ABN Turns Down RBS Spoiler Offer

(NEWSER) - American banks will pull in $38.5 billion in overdraft fees this year, a record sum that's largely coming from pockets of the poorest and most indebted consumers. According to the Financial Times, banks hiked fees on overdrafts and credit cards as the financial crisis took hold; this year's take will be double that reported in 2000. Some 90% of overdraft revenues come from just 10% of checking account holders, many of whom have low credit scores. More»

Citi, BoA, Morgan Stanley CEOs jetted off after cash infusions

(NEWSER) - Executives at bailed-out banks are still using company jets to fly to vacation homes and resorts, the Wall Street Journal reports. The newspaper reviewed FAA records to find that banks receiving federal aid have flown top execs to locales such as the Caribbean, Aspen, and Europe. Case in point: Less than 2 weeks after getting $3.5 billion in TARP funds, the chief of Regions Financial Corp. in Alabama used two bank jets to fly his family to a four-day vacation at a resort in West Virginia. More»

Directors largely responsible for missteps, but keep their jobs

(NEWSER) - Recent shareholder meetings at Citigroup and the Bank of America devolved into morality plays—wronged shareholders berated executives, executives apologetically vowed to improve—with a rather curious epilogue: every member of the board of directors was reelected. The reason is that corporate boards are often filled with under-informed, over-paid yes-men who rarely pay any consequences for bungles, James Surowiecki explains in the New Yorker. More»

Bank takes big stride towards meeting 'stress test' condition

(NEWSER) - Bank of America has sold shares to fill $13.5 billion of the $34 billion capital hole the Fed's "stress test" uncovered in the bank's balance sheet, Marketwatch reports. The bank—taking advantage of a 40% jump in its share price over the last month—issued 1.25 billion shares at an average price of $10.77 as part of its "at-the-market" program, which sold shares at or near prevailing prices. More»

Fed massaged some figures to portray banks as healthy

(NEWSER) - Some major banks managed to cajole the government into using more optimistic figures in its "stress test" results, insiders tell the Washington Post. Banks like Citigroup—eager to show they were healthy and didn't need more help from the government—were given credit for pending moves to raise capital, resulting in the report showing shortages of capital well below what many experts had predicted. More»