Consumer Protection Laws and Information
We have been hit hard in the last three years with the loss of musical icons. In 2016, we lost Prince. In 2017, it was Tom Petty. Now we have lost the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. There are no words to sufficiently describe the impact of this loss. Aretha is, and always will be, a national treasure. But in recent days we have learned, just as with Prince, Aretha died without a last will and testament. Most adults understand what a testamentary will does but some of you youngsters out there may benefit from an explanation of why dying…Read More
As the fall semester starts for most college students, we must remind students to beware of targeted scams. Recently, a news article in USA Today highlighted a scam where students were receiving calls from someone claiming to be a college official and threatening the students with classes being dropped if they did not pay an outstanding debt with the school. In this scam, the caller attempted to express the urgency and asking the student for a debit/credit card over the phone to clear the debt immediately. I cannot imagine any college doing business like this so please if you receive…Read More
You are about to start hearing a lot about yield curves in the near future. And while there is absolutely nothing you or I can do to influence the yield curve, I thought it would useful and helpful to understand them and their importance. So, before we talk about the reasons for and consequences of inverted yield curves, let’s look at a typical yield curve and why it’s shape matters. Yield Curves So……….what the heck is a yield curve and why should I care? The yield curve that you will start hearing about tracks the interest rate on the US…Read More
Usury involves the practice of making high interest loans which take advantage of the borrower. They are unfair loans that unjustly enrich the lender. Throughout history, these type loans have been deemed to be unethical or immoral. The Bible itself condemns taking interest from the poor. Exodus 22:25 History of Usurious Loans In the early days of our nation, usurious loans were illegal. Most states had laws that set a limit on interest at 6%. But in the early 1900s, a move towards “deregulation” caused many states to weaken or do away all together with usury laws. By the middle…Read More
Overview of Part 1 In Part 1 of “The Invisible Subprime Lenders”, we discussed sub-prime lending and its consequences on the overall economy. We also discussed how the exposure to the sub-prime lending market created major losses for the largest banks, helping to create “The Great Recession of 2008”. Ten years later, those same banks are again massively invested in sub-prime lending; they are just not doing it in a public manner the way they did 10 years ago. In fact, one of the only ways to uncover these banks’ exposure to the sub-prime market today is to dig through…Read More
Subprime loans are typically categorized by a borrower’s weak credit score. While there is no specific definition or specific criteria that establishes a subprime borrower, the most common characteristic is a credit score below 600. These loans certainly carry a greater risk of default and thus carry a much higher interest rate. Because of this higher interest rate, banks see them as very attractive. A Look Inside Subprime Loans Normally, banks loan money from customer deposits (with a current interest rate of less 1.00%) or from money borrowed from the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve typically loans money to banks…Read More
The American Bar Association’s accreditation committee found the Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law is “significantly out of compliance” with certain accreditation standards. Specifically the committee found the law school was admitting candidates who do not appear to be capable of completing law school and passing a bar exam. The ABA’s Compliance Guidelines The American Bar Association publishes Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools where it gives guidance for admissions standards. Standard 501(a) states, “A law school shall adopt, publish, and adhere to sound admission policies and practices consistent with the Standards, its mission, and…Read More
Do you have minor children? Do you know if they have debt? They should not have debt. Unfortunately, our nation has seen a rise in identity theft of children. According to Kelli B. Grant’s recent article on CNBC, more than a million children were victims of identity theft last year. The scary and sad part is that most of the victims were age 7 or under, and most of the victims personally knew the perpetrator. It has become very apparent this is not an adult problem. How Does Child Identity Theft Occur? The identity theft can occur in several different ways: it…Read More
If you have been to a hospital for any reason recently, you may have been asked the question, “do you have a living will” by a hospital representative. Many times I have answered no without really understanding the importance of a living will. Currently, in our family, we are going through a very stressful medical roller coaster with a family member. About one month ago, this family member was rushed to the hospital by ambulance for emergency surgery. Unfortunately, due to her age, she had difficulty recovering from the surgery and had to be placed on a ventilator, eventually having…Read More
The hits just keep on coming for Wells Fargo. As if the $185 million settlement/penalty the bank has already paid to resolve the fake accounts issue wasn’t bad enough, Wells Fargo could now face up to $1 billion in penalties for auto insurance and mortgage lending abuses according to a new CNBC article and Reuters report. To recap the series of missteps made by the bank over the last several years, including other penalties and settlements paid, check out some of the other articles written below by my colleagues: Harming Consumers Again—Overcharging for Auto Insurance Predatory Lending Practices Against the…Read More
