Bank Safety Deposit Boxes Seized

Detective Krum

Could your bank safety deposit box be seized without reason?  It appears, according to Steve Quayle, one reason for the devaluation of the dollar and bank failures has an anterior motive – the introduction of a new currency, the North American Union new money and according to Steve Quayle, some larger Midwestern banks have sent  Steve a copy of the forms.

The New York Post reported the dollar loses reserve status to the yen and euro. This is not good news for Americans as the United States Congress continues to fleece America and Americans. Read the article here.

What will you do if you walk into your bank and ask to have access to your safety deposit box or account information and you are handed a letter like the Midwestern Banks have provided that says;

Dear (Bank deleted) Customer:

As you may have heard through the news media or learned via a recent visit to (bank deleted), regulations have been imposed limiting access to your financial accounts with our institution. Please understand the withdrawal limits imposed yesterday by governmental organizations including the Internal Revenue Service, F.D.I.C., Federal Reserve, as well as Executive Order (number withheld) signed by President Barack Obama on (date withheld) require us to limit you to a total combined weekly withdrawal of five hundred (500) dollars from one or a combination of all accounts held at (bank name deleted) every seven (7) business days until authorization is received from proper authorities to eliminate this restriction. Again, we apologize for this inconvenience and ask you to realize this situation is totally beyond our control. We regret the difficulty the withdrawal limits imposed on your checking, savings, IRA, and credit-line accounts at (bank deleted) have caused. We hope to continue to serve your banking needs as we truly value your patronage and ask for your understanding in this matter. Please contact us at our toll-free number, (number deleted), if we can provide further assistance.

Sincere yours,

(Name of bank president withheld)

There are several pictures for proposed “new” money available here. But a sample is below.

Rush Limbaugh – Love Him or Hate Him – He Got it Right

Detective Krum

With 98 bank failures this year you would think the United States Congress knew what they were doing.  Passing trillions of dollars in bank bailouts and sending US working people the bill in spite of about 86% of Americans opposing the bank bailouts you can understand Rush Limbaugh’s comments.

Rush said, “We can’t pay everybody’s mortgage forever. Besides, we’re deepening the problem because we’re delaying the market correction that will happen automatically if we just get out of the way and let it. But these are central planners. They know better than you.” Rush isn’t the only one making the claim bailouts aren’t fixing the problems. See here.

Nick Carey of Reuters (see here) writes , “Eight months later, the plan is plagued by delays, red tape and, some critics say, a reluctance by banks to do their part. Just 17 percent of eligible borrowers have had their loans modified and monthly payments cut. Hardly any have been given a cut in the amount they owe on homes which are now worth less.

That means many successful applicants are left with loans that they still will not be able to afford in the long run. So instead of resolving the housing crisis that pushed the U.S. economy into recession, America may be prolonging it and, in the process, stunting the global recovery.

“Every single policy we’ve seen has merely kicked the problem down the road,” said Laurie Goodman, a veteran analyst at broker-dealer Amherst Securities Group LP, which specializes in residential mortgage-backed securities.

Rush said “We’re now at 50% youth unemployment. If these kids can’t find jobs now, when they’re young, when they’ll learn all about working, what’s going to happen to them when they hit their twenties and thirties? We’re looking at a permanent welfare state being created on purpose by this president and his administration.” see here.

One must ask why then, is Congress moving to willfully destroy America?  The answer may be as World Net Daily reported here, “A plan to replace the dollar with a world currency originated with Columbia University economics professor Robert Mundell, who won a Nobel Prize in economics in 1999 for creating the euro and is now widely regarded as “the father of the euro.”

Robert Mundell

Mundell, currently an economic consultant to China, is the originator of the suggestion that the International Monetary Fund should utilize Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, to replace the dollar as a new standard for holding foreign exchange reserves in international trade transactions.

SDRs are international reserve assets calculated by the IMF in a basket of major currencies allocated to the IMF’s 185 member nation-states in relation to the capital. The assets are largely in gold or widely accepted foreign currencies the members have on deposit with the IMF.

The current trend is to mail every Congressman/woman a pink

slip and fire them next election cycle.

Banks and Credit Unions Merge

Detective Krum

Discussions of merging banks with credit unions, at least from a Congressional standpoint, appears being considered.

“It’s not necessary or reasonable for Congress to lump credit unions with the banking industry in seeking to shorten the compliance deadline for remaining Credit CARD Act requirements to this Dec. 1,” according to the National Association For Credit Unions.

Download a copy of the Credit Card Accountability Act here. The Amendments are here and here. If Congress claims to be helping consumers with their banking issues, they may want to reconsider. It appears the Credit Card Act has had a negative impact in part according to Anthony Demangone, senior compliance counsel.

Anthony Demangone said, ” The provision will likely lead to the end of credit unions issuing consolidated statements, the elimination of members’ ability to pick payment-due dates and an end of weekly and biweekly payment-due dates, Demangone noted. “Simply put, the 21-day issue is the largest single compliance burden the credit union industry has faced in the last decade”.

Demangone also testified that H.R. 2382, the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009, would have the net effect of severely limiting a revenue stream for credit unions that helps pay for the costs associated with data security breaches and compliance associated with increased regulation. “Arbitrarily limiting these fees will come at the expense of the consumer, the 90 million credit union members in America, and our nation’s smaller financial institutions,” he said.

H.R. 3639 and H.R. 2382 come at a time when many credit unions are already struggling with an ever-increasing regulatory burden, he noted. New amendments to Regulation Z, additional regulation on unfair or deceptive acts, and two Federal Reserve proposals on closed-end real estate lending and home equity lines of credit are just a few.

During Q&A, Demangone said credit unions are dealing with myriad operational issues in their efforts to meet current compliance deadlines. He added that many which rely on third-party providers for operational support are already hearing that those providers would be unable to comply with the rest of the Credit CARD Act by Dec. 1.

The proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency also came up briefly, as Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., asked witnesses how CFPA could make life more difficult for institutions that are already complying with federal consumer protection laws.

Demangone responded that the CFPA would mean one more layer of regulation that will carry additional compliance costs, and those costs will ultimately be shouldered by the member-owners of each credit union.

H.R. 3639 is slated for mark-up Oct. 14 by the committee, according to a revised noticed published this morning.

Banks Update 10/09/2009

Detective Krum

Questions have been sent that I must get out of the way first. American Founders Bank based in Lexington Kentucky – their rating is an (E) and the Bank of Bonifay in Bonifay Florida is rated (E-).  It appears the Bank of Bonifay may fail and soon so I would caution depositors, FDIC insurance will not cover deposits over $100,000 and the temporary increase of insured deposits at $250,000 could be a problem because FDIC reported it needs a bailout. For Bank of Bonifay customers, you might want to remove your money from that bank as soon as possible.

The projected outlook for Florida banks according to FDIC through the second quarter of 2009 is as follows:

Past-Due and Nonaccrual Loans / Total Loans (median %) 6.58

Noncurrent Loans / Total Loans (median %) 4.43

Net Loans to Assets (median %) 70.9

Largest Deposit Markets (from 2008 Summary of Deposits)

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
Jacksonville, FL
Orlando, FL
Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL

SunTrust Bank Blues

Detective Krum

SunTrust Bank – banking blues. As financial reports come through and TARP funds examined you can begin to  understand the SunTrust Bank blues.  SunTrust Bank appears to have over extended their reach in mortgage areas, particularly in the south. This over reach affects their borrowing power with other banks and lenders.

Let me ask you a question.  If you had a bank and your bank lost a lot of money on foreclosures, how would you compensate your bottom line?  What does SunTrust Bank do? It appears they raise their fees on their good customers. Someone needs to show them how to win friends and influence people. You would think SunTrust would lower their fees, offer perks, do anything for the public to get their business and get out of the mess they created for themselves. Here is a closer look (from a financial source) at SunTrust Bank’s problems:

“The downgrade was triggered by continued deterioration in SunTrust’s asset quality. Until fourth-quarter 2008, asset quality problems had been largely contained to home equity and Alt-A loans with high loan-to-value ratios, but are now beginning to spread to SunTrust’s large portfolio of first mortgage loans on residential properties,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Charles D. Rauch. In addition, the portfolio of loans to regional home builders is weakening. SunTrust has been particularly vulnerable during this credit cycle because of its large real estate exposure in Florida, one of the most overbuilt markets in the country.

The deterioration in credit quality caused the bank to report a large pretax operating loss of $656.5 million in fourth-quarter 2008. The quarter was marked by another spike in loan-loss provisions, as well as higher credit costs (mortgage application fraud and insurance denial claims). Net charge-offs, delinquencies, and nonperforming assets continued to climb from already high levels. We expect loan-loss provisions and other credit costs to remain elevated, causing more pressure on profitability in 2009.

Current ratings on SunTrust reflect its well-established banking franchise and extensive deposit-gathering branch network across the Southeast U.S. SunTrust’s issuance of $4.85 billion of preferred stock under the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program bolstered capital levels, increasing the Tier 1 risk-adjusted capital ratio to approximately 10.8% at year-end 2008. We expect SunTrust, which reduced its quarterly common dividend to $0.10 per share, to continue to build capital ratios through the credit downturn. During the fourth quarter, SunTrust raised core deposits and issued FDIC-guaranteed debt to bolster its liquidity profile. As of year-end 2008, the bank was a net supplier of overnight funds, a position we deem prudent in this volatile banking market.

The negative outlook incorporates our baseline scenario that SunTrust’s financial performance will remain weak in 2009. We expect asset quality problems to worsen throughout the year. If credit losses rise materially above our expectations or if core profitability is not poised for a recovery next year, we could lower the ratings.

In addition, complaints have piled up against SunTrust. Allegations of holding deposits for days before crediting them to accounts, overdraft fees charged to accounts because deposits weren’t cleared, mailing bank cards to the wrong address and many others.  These issues are not the way to get your bank in good graces with your customers. One must ask, does SunTrust Bank want customers or just their money?

SunTrust Bank Fraud Allegation

Detective Krum

There are  many SunTrust Bank articles in this blog, just check the archives.  SunTrust Bank has the highest fee schedule compared to similar institutions.  The following complaint alleges SunTrust Bank fraud.  Couple this complaint, if true, to the factual report showing SunTrust Bank partnering with Florida Trend Magazine to mislead the public regarding SunTrust Bank strength shows a pattern of what appears to be deceitful practices.

I have removed the name of the person filing this complaint. Here is a complete copy of the complaint:

Suntrust Bank fraud

I went online to find out if I had lost my mind… only to find out that there are millions of people just like me out there that have been defrauded by Suntrust Bank.

I have a small Internet business and use my bank card for all of my transactions. This way I always have a record of them. and un like a credit card I have no interest and can not spend beyond the cash on hand.

One night, about 11:00pm when checking my account I noticed that there was a $500.00 hundred dollar charge pending on the account. Mind you my balance at the time was $223.00. a couple of small “legitimate” charges for about $15.00 and 28.00 so this caused the account to be overdrawn. I quickly called the 800 number to find out what the charge was for. I was placed in an endless loop of about 35 minutes and then the call was dropped. I decided I would wait until morning since it was late.

When I contacted customer service the following morning I was told there was nothing I could do until the transaction posted to the account. However, I was given the name of the company that was making the charge. As i suspected the the charge was not from any of my vendors and was indeed fraudulent… Still they insisted there was nothing they could do until it posted to the account.. I checked my account daily to see if the transaction had posted (still not sure why we would wait for a fraudulent charge to post) each night I noticed that not only had the charge not posted but suntrust was now charging me nsf fees for the “unposted fraudulent charge” 32.00 first then 64.00 then 96.00 from the 17th to the 20th when it finally posted they had racked up over $200.00 in fees. Mind you my business is at a stand still because I can not purchase material or process orders.

When it finally posted I called customer service, who transferred me to the fraud department, who told me that I would have to sign and affidavit, have it signed and notarized, return it, and then wait 7-10 days for them to sort this out. I decided not to leave this to fax machines and customer service, I would go directly to the branch an speak with a manager. I did what they asked and was told the 7-10 days is perfectly acceptable for me to wait for this kind of thing to be cleared up . However, again my business is still on hold for another 7-10 days!

My question to any one is this….. why would they pay a “check card” transaction (not a credit card) that was more then the balance IF THE FUNDS ARE UNAVAILABLE RETURN THE CHECK OR DECLINE THE CHARG! The only logical reason is because they want to collect the fees so they allowed a fraudulent charge to be posted to my account even though there was only $200.00 in the account when the fraudulent 500.00 charge came through. Now my account is on hold because they decided to pay it against monies the were not available.

So now my company is on hold while they investigate a charge that they should never have paid in the fist place… and charging me overdraft fees for the privilege. my overdraft fees now have fees (extended overdraft fees)

I am finding an attorney and changing banks as soon as they finish their investigation!

SunTrust Bank has the highest fees and makes a great deal annually from fees as you will notice in their financial report.  SunTrust Bank also participated in the bank bailout scheme and received TARP funds. Taxpayers paid to help bailout SunTrust Bank.

America’s Financial Future Projection

Detective Krum

Some report the “recession” is almost over while others say the pattern today is similar to the 1929/1930 Great Depression.  Those supporting the latter scenario say in 1929 the stock market rallied for 6 months after the first fall.  They claim the rally lasted about six months and then the stock market free fell.  What scenario will play out now? Only God knows for sure but I looked at various reports and here are clips.

Government reports now point to fiscal doomsday for America; and one of the reports, issued by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), says so explicitly:

• The CBO paints two future scenarios for the U.S. budget deficit and the national debt. But it plainly declares that fiscal disaster will strike in EITHER scenario. Furthermore …

• The CBO states that its fiscal disaster scenarios could cause severe economic declines for decades to come, including hyperinflation and destruction of retirement savings.

• The CBO then proceeds to admit that even its worse-case scenario could be understated by a wide margin due to panic in the financial markets or vicious cycles that are beyond control.

See the complete report here. If the link doesn’t work for you then go here. The links show the financial and budget outlooks for America for Fiscal Years 2009 – 2019.  How’s that hope and change working for you now? Retirement accounts were a pad for baby-boomers because social security would not be there for baby-boomers. This report reflects the years baby-boomers saved for retirement in retirement accounts will be wiped out.

The Federal Reserve released the Flow of Funds Report in a pdf file format. You can view the entire report here. This report reflects credit will be cut off to business and consumers. One must ask, what was the purpose of the bank bailouts if it was not for liquidity.