After four bank failures Friday, eighty banks have failed in 2011. At the current pace 100 will be closed this year, better than the 160 banks the FDIC closed due to insolvency in 2010 or the 139 that failed in 2009. According to Trepp, a CMBS and commercial mortgage data services provider, loans tied to [...]

Clever Chase Business Loan Promo There are some pretty creative folks out there, even in banking. Every once in a while someone will suggest a reward to residential borrowers for making their payment, instead of (what some would say) a reward for not making their payments. In some news out yesterday, Chase announced an incentive [...]

7 More Bank Failures The FDIC, seemingly in the news more and more, sent out an announcement with a listing of its recent enforcement decisions, including final orders or cease and desist orders. No one likes to see their employer on the list. The FDIC also announced the “shuttering” of seven banks on Friday, with [...]

I was reminded that 70% of the US economy is propelled by consumers, all consumers. Last night, after giving a speech to some UC Berkeley econ students, I was in a book store and the gal in front of me asked the clerk, “Do you have a book on ‘Karmageddon’? Its like, when everybody is [...]