Overdraft fees could drop to as low as $3 under new Biden proposal
The cost to overdraw a bank account could drop to as little as $3 under a proposal announced by the White House, the latest move by the Biden administration to combat fees it says pose an unnecessary burden on American consumers, particularly those living paycheck to paycheck.
CEOs of the nation's biggest banks warn that new regulations could harm the economy
The heads of Wall Streetโs biggest banks used an appearance on Capitol Hill to plead with senators to stop the Biden administrationโs proposed changes to how banks are regulated, warning that the proposals could negatively impact the economy at a time of geopolitical turmoil and inflation.
Bank of America $100 million payout: Who gets paid, how much, and when?
Bank of America, the nationโs second-largest bank, is in the hot seat, accused of double-dipping on fees imposed on customers with insufficient funds in their account, withholding reward bonuses explicitly promised to credit card customers, and misappropriating sensitive personal information to open accounts without customer knowledge or authorization.
Bank of America hit with $250M in fines and refunds for 'double-dipping' fees and fake accounts
Bank of America must reimburse customers more than $100 million and pay $150 million in fines for โdouble-dippingโ on overdraft fees, withholding reward bonuses on credit cards and opening accounts without customer consent.
Bank of America profits grow 15%, avoids industry crisis
Bank of America said its profits grew 15% last quarter, the latest of the big banks to do exceptionally well this earnings season as investors and consumers flock to Wall Street for safety after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
โWhatโs going on with Bank of America?โ Social media users call out financial giant over missing money
Bank of America was trending on social media Wednesday after many customers discovered that money was missing from their accounts. The concerned consumers shared their experiences online, calling out the financial giant and demanding answers.
KPRC 2 Investigates: Bank cancels account, keeps $6,300 from customer
Most of us depend on banks to keep our money safe. But some consumers say when they needed their money their bank held it for days and sometimes weeks. They called KPRC 2 Investigates for help. Investigator Amy Davis is looking into what you need to know about your rights and your money.
With inflation sticking around, Biden targets โjunk feesโ
With time running out before the election, President Joe Biden highlighted his administrationโs push to crack down on so-called junk fees that banks and other companies charge their customers. The announcement comes after months of high inflation has eaten away at Americansโ savings and made the economy the top issue for voters.
KPRC 2 Investigates: Zelle fraud victims rarely get their money back
Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo... no matter which bank you use, you probably trust your bank to protect your money. But consumer advocates are calling out the nation's largest banks for giving thieves easy access to your cash through an app and platform they created. They say new numbers from some of those banks show just how much criminals are making from Zelle.
Bank CEOs questioned on consumer protections, social issues
The CEOs of the nationโs biggest banks returned to Capitol Hill for a second day Thursday, and Senate Democrats strongly urged them to do more to help and protect their customers, while Republicans questioned whether banks should weigh in on hot-button social issues.
Bank of America announces zero down payment, zero closing cost mortgages for first-time homebuyers in Black and Hispanic communities nationwide
Bank of America said it isย now offeringย first-time homebuyers in a select group of cities zero down payment, zero closing cost mortgages to help grow homeownership among Black and Hispanic/Latino communities.
KPRC 2 Investigates new Zelle scam transferring thousands of dollars from bank accounts
Have you ever received one of those text messages that appear to be from your bank or a retailer confirming a transfer or purchase you didnโt make? By now, you likely know those messages are usually scams. The scammer wants you to click on the link so that you will give them your financial information. But this new scheme takes it a step further.
March hiring accelerated to 916K, yet many jobs remain lost
Americaโs employers unleashed a burst of hiring in March, adding 916,000 jobs in a sign that a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession is taking hold as vaccinations accelerate, stimulus checks flow through the economy and businesses increasingly reopen.
US jobless claims rise to 719K as virus still forces layoffs
California added 141,000 jobs in February as more than a quarter of a million people returned to the workforce. The California Employment Development Department said Friday, March 26, that the state's unemployment rate in February was 8.5%, down from 9% in January. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of claims increased from 684,000 the week before. Less than a year ago, the jobless rate had hit 14.8%. Some economists are even more optimistic: Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the tax advisory firm RSM, is predicting 1 million added jobs for March.
Houston bank clerk accused of stealing nude photos of unknowing customers
A Bank of America spokesperson said the company fired Juan Esteban Ramirez after two customers, both 20-year-old women, filed police reports against him. โShe was unsure how to look up her Bank of America account information. But after she left the bank, the victim noticed the sent messages on her smartwatch and filed a police report. AdโIn this case, he actually texts that victim from his personal cell phone and threatens her and says he has those pictures from her cell phone,โ Forcht said. โWe have a pattern of behavior here and hope to be able to identify another, whether it be one, two, three, ten more victims,โ Forcht said.
Maskless woman seen in body-cam bank video arrested after incident at another business, officials say
Galveston Bank incidentGalveston police said Terry Wright refused to wear a mask inside of a Bank of America branch. Terry Wright was charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass last week after refusing to wear a face mask inside a Galveston bank. Woman describes bank incident as โabsolutely ridiculousโThe maskless woman involved in the incident at a bank in Galveston spoke last week..During a phone interview with KPRC 2, Wright said although she has yet to see video of the incident, she wouldnโt do anything differently. Officers recognized Wright from video of the incident that occurred at the Bank of America location is Galveston last week. AdWright was taken into custody and transported to the Galveston County Jail by Texas City Police department for booking and processing.
A meager gain in US jobs last month highlights virus' damage
The increase of just 49,000 positions in January made scarcely any dent in the nearly 10 million jobs that remain lost since the virus intensified nearly a year ago. The tepid increase followed a decline of 227,000 jobs in December, the first loss since April. Most of the drop in unemployment occurred because some people out of work found jobs, but others stopped looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. And without an increase of 80,000 temporary jobs, the economy would have posted a net loss for January. Still, more than 4 million Americans have lost jobs and stopped looking for work since the pandemic began.
Former Bank of America employee accused of sending nude photos of customer to his cellphone
HOUSTON โ A former Bank of America employee is accused of sending nude photos of a customer to his cellphone on Sept. 14, 2020, according to the bank. The ex-employee, identified as Juan Esteban Ramirez, was charged with unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material, according to court documents. Ramirez gained access to the customerโs photos while assisting with her account on her cellphone, according to court documents. He sent the womanโs intimate photos to himself without permission of the Bank of America customer, according to court records. Bank of America said Ramirez was terminated in early October after the bank became aware of the allegation.
Bank profits remain resilient despite lingering pandemic
In the early months of the U.S. pandemic, banks set aside tens of billions of dollars to cover losses that could come from loans that were suddenly going bad. On top of the stimulus, banks entered into this pandemic the healthiest theyโve been in years and certainly healthier than they were before the financial crisis of 2008. JPMorgan set aside $611 million to cover potentially bad loans in the third quarter, a fraction of the $10.47 billion the bank set aside to cover bad loans in the second quarter. On Wednesday, Bank of America said it set aside $1.4 billion to cover potentially bad loans, far less than the $5.1 billion it set aside three months earlier. Most of the worry seems to reflect investors' uncertainty about whether banks will have to set aside additional billions in the future.
Bank of America profit falls 15.6% in third quarter
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ Consumer banking giant Bank of America says third-quarter profit declined 15.6% from a year earlier, but saw less need to put aside money to cover potentially bad loans, citing improvements in the U.S. economy. The North Carolina-based bank said Wednesday that it earned a profit of $4.88 billion, or 51 cents per share, down from a profit of $5.78 billion, or 56 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. BofA had $1.4 billion in loan-loss reserves in the third quarter, down from the $5.1 billion it set aside in the second quarter. BofAโs loan-loss reserves were higher than JPMorgan's, which only set aside $611 million in the quarter, but less than the $2.26 billion that Citigroup had set aside. The bankโs net interest yield โ a measurement of how much profit the bank is earning on the loans it approved โ was 1.72% in the quarter, down from 2.41% a year earlier.
Asian stocks follow Wall St lower as stimulus hopes fade
Stocks are pulling slightly higher in the early going on Wall Street, Wednesday, Oct. 14, as investors pore over another batch of earnings reports from big U.S. companies. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower on Thursday as hopes U.S. leaders will agree on a new economic stimulus before the Nov. 3 presidential election faded. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1% to 3,337.51 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.5% to 23,517.63. On Wall Street, companies that rely on consumer spending, banks and technology and communication stocks bore the brunt of the selling. Wells Fargo dropped 6% after its earnings were lower than Wall Street expected.
Bank of America's 2Q results hurt by pandemic like others
NEW YORK Bank of America's second quarter profits were sawed in half and the consumer banking giant set aside billions of dollars to cover potentially bad loans caused by the pandemic. Bank earnings this quarter have begun to paint a picture of American families and businesses struggling to pay bills with swaths of the nation's economy shut down. Those provisions come on top of the tens of billions they set aside in the first quarter when the pandemic first began to bloom. Because it is so consumer-focused, BofA is feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic more acutely than other major banks. The bank also revised down its outlook for the U.S. economy, following similar actions by other banks this week.
Bank of America pledges $1 billion to fight racial inequality
Bank of America is donating $1 billion over the next four years to community programs and small businesses to help address economic and racial inequality that has been exacerbated by Covid-19. The billion-dollar donation is an expansion of the several hundreds of millions of dollars Bank of America donates to nonprofits and lends to small, minitority-owned businesses. Bank of America said the money will expand health services, like vaccination clinics, in communities of color, "support" small businesses, and recruitment of new bank employees in economically disadvantaged communities. Bank of America's donation, which amounts to $250 million a year over the next four, is tiny fraction of the $27.4 billion it made in 2019. It also returned a record $34 billion in share repurchases last year, the bank announced earlier this year.
Man robs drive-thru teller at northwest Houston bank
HOUSTON โ A man robbed a northwest Houston bank through its drive-thru window Thursday. The FBI said a man wearing a green sweater and blue hoodie robbed a drive-thru teller at a Bank of America in the 5200 block of North Shepherd at 8:30 a.m. He fled in a green Suburban. Officials did not release how much money was taken.