Tag: Banking

Biggest Bank in U.S. Records Most Profitable Year Ever Despite Sector Crisis

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Top U.S. bank JP Morgan Chase on Friday reported $49.6 billion in profits for 2023, a record for the bank, despite a sector crisis that shut down multiple smaller institutions.

Profits for the year were up for the bank despite net income bringing in only $9.3 billion in the fourth quarter, falling 15%, while the company brought in $39.9 billion in net revenue, up 12% for the quarter, according to JP Morgan’s fourth quarter earnings report. JP Morgan’s record profits come after a year of crisis for the sector, starting with a bank run in March at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which then spread to First Republic Bank and Signature Bank, prompting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to step in and seize the banks, ultimately selling First Republic’s assets to JP Morgan.

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Commentary: America’s Phony Debts Problem

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The email from “Norton Protection” said I owed $999.99, which was “charged successfully and it will appear on your bank statement in 24 to 48 hours.” Although I have an account with a leading cybersecurity company, I’ve never paid that much for its products. To “cancel” the charge, I was instructed to call a number, conveniently highlighted in yellow.

All it took to bird-dog my fake debt email was a simple search-engine query of the invoice’s telephone number. It was based in Hawaii. Unfortunately, perhaps, for the real employees of Norton’s help desk, they are likely not stationed in the Aloha State.

In a nation swimming in real debt – with the average American owing an estimated $90,000 – it’s not surprising that “phantom debts” are one of the hottest scams.

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State Department Partners with Refugee Coalition Groups Supporting Organizations with Alleged Terror Ties

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Stephen Heintz and George Soros

The U.S. State Department joined an initiative to welcome Afghan refugees into the country that is sponsored by organizations supporting groups with possible ties to Palestinian terrorist organizations, a Daily Caller News Foundation review found.

Welcome.US is part of the Office of American Possibilities initiative, a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, according to its website. The initiative’s main co-chairs include former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush, former First Lady Laura Bush, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The initiative also formed a coalition composed of nonprofit leaders and organizations, former government officials, corporate leaders and public figures. Businesses, including Starbucks, Uber, Facebook, Microsoft, Walmart and Airbnb, also support the effort.

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Some Credit Unions Already Losing Accounts over Democrats’ Plan to Expand IRS Tracking

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Outside of IRS building

Organizations representing community banks and credit unions are blasting the Democrats’ commitment to expanding IRS reporting requirements, calling the proposal a government overreach that would require financial institutions to spend more money on compliance costs at the expense of products and services for their members.

According to the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, customers at some credit unions have already decided to close their accounts over “government intrusion” concerns fueled by the prospect of such new rules taking effect.

The Democrats’ proposal would require financial institutions to report account activity above $600 to the IRS.

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Commentary: Congress Shouldn’t Let ‘Operation Choke Point’ Return to Tennessee

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On January 29, the U.S. Congress’ Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing on whether the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is undermining the effectiveness of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which helps low- and moderate-income communities secure loans. At this hearing, it is critical that Members of Congress speak out against the decisionmakers who have thus far ignored the renaissance of Operation Choke Point throughout the country. The resurrection of this practice, sometimes referred to as biased banking, violates both the CRA and official OCC policy, and, if not stopped soon, will have severe ramifications for Memphis and the State of Tennessee at large.

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Waters’ Spotty Ethical Record and Extreme Policy Positions Leave Many Questioning Her Fitness to Serve as Banking Chair

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by Richard McCarty   Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) represents all that is wrong with Washington, D.C., yet she is next in line to chair the House Financial Services Committee should Democrats seize control of the House. It should be noted that the Financial Services Committee has broad authority with jurisdiction over the banking, housing, insurance, and securities industries and oversight over the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Waters, an 80-year-old California Democrat, was first elected to Congress in 1990. Although she currently represents a working class district, she chooses to live outside of her district in a $4.8 million mansion (which means that the value of her home is more than eight times the median value of homes in her district). Prior to Congress, she spent 14 years in the California State Assembly. She has been a member of the Democratic National Committee for nearly 40 years. Recently, Waters has seen a surge in her popularity among Democrats due to her hatred and contempt for President Trump; but before reinventing herself as a Resistance leader, she was widely viewed as corrupt. In fact, she has repeatedly been labelled one of the most…

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