While the bill is not perfect, it creates, for the first time, an independent agency dedicated to ensuring that consumers’ interests are protected. Homeowners struggling because of job loss, illness, or other hardship will be eligible for help with...
Nationally, total HAMP activity also fell by 13% from April to May. Permanent modifications rose by 15% while trial modifications fell by 27%. The Department of the Treasury released its eleventh report card on how mortgage lenders are doing...
Angel Beltran is the vice president of the MB Financial Community Development Corporation and a community development officer at MB Financial Bank in Chicago. Mr. Beltran has more than ten years of experience in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and...
By Becky Yerak June 22, 2010 Chicago’s two biggest banks have diverging strategies on how to treat customers who overdraw their accounts using ATM and debit cards. Starting July 1 for new customers and Aug. 15 for existing ones,...
By David Morrison June 22, 2010 Another state has passed a law capping interest on payday loans. Beginning in March, 2011, loans with terms of six months or less may not be priced at rates of greater than $15.50...
Sponsored by Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-4) and Rep. Lou Lang (D-16), the proposal passed the Illinois Senate on May 5 by 58-1 and the House by 118-1 on May 26. “Under the law adopted today, Illinois lenders would be...
June 21, 2010 Gov. Pat Quinn sign signed a new law Monday that is designed to protect people from predatory payday loans. Under current law, there are no limits on how much loan companies charge in interest. The new...
By Juan-Pablo Velez June 21, 2010 Governor Pat Quinn on Monday signed a landmark payday loan reform bill closing a legal loophole that had kept much of the industry unregulated. In 2005, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Payday...
By Kurt Erickson June 21, 2010 Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Monday aimed at reining in high interest rates charged by payday lenders. Under the measure, interest rates charged by consumer finance companies would be capped at 99 percent....
“it is very hard for anyone to be rewarded for preventing a low-probability disaster. Had the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in the early 2000s rather than lowering them, it might have averted the financial collapse in 2008 and...