Monday, February 25, 2013

Bankers and Loan Sharks: Best Friends For Ever

An article in today's New York Times explained how banks have teamed up with Payday Lenders  to give them access to borrower's accounts.

Payday Lenders have been outlawed or heavily regulated in several American states so they have taken to setting up shop in other countries and doing business online.

Now, thanks to the cooperation of  greedy douchcwads many of the country's banking institutions, the lenders can operate beyond the reach of U.S. law and the local banks can collect a small fortune in overdraft fees.

JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo will aid the lenders in getting their payments by allowing them to draft their fees directly out of the client's account. When other payments don't clear because the account has an insufficient balance, the bank reaps a fee (around $30) for each transaction that bounces.

I still remember when my old bank tried to charge me $8 a month for the "privilege" of keeping my money with them. I closed the account.

I'd like to remind anyone reading this that banks are only required to hold on to a portion of the money we give them. With the fractional reserve system they can lend out the majority of the money we deposit and charge borrowers interest on it, thereby growing their money supply.

The fact that banks played it fast and loose with our money before and later had to be bailed out by the government doesn't help the matter.

Are you angry yet? You should be.

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