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	<title>Bank Talk</title>
	<link>http://banktalk.org</link>
	<description>Financial News and Commentary</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:20:06 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<item>
		<title>Correction</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Homes by Vanderbilt of Sanford, North Carolina, has nothing to do with Vanderbilt Mortgage or Berkshire Hathaway and is not involved with this lawsuit in any shape or form.
]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/03/10/correction/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Rethinking College</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Plenty of students are defaulting on their student loans, a worrisome problem that should make us reconsider the value of a four-year college degree.
I would like to preface my thoughts on how more skills training might improve returns on education with a short departure into student loans.  Unemployment is probably behind the high rate of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/03/05/1779/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Why HARP is Struggling</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An article in today&#8217;s Wall Street Journal lays out some of the problems with the Home Affordable Refinance Program. &#8220;Borrowers Miss Out on Refinance,&#8221; reads a headline.  According to WSJ, HARP is not reaching scale because it doesn&#8217;t address the needs of people who are under water in their mortgage.
HARP is struggling for several reasons. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/03/03/why-harp-is-struggling/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Bancorp Bank: Where Banking Comes without Rewards</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I continue to find evidence that there is a fundamental shift going on in how low-income consumers access the payments system.  Earlier, I wrote at length about MetaBank and their prepaid debit card/line of credit platform developed in conjunction with NetSpend. I made some headway learning about the Emerald Advance and the Emerald Advance line [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/03/01/bancorp-bank-prepaid-cards-for-those-without-privilege/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The Greening of HUD</title>
		<description><![CDATA[HUD established a long-term of goal of improving the energy efficiency of homes in its Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section  several years ago.
Right now, HUD spends $5 billion per year on energy bills. That figure increased by 13.5 percent between 2006 and 2008, alone. Energy costs for subsidies to Section 8 increased 18 percent.
HUD [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/02/26/the-greening-of-hud/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>SRI Responds to Fair Lending</title>
		<description><![CDATA[

digg_url = 'http://banktalk.org/2010/02/25/sri-responds-to-fair-lending/';


There are four important votes coming before shareholders of banks and financial services firms during the upcoming annual meetings.
Calvert will ask shareholders of BB&#38;T and Capitol One to evalute &#8220;overdraft policies and practices and the impacts these practices have on borrowers.&#8221;
Christian Brothers Investment Services will ask shareholders of Cash America, a large payday [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/02/25/sri-responds-to-fair-lending/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Confirmed: RALs Over for River City and Perhaps for Republic</title>
		<description><![CDATA[

digg_url = 'http://banktalk.org/2010/02/24/confirmed-rals-over-for-republic-and-river-city/';


The FDIC is shutting down refund anticipation loans and refund anticipation checks.
I just spoke to a source at River City Bank in their tax group. I asked him if could confirm that the FDIC told River City that they had to stop making refund anticipation loans.
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;it is true.&#8221;
Why?
&#8220;As far as [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/02/24/confirmed-rals-over-for-republic-and-river-city/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Future of RALs Now In Doubt</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Refund anticipation loans may cease to be available after the 2010 tax season, according to some comments from tax preparers.
An internal memo sent by River City Bank to its tax prep partners references an FDIC communication that suggests that RCB prepare to exit its RAL business.
This is not confirmed.  At the same time, the market [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/02/24/future-of-rals-now-in-doubt/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Which TARP Recipient Has the Best Payday Loan Product?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If we had a vibrant economy where delinquincies were receding and employment was roaring back (NOT!), it would make sense that banks would take on a little more risk.  The evidence is clear, though.  We have  recovery in share prices, but the budgets of households are not back where they were. Credit card charge-offs are [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/02/23/which-tarp-recipient-has-the-best-payday-loan-product/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Is Section 8 Ready to Go Green?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[While the Department of Housing and Urban Development has intimitated that it will seek way to help America&#8217;s housing stock &#8220;go green,&#8221; it is yet to provide concrete results in that direction.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan established a new department, known as the Office of Sustainability,&#8221; to research how HUD could lower the combined costs of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banktalk.org/2010/02/22/is-section-8-ready-to-go-green/</link>
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