Tag: banks
The celebrity-backed green “Fintech” company that isn’t as green as it seems
Aspiration is among a group of companies that provide banking and financial services, and promise to help the environment. But so far its marketing is greener than its reality. by Carson Kessler November 17, 2021 You…
As economic suffering grips regular Americans, Wall Street behemoths ready feast of stock buybacks
“We’re going to be aggressively buying back, and consistently,” said Morgan Stanley chief executive James Gorman. by Andrea Germanos, staff writer Friday, January 22, 2021 For millions of regular Americans, the end of 2020 was marked…
The SEC Undermined a Powerful Weapon Against White-Collar Crime
Now the lawyer who wrote the rules that gave Wall Street insiders a big financial incentive to report crimes to the SEC is suing the government for changing them. by Lydia DePillis Thursday, January 14, 2021…
A lender sued thousands of lower-income Latinos during the pandemic. Now it wants to be a National Bank.
Oportun, which lends in only a dozen states, applied for a bank charter late last year. Consumer and Latino civil rights groups are pushing back, citing the findings of a joint investigation by ProPublica and The…
JPMorgan Chase Bank wrongly charged 170,000 customers overdraft fees. Federal regulators refused to penalize it.
Documents and records show that bank examiners have avoided penalizing at least six banks that incorrectly charged overdraft and related fees to hundreds of thousands of customers. by Patrick Rucker, The Capitol Forum Monday, December 14,…
Rent-to-own, same ol’ or something different?
by Wade Rathke December 3, 2020 Little Rock Don’t misunderstand me, we want to believe, we really do. Several years ago, the ACORN Home Savers Campaign worked in a half-dozen cities trying to bend the…
‘Bankrolling Extinction’: Report shows big banks lent over $2.6 trillion to fund global biodiversity destruction in just one year, 2019
“Imagine a world in which projects can only raise capital when they have demonstrated that they will contribute meaningfully and positively to restoring the planet’s bounty and a safe climate for all. That’s the future this…
Why is Bank of America still open to funding the destruction of our homelands in the Arctic?
We stand together, the Iñupiat and the Gwich’in, in calling on Bank of America to listen to Indigenous people, protect our homelands, and stay out of the Arctic Refuge. by Bernadette Demientieff, Siqiñiq Maupin Monday, September…
Defund or defend? In the fight over fossil fuel investments, who’s winning?
Despite divestment victories, big banks and asset managers continue driving climate change through their lending practices. by Christine MacDonald Monday, September 21 “CalSTRS is using our teachers’ money to invest in the destruction of our own…
The vultures are circling the housing market
by Wade Rathke September 21, 2020 New Orleans Following right behind the crisis that tenants are facing with the eviction situation clouded in different courts and interpretations and no stimulus in the offing, mortgage holders…
Sanders and Gillibrand unveil Postal Banking Act: to provide public alternative to ‘predatory’ Wall Street banks
The new legislation, according to Sanders’ office, would help “families generate savings, wealth, and credit, while bringing millions of American workers into a more fair banking system.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Thursday, September 17 With…
Trump Financial Regulator Quietly Shelved Discrimination Probes Into Bank of America and Other Lenders
At least six investigations into discriminatory mortgage loan “redlining” have been halted or stalled — against staff recommendations — under the Trump administration’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. by Patrick Rucker, The Capitol Forum…
California bill to establish Nation’s second Public Bank applauded as ‘Historic challenge to Wall Street domination’
“If California is serious about addressing racial and income inequities, we must create a banking system that centers people not profits.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Friday, July 10 In a move advocacy groups celebrated as…
In the Fight to Curtail the Climate Crisis, the Earth Just Moved a Little
Nearly half of Chase’s owners have demanded to know how the bank plans to align its business model with the Paris Agreement. On the surface, that probably doesn’t sound like an earthquake. But it’s quietly seismic….
Whistleblower: Wall Street has engaged in widespread manipulation of mortgage funds
Securities that contain loans for properties like hotels and office buildings have inflated profits, the whistleblower claims. As the pandemic hammers the economy, that could increase the chances of another mortgage collapse. by Heather Vogell Friday,…
CEOs aren’t Pigs. That’s unfair to — to pigs —
—Pigs are intelligent animals with a sense of social responsibility. CEOs are looting taxpayers funds meant for small businesses. by Jim Hightower Wednesday, May 13, 2020 There’s a general sentiment today that multimillionaire corporate chieftains…
‘Milestone Moment’ as JPMorgan Chase announces former Exxon CEO to no longer be Lead Director of bank’s board
The ousting of “America’s #1 climate denier” from the leadership position on the board of the largest global lender of fossil fuels is being welcomed by the climate movement. by Andrea Germanos, staff writer Saturday, May…
Federal Reserve to offer corporations $500 billion no-strings-attached bailout loophole
‘Lining Up at the Trough’ “Big corporations have shown time and again that they will put their shareholders and executives ahead of their workers if given the choice.” by Julia Conley, staff writer A Federal Reserve…
Millions of people face stimulus check delays for a strange reason: they are poor
The IRS has had trouble getting money to people quickly because millions of Americans pay for their tax preparation through a baroque system of middlemen. by Paul Kiel, Justin Elliott and Will Young April 24, 11:40…
Coronavirus put her out of work, then debt collectors Froze her savings account
Kim Boatswain’s tax refund could have helped her get through the coronavirus slowdown. But debt collectors seized it. There are few options for Texans like Boatswain whose money was taken just before the state temporarily banned…
Treasury Department gives banks green light to seize $1,200 stimulus checks to pay off debts, ‘Beyond Predatory’
“The Treasury Department is pointing out opportunities for banks and debt collectors to steal Americans’ relief checks out from under them.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Tuesday, April 14, 2020 President Donald Trump’s Treasury Department has…
Big banks move to buy up fracking industry assets with coronavirus bailout funds
Critics Decry ‘Massive Step in Wrong Direction’ JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citi “Taxpayers shouldn’t be required to backstop oil and gas companies that were already in trouble prior to the…
We are entering a recession – but what did we learn from the last one?
By Ken-Hou Lin, University of Texas at Austin and Megan Neely, Stanford University As the coronavirus continues to spread around the world, it is abundantly clear that the global economy is entering a recession – the…
What is a deprecesscion?
By Wade Rathke Pearl River Brothers and sisters, it’s bad. Furthermore, it’s getting worse! Piled on to that, it will get much, much worse, before there’s even a hint of it getting better. A recession…
