $389 million in (more…)

Green Dot is still doesn’t own Bonneville Bancorp. In February 2010 (16 months ago), Green Dot agreed to buy Bonneville Bancorp for $15.7 million. Bonneville is a very small bank in Provo, Utah. Green Dot is buying the bank with cash. There was some initial upheaval about the transaction (from me) that this was a shadow transaction that allowed Wal-Mart to buy a charter. Steve Streit settled those concerns through a very direct outreach to advocates. Some advocates took the step of sending a letter to the Federal Reserve which rescinded their initial protest against the acquisition. Comments closed last summer, but the Federal Reserve still has not (more…)

The US Department of Justice filed an anti-trust lawsuit this morning that seeks to prevent H&R Block from buying Tax Act.

Block agreed to buy 2nd Story Solutions (“2SS’), the corporate parent of Tax Act, for $287.5 million on October 13, 2010.

At issue is the level of competition in digital tax preparation. Block and TaxAct follow Intuit in the tax prep market. Were (more…)