Many industry analysts and shareholders wondered what Bank of America was thinking when it went through with its acquisition of struggling financial giant Merrill Lynch. However, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson will admit tomorrow at a congressional hearing to informing BofA CEO Ken Lewis that he would oust the executive if Lewis did not go through with the acquisition.
 
After Paulson releases his statements concerning his actions last December that essentially forced Bank of America to absorb Merrill Lynch, Paulson will be faced with questions from committee members. Paulson, however, has expressed his confidence in his actions, stating that everything he …read more

I’m learning quickly that everything in this world costs something. Every when it doesn’t cost something for another person to produce, they charge you for it.
There was a mix up with one of my estimated tax payments from last year. It’s easy enough to clear up – I just need a copy of the canceled check. Like with most banks, my checks aren’t included with my bank statement. You can see them online, though. Good enough, right?
Wrong. Because they apparently don’t keep records online back that far. I went to the bank and talked to an incompetent teller, who said …read more

Switzerland’s president, hand-Rudolf Merz has asked United States officials to drop a lawsuit that’s seeking to make Swiss bank USB to turn over information about 52,000 of its American clients. Under Swiss law, disclosing bank client names is a criminal offense. The Justice Department wants the names because of suspected tax evasion.
Swiss officials instead hope to negotiate new tax laws that would fix current United States tax problems in the future. Swizterland and the United States hope to begin negotiating a new treaty on Tuesday that would allow for information disclosure, since the current treaty from 1996 doesn’t require such …read more

Are you frustrated with your bank? Worried about the financial health of your finanical institution? Maybe you’re ready for Personal Bank.
 
Video Credit: The Landline
Image Credit: screenshot

Seven countries in Europe and Asia have agreed to modify their stances on tax information reporting for U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts. Under a previous treaty, they would only honor IRS requests for information is they could provide “specific evidence of tax offenses.” Now, lower standards will apply.
Countries and territories changing their stances on bank information reporting include Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria, Andorra, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In the past, these were some places people would “hide money” (we’ve all heard about the infamous Swiss bank account used by bank robbers and mobsters in movies, right?), and now, that information …read more

There’s never been a better time to invest green but which banks are leading the pack? Douglas Cogan, Director of Climate Change Research at the RiskMetrics Group recently analyzed the top 40 financial institutions in terms of their “greenness” and found what he calls “encouraging progress.”
The top-ranked bank was HSBC and Citigroup and Bank of America rated highest among US institutions. At the bottom of the list were Bank of China and Industrial Bank of China.
The report, Corporate Governance and Climate Change: The Banking Sector, looked at issues like addressing climate change, calculating greenhouse-gas emissions and setting reduction targets, support …read more