Author: BauerFinancial | Page 8

Credit Card Fees: More than Meets the Eye

In keeping with its mandate to protect the collective wallets of U.S. consumers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seeking information on late fees assessed by credit card issuers. Specifically, how late fee amounts are calculated, what are issuers…

50% of Branches Closed by these 9 Banks

The United States lost more than 3,000 bank branches in the 12 month period ending March 31, 2022. But not all banks are shedding branches. In fact, nine (Big) banks were responsible for more than half of the closures. The…

What You Need to Know About Rising Interest Rates

As you know (all too well) banks raise interest rates on loans well before doing so on deposits. Because of that, we expect to see increased profits and interest margins in second quarter bank call reports. Third quarter could be…

Minority Depository Institutions

As a nation of immigrants, we thought we would take the opportunity that Independence Day offers to us to champion our nation’s Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs). The first MDI on record was Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company, Lexington, KY, which…

Image of a house tipping over onto a dollar sign

The (Mortgage Refinancing) Party is Over

With a 1.5% increase in short-term interest rates in a three month period, the mortgage refinancing party is effectively over. Yet, total household debt (including mortgage loans) increased by $266 billion in the first quarter 2022. Balances, now at $15.84…

We Analyze Banks & Credit Unions ...very carefully

Banks Prepare for Economic Downturn

Coral Gables, Florida, June 22, 2022: BauerFinancial, Inc., the nation’s premier Bank and Credit Union rating firm, reports that net income at our nation’s banks dropped over 22% from a year ago. This, as banks find the need to bulk…

All New Credit Union Data Now Available

The Federal Reserve boosted short-term interest rates by three-quarters of a percent on Wednesday. That completes the removal of the 1.5% easing of credit (March 2020) intended to “stimulate” the economy during the Covid-19 shutdown. The target Fed Funds rate…

Can Consumer Loans Withstand Rate Rises?

We had hoped to have credit union data and star-ratings available this week, but the NCUA made so many changes to the reporting this quarter, the data didn’t come out until Tuesday (June 7th). So while our analysts comb over…

Quietly Slipping Under the Radar

Many routines were disrupted the last couple of years (to say the least). But as we begin to pull our lives back to some semblance of normal, it is a little surprising to see that some things (seemingly) never skipped…

Newly Released Bank Star-Ratings and Data

The percent of recommended banks (rated 5-Stars or 4-Stars) remained virtually unchanged between Q4’2021 and Q1’2022. However, banks earning Bauer’s top rating (5-Stars) are at their lowest level since 2018. Problematic banks (rated 2-Stars or below) while still low (1.05%…

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