Research has shown that lifelong money patterns and habits are largely established by the second grade. That’s age 7 for most children in the U.S., but children can begin basic concepts of saving and spending as early as age 3.…
Will CRA Derail Capital One-Discover Merger
A poor CRA rating has derailed many mergers in the past. Community activists, in particular, get involved to protest these combinations. In the case of 5-Star Capital One, N.A., McLean, VA, there is nothing in the CRA report to protest…
Bank Deposits Gain Interest, in More Ways than One
During the fourth quarter 2023, for the first time in seven quarters, domestic deposits at our nation’s banks grew. That growth appears to be the direct result of increased interest being paid by these banks. It pays to do your…
Protecting Seniors from Financial Fraud
According to The National Institute on Aging, money problems may be one of the first signs indicating a person has Alzheimer’s or other form of dementia. Combine that with the fact that older Americans hold 65% of U.S. deposit balances,…
Credit Union Membership Nears 140 million
Navy Federal Credit Union claims close to 10% of all members of federally-insured credit unions in the nation. It has roughly the same number of members as the 3,375 credit unions with less than $200 million in assets, combined (73%…
New Community Bank Branches Popping Up
Community banks added 360 new branches during 2023. They were spread out among more than 300 banks, so the majority netted just one new branch. Those that opened two or more and are also rated either 5-Stars or 4-Stars by…
The Consumer Drives the Economy
When FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg issued the release of the fourth quarter 2023 quarterly banking profile (3/7/2024), he had many good things to say about the state of our economy. He also added some cautionary statements about what “could go…
All New Bank Star-Ratings and Data
All Bauer bank star-ratings and reports are now updated with year-end 2023 financial data. What we are paying particular attention to with this set of data is loan quality. U.S. banks reported year/year increases in all nonperforming loan categories: delinquent…
What a Capital One-Discover Combo Looks Like
You’ve likely already heard or read about the proposed acquisition of Discover Bank by Capital One. What you may not realize is how this combination would change the credit card landscape. If approved, three big banks would hold more than 50%…
To Branch or Not to Branch
While some are content with the status quo, 17% of federally-insured credit unions indicated on their September 30th Call reports that they intend to add at least one more branch location in the next twelve months. One of these credit…