Recently, I got a disheartening message from my bank showing a negative balance in my account, leading to the dreaded overdraft fee. Has this ever happened to you? It’s surprising how easily it can occur, even when we think our finances are in check. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Americans collectively pay around…
Whenever the global economy takes a hit, big banks and financial firms often see their revenues and job offerings take a nosedive. The issue today is that many of these companies are dominated by men, making it hard for women to land top jobs in the UK’s banking sector. But there’s a promising shift happening…
Deciding if you should open a joint bank account is a common question for couples. It mainly depends on what works best for you both. For my husband and me, having a joint account has been quite beneficial. By pooling our resources for household expenses or an emergency fund, we’ve been able to simplify our…
People can get into debt in many different ways. When someone uses credit but doesn’t pay it back on time, it turns into debt. This can include unpaid credit card bills, loans, and car financing. If someone has an overdraft and doesn’t top up their bank account to cover the negative balance, this also counts…
Scottrade, a well-known investment company, recently experienced a significant online attack resulting in a major data breach. This hack impacted information related to 4.6 million clients who registered for a Scottrade brokerage account before February 2014. During the breach, hackers accessed a vast database containing client information such as names, physical addresses, email addresses, and…
If you have significant wealth, you need more than just an ordinary bank to manage it. Your wealth is the result of years of hard work, so it makes sense to involve a reputable private bank in Illinois to help manage and grow it. Private banks offer services specifically designed for people like you. They…
New research shows encouraging trends in the mortgage market. According to the latest reports from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, there has been a noticeable increase in mortgage activity compared to the same time in 2011. Last month, gross mortgage lending reached £10.2bn, which is up from £10bn in April 2011. Even though this is…
Money laundering is an illegal activity that criminals use to make their dirty money look clean. Usually, it involves hiding money from illegal activities, but sometimes it’s used to hide legitimate money, such as during wealthy divorce cases where one spouse wants to conceal money from the other. The process starts by putting the illegal…
Discover has ended its “Secure Online Account Numbers” program, which offered disposable debit card numbers for safer online shopping. This service was initially created for customers who were hesitant to use their real credit card details online. Discover informed customers through an email that the program officially stopped on September 8. Media outlets, including The…
Mortgage lenders often show interest rates openly but rarely explain how they actually work. For example, if you have a 30-year mortgage of $200,000 with a 7.5 percent interest rate, your monthly payment is roughly $1,400. But how is this 7.5 percent interest rate determined? It’s based on the monthly interest derived from dividing the…