WalletPop has list of “money wasters.”  We’re with them on bottled water and cigarettes, but saving money on children’s birthday parties is a little extreme.

From the story: 

The days when you could walk into a bank branch and open an account with no charges and no strings attached appear to be over. Now you have to jump through some hoops – keep a high balance, use direct deposit or swipe your debit card several times a month.

One new account at Bank of America charges $8.95 per month if you want to bank with a teller or get a paper statement.

Almost all of the largest U.S. banks are either already making free checking much more difficult to get or expected to do so soon, with fees on even basic banking services.

It’s happening because a raft of new laws enacted in the past year, including the financial overhaul package, have led to an acute shrinking of revenue for the banks. So they are scraping together money however they can.

Free checking as we know it is ending.

Unintended consequences of regulation.

Consumer groups are still attacking banks on overdraft protection.  From the story:

The Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), the Center for Responsible Lending, Consumers Union, Consumer Action, National Association of Consumer Advocates and U.S. Public Interest Research Group have sent a letter to Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh, urging the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to adopt stricter guidance that requires banks to use fair overdraft practices and fully inform consumers.

The nation’s largest banks charge customers overdraft fees averaging $35 per transaction, often adding up to hundreds of dollars per day. The most common triggers of overdraft fees are small debit card transactions—which cost the consumer nothing when they are simply denied due to lack of funds.

Over the summer, a new Federal Reserve rule went into effect requiring banks to get consumers’ consent or “opt-in” to pay overdraft fees for debit card single purchase and ATM overdrafts. But because the Fed did not address the size or frequency of overdraft fees, banks still have strong incentives to push customers to opt in, and then continue to barrage them with fees.

Banks are sending letters to consumers trying to persuade them to opt into paying steep fees for overdrafts, saying that they may need this service in an emergency, when, in fact, banks typically carry a far lower-cost option – an overdraft line of credit – and many also offer transfers from savings accounts or credit cards, which are also usually less expensive. But banks obscure these lower cost options.

From CNNMoney: 

Once these mammoth laws are enacted, government agencies must write new rules to implement them. For example, the Dodd-Frank law requires 243 new rules, by the count of the Davis Polk & Wardwell law firm, and no one yet knows what they’ll require.

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These historic new laws bestow significant new powers on administrators, who are not elected and are highly unpredictable. For example, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been granted extremely broad powers; its director (not yet nominated) is apparently “beyond the control of the President, the Fed, and the Congress,” says Investment News magazine, citing the new law. What new rules will it promulgate in its first five years?

From the story: 

Consumers are using fewer payday loans in Colorado.  From the story:

The statistics show that Colorado consumers who took the payday loans of high interest in 2008 were more in numbers when compared to that of 2009. However, the amounts being borrowed were larger in 2009. The number of people taking the loan actually saw a drop to 8.8% in 2009 from that of 10.3% in 2008. But, the amount of money taken as a loan grew around 2%. The lending report was dispatched by the Attorney General’s office in Colorado. 

good point, Curious

I am sure the internet lenders are shaking in their boots at the thought of some Washington bureaucrat sending them a threatening email.

Meanwhile you will see brick and mortar shops closing up and leaving town in the near future, if they haven’t already. Way to create jobs

The Los Angeles Times corrects a story that ran back in September:

For the Record

Payday loans: An article in the Sept. 15 Business section about the financing that payday lenders receive from major banks said people who take out payday loans generally don’t have bank accounts. In fact, payday lenders require borrowers to have a bank or credit union checking account.

Now that Washington State limits loans to eight per year, there’s been a jump in Internet lending.  From the story:

“Internet payday lenders who are not willing to abide by Washington law are not welcome to do business with Washington consumers,” DFI Director Scott Jarvis said. “As the state regulator, it’s our job to enforce the consumer protection laws adopted by our legislators – businesses refusing to play by the rules should take note – and be prepared for DFI to take action against them.”

The Onion takes on microlending.