U.S. Bank Profits Seen Rising

[GHOSTDANCER]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. consumer, long a key driver of banks' profits, look ready to start passing the baton to corporate borrowers as the biggest financial institutions report fourth-quarter results next week.

Many U.S. banks benefited from rising stocks and increased investment banking activity, analysts said. Corporate customers, meanwhile, are borrowing more to fund expansion and mergers as the economy grows.

"Companies are more open to booking loans, and the capital markets environment for banks is better than many people believe," said Tim Woolston, who helps invest more than $5 billion for Boston Advisors Inc.
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&e=3&u=/nm/20050115/bs_nm/financial_banks_dc>



A must watch here....... <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/>

[Goldeneye]

1. "as the economy grows."

say what? When did that happen?

[Vincardog]

2. As they play accounting games and rip off the American Working P eople

[NYC]

6. That's the phrase that caught my eye.

I wonder how many will be defaulting on these loans.

[ckramer]

3. It's a zero sum game

It means more poor people are getting robbed.

[GHOSTDANCER]

5. In the 21st century they use ATMs to control instead of whips. n/t

[Skittles]

4. BankOne tried to charge me three f***ing dollars for a money order

THREE DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!!! F***ing RIPOFFS

[NV Whino]

7. I get my money orders from the post office

It's always cheaper.

[SOS]

8. 26% credit card interest

late fees, over limit fees, minimum balance fees, ATM fees, 1% checking interest, points, closing fees, returned check fee, maintenance fees, ...the list is endless and the charges go up every year.
How could they NOT make massive profits from all this usury?

[Karenina]

10. Cut the plastic into little shreds

and dump them in the recycle bin.

[GHOSTDANCER]

12. That Frontline episode(link above) lays it out mmm mmm good.

[louis-t]

9. Many banks benefited from rising..

service charges, stricter check policies which penalize consumers, and giving .75 percent annual interest on savings. While I do understand borrowing to "fund expansion", I believe the level of this to be insignificant. Meanwhile, don't mergers usually happen because one of the parties isn't doing well? Mergers always hurt consumers. Less competition means higher prices. Mergers always include layoffs. Only stockholders and CEO's benefit.

[llmart]

11. I get a whopping .75% on my savings account......

while the greedy bastards at the bank are vacationing in Bimini on a yacht. Corporations are screwing the people in this country and we're allowing it.