Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with banking

Figuring out if a bank loan has been charged off?

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:43:58 -0800

Figuring out if a bank loan has been charged off? Is it possible to find out if one particular loan made by one particular bank has been charged off (or "written off")? The details, as much as I can relate: it is a single loan (not securitized), for millions of dollars. It is a mortgage loan, I checked the recording documents and can see that the mortgage has not been officially discharged. No news reports about Bank X writing off Big Loan, no analyst reports discussing it. I'm not turning up anything useful at the FDIC or OCC sites, but could be missing something. Nothing in the SEC filings for Bank X. Is there anywhere that would have a record of big loan write-offs? It seems like something that should be reported -somewhere- . I thought of credit reports, but Lendee is a company, not a person. This is in the US.

Online banking screenshots

simplesharps — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:26:32 -0800

What is a good domain name for a site showcasing online banking screenshots? While searching for a new bank I couldn't find one single repository of online banking screenshots, so I'm making one.

I need a great domain name - help me decide! If I can get the .com and .com.au equivalents that'd be great. Site will focus on each banks online banking features and user interface. You'll be able to rate each one, leave comments and upload your own screenshots [personal info removed of course]. That's it.

Thanks!

Is it possible to arrange direct deposit between two individuals?

HotToddy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:43:47 -0800

How can I, an individual (not a business), automate a regular monthly payment to another individual (not a business) so that the payment is moved from my bank account into theirs? It can't involve issuing a paper check to the recipient which they then deposit--it needs to go straight to their account. Currently I have a supply of their deposit slips and just send the payment directly to their bank, but it's the only paper check I have to write, so I'd really like to automate it.

Finding an atm that still accepts deposits for any bank

drezdn — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:30:53 -0800

Is there anywhere online to find (by zipcode) ATMs that accept deposits for any/every bank?

Banks with Deposit@Home check scanning services?

sdis — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:02:35 -0800

NOW are there any banks with Deposit@Home check scanning? (That aren't USAA) This has been asked before, but it's 2 years later and one figures that there should be some progress on this front.

For years, USAA has offered (to its military clients only) the ability to scan the front and back of a check, send it to them electronically, and poof, your check is deposited. I'm a private, non-business, non-military USAA customer, and I don't get access to this. It's been 2 years since this was asked on MeFi; any updates?

Googling has so far informed me that some company called Checkfree has made a software package to sell to banks for this purpose in Feb, 2008, but I can't seem to find any banks promoting it. If this is available somewhere, where? If not, why on earth not?

How readily does Mint add new banks?

marylucycraft — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 05:43:29 -0800

How readily does Mint add new banks? I have just decided to use Mint... just got married, finances a bit more messy than before. Anyway, when I tried to add my bank, I was told that they don't have it and are working on establishing a connection.

So my question is: how likely is it to expect that they'll get my bank up in working order anytime in the near future? It's a regional credit union with three (fairly large) branches in the Northeast. Any experience/ advice here is welcome.

P.S. I've also moved, recently and kept my bank because I have so much history with it... might it be worth it to change the bank to somewhere I can deposit checks etc. without driving over an hour?

What's a good bank or credit union in Las Vegas?

metalheart — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:40:21 -0800

Henderson, NV / Las Vegas Filter: What bank or credit union would work best for us? You've all been really helpful with my other Vegas-related questions, so hopefully this time will be no different! My fiance and I are in search of a good bank or credit union to use in Las Vegas, now that we've moved here. Here are some of the things we're looking for in a bank/credit unions:

- Low/few fees.

- Good online banking that will hook up with Mint. We're geeks.

- Fairly good savings account rates. It'd be nice if it was with the same bank/credit union as our checking, but I suppose it's not absolutely necessary.

- Something that links up pretty well internationally. We've moved from Melbourne, Australia, and we both intend to travel back there, as well as elsewhere in the world, and it would be nice if we could just stick with the one bank/credit union without trouble. I know that'd likely be Bank of America, but we've not heard great things about it, so if someone knows something better, we'd like to know about it.

Any other recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated, too, of course. Thanks!

Find me a no-strings safe deposit box in NYC!

thejoshu — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:12:35 -0800

Sought: a safe deposit box in Brooklyn or Manhattan. Difficulties: I don't want it to cost me $80/year (as my bank, Chase, does), and I don't want to have to sign up for a checking account / other relationship with the bank (though I may be flexible about this if the bank offers absotively-free checking). Now, to make it more annoying, I only want a box at an attractive bank. Also, the easier it is for me to give a key to a deputy/agent, the happier I will be. You see, the box will ultimately contain a gift with no monetary value. I want the recipient to be able to access the box, but I am OK with having to arrange this with the bank and the recipient post facto. This is why I want an attractive branch: the box is an element of the gift. (I envision transitioning ownership of the box/contents somewhere down the line.)

Examples of attractive local branches include the former Williamsburg Savings Bank, which is now an HSBC that I was told doesn't offer boxes, and the former Dime Savings Bank in Downtown Brooklyn, which is now a Chase location featuring $80/year boxes.

Where to get the best exchange rate to buy a big USD bank draft in Toronto?

winston — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:05:47 -0800

How do I get the best exchange rate when I have Canadian dollars in hand and want to make a large payment in US dollars? I'm in Toronto and the recipient is not flexible with regards to payment methods so I need to end up with a certified cheque or bank draft to send. The money is currently in a President's Choice account and they can get me a USD draft but their premium on the exchange rate seems to be 2.5%. Currency exchange businesses usually advertise better rates than that but is there someplace I can walk into with a draft in CAD and walk out of with a draft in USD? Or is there some other option? I'll only need to do this once.

Depositing plain cash with ATMs?

Askiba — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:34:10 -0800

How safe is it to deposit plain old cash into a bank's ATM? This seems like a really strange question, but follow along with me for a bit.

Ever since I've gotten my bank account (at Chase) my mother has dissuaded me from making deposits, especially just cash, into ATMs. She insists that I can't trust them for such a procedure because the machine's contents are removed by people who don't work for the bank (on that note: is that even true?), and that I'm going to get robbed at some point.

Being teenage and all, I think my mom's theory on this is baseless. The one time I suggested that might not be true and that I'd just like to save everyone some time and just slip it in a deposit envelope, she gave me a disapproving look and said "Fine, do what you want, it's not my problem if you get robbed."

I've never heard such a thing happening to anyone, and I likely would have, because who wants their money getting swiped? But the idea got into my head and I've always used a clerk behind a desk to make a deposit in person. Personally, I'm getting extremely tired of it and I think it's wasting my time, not to mention the hapless clerk I have to ask to deposit the cash (especially when I just want to throw in $10 and no checks). I'll probably always use a desk clerk for large deposits involving several kinds of money, though.

So, should I really believe my mother's reasoning?

Debit card fraud?

sickinthehead — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:25:23 -0800

What to do about suspected debit card fraud? I was just checking my account balance and noticed it is overdrawn by $300. Puzzled by this (as I keep a thousand dollar cushion in the account), I went through the charges. Admittedly, due to having recent surgery this is the first month I've been lax in following my charges daily in quite some time.

There are crazy charges on here - not for crazy amounts of money, but for inexplicable store visits. They all appear at the same grocery store. It shows 5 visits to the grocery store on Saturday, 3 on Sunday, 3 on Monday, 1 on Tuesday. It's only my husband and I living here, and I feel like I would recall going to the grocery store that many times but I don't. Neither does he. We also don't have a house stocked full of food to correspond to this.

We called the bank and they informed us that our pin was entered for each of these transactions, so we must have made them. They were very unhelpful and only offered to issue us new cards.

My question: is this possible? Did I visit a grocery store 5 times in a single day and have no memory of it? Then 3 times the next day and 3 the day after? Are thieves sophisticated enough to have used both my correct card AND my pin?

What are my next steps?

Keeping moneys separate

Precision — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:14:19 -0800

What's the best way to keep my summer income separate from my savings? It's the summer between high school and university, and through scholarships (I'm a National Merit Scholar) and working quite a few hours at a part time job during high school, I've managed to save up enough to pay for the entirety of my first year of college, and likely the rest.

I quit my job upon graduating, promptly got bored with my idle time, and got a job waiting tables. I'd like to keep this money separate from my savings/checking accounts at Chase, and either use it at the end of the summer to buy a nice guitar, pay for a trip to Europe, or any number of things. I'm honestly only working right now for the fun of it.

I figure I have a few options: 1) Just tag all the income on Mint as "Summer Income" and tally it that way. 2) Open up another savings account at Chase with my first $300 in income and keep it separate that way. 3) Open up an account at Wells Fargo ($100 minimum balance, no monthly fee for college students) and keep it all over there to ensure it doesn't get mixed in with my money.

What's the most painfree way to do this?

how to give my money away while pretending not to have done so

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:09:37 -0800

I want to donate $500 to my favorite local volunteer-run non-profit. I'm friends with the folks who run the thing, and would prefer to remain anonymous. I know which bank we use, and can name 2-3 of the 5 people on the account. Can I just show up at the bank and deposit this money? Is there any reason why I shouldn't do this? I don't really want to go through a lawyer, or mail a money order. I'd rather just go to the bank and deposit it to the account, if it's a legitimate option.

when paypal isnt enough

jak68 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:05:56 -0800

I want to rent audio equipment online. Rental payments will be handled via paypal. But whats the easiest way, online, to hold a monetary amount as collateral (cash value of the equipment until the rental is returned)?

What's a good replacement for Mac Quicken

diode — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:57:23 -0800

What's a good replacement for Quicken on the Mac? I've been struggling with Quicken for years now. 2007 is my latest version. Perhaps it's me that's the problem. . I don't want to flame on Quicken, I just want something else. My primary thing I like to do is download my accounts directly from my bank. All else is optional.

Mint.com equivalent for Europe?

hipersons — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:41:20 -0800

I'm moving to Sweden and will be very sad to leave Mint behind, but I fear I will need to. Are there any good equivalents over there?

sell me on becoming a right-winger

figTree — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:35:12 -0800

There are many left-wing movies that document the apparent obscurities created by banks such as money as debt and countless others. I am looking for the opposing view - in the form of response through a documentary. Please - someone sell me on the why countries like Canada and the U.S. choose to borrow money from banks with interest rather than create their own money without interest? I'm sure there are detailed economic explanations to do with competition - this is the stuff i am looking for. There must be also be specific historical cases that a right-winger can point to and say, look it didn't work. Also i am looking for "pro-privatization" documentaries in general, not just banking, although that seems to be the essence of it all.

thank you meta-filter!

US bank account outside the US

saysthis — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:52:12 -0800

Assuming I'm a US citizen with no bank account, what's the best way to obtain a debit card, bank account, or credit card within the US? I'll need it for online ID verification, online ordering, paypal, and the other standard slough of uses a debit card is good for. I haven't been home to the US in years, and I haven't used my debit card in ages. The bank, probably rightfully, has placed my account on hold until I can show up in person at a branch to withdraw cash. I still haven't fully investigated my options there, but from the phone calls I've made, it seems like they mean it, and it looks like it'll just have to stay that way until I find my way back to the States again, which likely won't be for awhile.

In the meantime, I'd like to start picking up freelancing work outside China, where I am. China has silly currency and reporting restrictions that I'd really rather not deal with. The easiest way to facilitate this, then, is with a USD paypal account, online bank account, or some other payment system that I'm not familiar with. I'd also like to order things online, obviously, which China's local Unionpay doesn't do very well outside the mainland. If I'm not in the US to apply directly, though, I'll need some form of online application.

Ideally, I'd like a Visa or Mastercard debit card tied to a bank account that I can apply for and manage from here. I can use my parents' address in the States and have them forward my mail if need be. What are my options?

How broke is broke?

JuiceBoxHero — Wed, 13 May 2009 10:45:01 -0800

When people say they're broke, do they literally have no money? With or without the current recession, do people who rack up credit card debt, default on their mortgages and miss payments on loans really not have any money? As in, are all of their bank accounts actually at zero?

It seems that if I were in a position where I was up to my eyeballs in debt and/or were about to foreclose on my home, I'd tap into my 401k, IRA, investments, savings accounts or whatever else I had to continue to provide for my family. So when people choose default or bankruptcy, have they already exhausted these resources (assuming they existed to begin with) or do they just not have the current inflow of cash to support their lifestyle, but hold on to any other resources they have?

Is it 20% or PMI or nothing for me?

middleclasstool — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:36:22 -0800

What should we reasonably expect to need down for a mortgage when we move? All this is in the US:

So we bought our first house during the pre-crash boom, about five years ago. We were of course in the Land of Sweetheart Deals, mortgages being handed out like candy back then, and we got a loan for essentially 100% of the value of the house. I don't recall off the top of my head what we paid down, but it wasn't more than a few grand on a $140k home.

That plus only five years of payments means not much equity in the house -- my area (central Arkansas) hasn't been hit as hard as some of the rest of the country by falling house prices, so I'm guessing but have not yet confirmed that with the improvements we've made, at worst the house is back down to being worth what we paid for it, just by eyeballing other homes for sale in the neighborhood.

Well, now a combination of growing pains (toddler, plans to make another baby) and very shitty neighbors (long story) are making me very itchy to move. Ours is a starter home, just a small bungalow, which I'm given to understand are still selling fairly well here, what with stimulus money for first time homeowners and all that.

However, I know the lending market has puckered up. I'm very doubtful I'd be able to find a mortgage like this one, tiny down payment with no mortgage insurance, but I'm curious if there are banks doing loans like this (or an 80-20, maybe) for people like me who have awesome credit, a very good debt-to-income ratio, a two-income white-collar family, and a history of making mortgage payments every month for five years.

So bottom line: are my options realistically going to be either PMI, or save up $40,000 for that $200,000 house? Or are there banks looking at extremely low risk people like me and thinking "Hey we need some non-toxic assets on our balance sheet, so let's give him a deal?"

Yes, I know I need to actually go talk to mortgage lenders to see what's available in my area, but I'm hoping some of you are working in lending yourselves and can give me a sense of exactly how guarded banks are when it comes to issuing mortgages -- I'd hate to waste too much of a lender's time right now, as it'd realistically be at least several months to a year minimum before we're really ready to move.

Mutual authorization required for withdrawal.

Nixie Pixel — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:54:54 -0800

Which national banks in the US can be set up to require mutual authorization for withdrawals from a joint account? I am starting a business with a person who is many miles away from me, and we would like to have the business proceeds sent to a single bank account. We would like to both authorize withdrawals from the account to provide security for the situation.

Are there banks that offer this option, a requirement for mutual authorization on withdrawals or transfers (and of course to be done from separate cities where we each live)?

How to make a bet on interest rates

thenormshow — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:17:22 -0800

How do I, as a small investor in Canada, make a bet, (preferably leveraged) as to what interest rates are going to be in 5 years? My wife and I are buying a condo, and I want to protect us from being hit by high interest rates. (We bought pre-construction, there's no way out of it, and we've accepted it and moved on. We move in in a year.) Problem is, in Canada, people usually take a 5 or 10 year fixed term, and the rate for a 5 year term is at 4%, while a 10 year term is at 5.25%. A 25 year mortgage is crazy expensive. Check out www.canequity.com.

Really what I'd like to do is buy something akin to an out of the money call option. Spend a small amount to make a bet that will likely be worth zero, but pays off huge if an unlikely event happens. There's general agreement that rates are likely to be higher 5 years from now. The bet I want to make would be on rates are substantially higher than pretty much anyone expects.

Essentially, I want to take the lower, 5 year rate on our mortgage, and then hedge, so that we're not in pain if the rate goes up huge in the meantime. Based on the price of this bet, I might be persuaded to take the 10-year term.

I don't know what kind of security I could buy that would do this. I know that certain sectors of the stock market are interest rate sensitive, but I want something more closely linked to interest rates.

Thanks!

No, I'm NOT $300 over my shopping budget!

emelenjr — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 09:14:53 -0800

I'd like to get more out of Mint.com, but can't figure out how to do what I'd like to do. The crux of the problem is that Mint.com mistakenly identifies some of my recurring monthly expenses as being payments to Marshall's (the store). Payments that Mint.com assumes are to Marshall's are actually to more than one payee, and the Rules feature doesn't seem to be customizable enough to handle that. My first name happens to be Marshall, and I wonder if that might have something to do with it. If not, it's a weird coincidence. Mint's tech support and forums haven't been helpful (yet) so I'm turning to the hive mind.

Since this happens with more than one payee, I can't simply create a rule that renames transactions supposedly involving Marshall's to a different name, because that will rename multiple transactions to the same new name when they should each be identified by different names.

Is there a way to create a rule based on the amount of the transaction, not just by the name of the payee? That would make the Rules feature even more useful, and it would solve this problem. "If it's X amount and it's going to Y payee, don't assume this is a shopping expense to Marshall's." That's what I would like to see, but I can't figure out how to make that work. Any ideas?

What are the effects of high inflation and high interest rates on an economy?

thewalrus — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:12:56 -0800

Economicsfilter: How do mortgages work in developing countries with high rates of inflation and high interest rates? For example, Pakistan has a 20% inflation rate and the average fixed term prime residential mortgage for people with good credit is priced at 17%. What are the effects of this on a market? Can anyone point me to economics texts or real world examples of the results of the following:

USD:PKR exchange has gone from 1:60 to 1:81 in less than one year.
Inflation rate steady at 18 to 22% per year.
Minimum mortgage costs for residential consumers in the range of 16.5%+

The Pakistan central bank sets a rate which results in a KIBOR (Karachi Interbank Offered Rate) of approximately 15%. The various big name banks in Pakistan mark this up a couple of percent and sell residential mortgages on 10, 15 or 20 year amortization terms for around 16.5 to 18.0%. These are not "sub prime" type rates but are for people who can put 20-25% down, with good credit scores and job references, the Pakistani equivalent of a non-jumbo Prime mortgage.

This obviously makes the purchase of an average 3-bedroom flat quite a bit more expensive than in the US or Canada, where mortgages for anything would be under 8%.

How did this work in Argentina when the currency dropped drastically against the US dollar? I know of people who got into the Argentine market at exactly the right time with a USD exchange (or Euros, or GBP, or whatever) and were able to buy up property at amazing prices. Were interest rates similarly high in Argentina during the same period?

Does a high inflation rate somewhat offset the effect of having a mortgage with a 17% fixed interest rate? If the mortgage contract is fixed at a certain payment, but the inflation continues, a theoretical Rs125,000 monthly payment will continue to get less expensive as time goes on...

Help me find hard-hitting facts on the recent financial collapse please

willie11 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:47:33 -0800

Please help me find facts about the banking/economic crisis and the impact of the financial meltdown for a demonstration against the no-strings-attached billions for banks while Americans suffer. Your help will be rewarded with a just and fair financial system that works for all Americans and not just Wall Street. Thanks so much! I'm helping organize one of the April 11th rallies for A New Way Forward, previously discussed on Metafilter here. These rallies are being staged across the country by grassroots activists and concerned citizens to demand a restructuring of the failed financial institutions and an end to the no-strings-attached bailout billions that have failed to help anyone but the insolvent banks and financial institutions that put us in this economic crisis in the first place.

Part of our demonstration in Raleigh, NC will potentially involve a "nest-egg" hunt to play off the Easter holiday weekend where participants will search for their now-emaciated financial nest eggs. We're trying to fill these eggs with hard-hitting facts about the impact of America's oligarchical financial system that has amassed unprecedented wealth at the top and left the rest of America on the brink of financial ruin. We're hoping to find 25 - 40 hard-hitting facts along the lines of:

Bank of America has collected $45 billion in federal bailout funds - your taxpayer money - yet they plan to lay off over 30,000 workers while handing out $5.2 million in corporate bonuses.

I'm really hoping for more personal facts about foreclosure & bankruptcy rates to contrast with the lavish spending and counter-productive investments these groups are using our bailout funds for. I'm sure there's a list of these somewhere and I hate to ask others do my work for me, but this demonstration is truly a grassroots movement and, as such, we're all doing four people's jobs at once. Your help with this will be so appreciated. Thanks!

--- Willie