Banker Reviews

It is very important to choose the right financial establishment to which you could entrust you money. The choice is incredible and most of them are reliable and still one should be careful not to lose the money.

Wachovia Corporation. At the present time the headquarters of Wachovia is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Based on total deposits, it is the third largest banking chain in the United States.

Wachovia provides a wide range of banking, wealth management, asset management, and investment banking products and services. Wachovia Corporation and First Union Corporation merged in 1879 and the Wachovia National Bank in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was established. Wachovia operates Wachovia Securities, which provide brokerage services. There is also an asset management division - Evergreen Investments.

Washington Mutual Inc. Washington Mutual is a family of companies. The company was founded more than 100 years ago. WaMu Investments, Inc., WaMu Insurance Services, Inc. (“WaMuIns”) and WaMu 1031 Exchange are subsidiaries of Washington Mutual, Inc. and its banking affiliates. Among the products and services offered by the company are Checking and Savings, Money Market, Credit Cards, CDs and IRAs, Mortgages / Home Loans, Home Equity Loans and Lines. Insurance products and services provided by WaMu Investments and WaMuIns include not FDIC insured; not a deposit or other obligation of or guaranteed. There is also a chance to use online banking, which is completely safe and secure.

Washington Mutual’s activity is focused on everyday people, middle-market consumers, small businesses as well as commercial customers. Washington Mutual is one of the leading home mortgage lenderс шт the United States. WaMu Card Services is considered to be a leading provider of credit cards to middle market customers all over the United States.

There can never be too many financial companies. The more of them exist the wider the choice for the customer is, and respectively the better terms and conditions appear since the competition increases.

In the United States of America there are some financial institutions that are very important for the country and well known. These organizations are the leading and the largest bank holding companies and financial services corporations. They manage the funds of a huge number of American s and many people all around the world. Owing to these companies, many people can be sure that their money is safe and secure. But from time to time some problems happen even to the customers of the leading companies. And Bank of America is not an exception.

Foundation of the bank. Bank of America Corporation is a publicly held company. The company is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The tagline of Bank of America Corporation is “Bank of Opportunity.” According to deposits and market capitalization, Bank of America Corporation is the largest bank in the United States. Before the company was transformed and named Bank of America Corporation, it existed as Nations Bank. This bank was also known as North Carolina National Bank. The history of Bank of America Corporation is very long and interesting. The corporation has consolidated many famous and important banks of the USA. Bank of Italy is one of them. This bank was founded in 1904 by Italian immigrant. In the beginning of 1920s, Bank of Italy merged with Bank of America that was headquartered in Los Angeles, California. And thus this huge strong nations bank was built.

Bank of America acquisitions. Since that merger, the bank has acquired many different financial services companies. In 2004, Bank of America Corporation acquired National Processing Company. The corporation purchased credit company MBNA and it made Bank of America Corporation the largest credit card issuer in the United States and in the whole world. Besides, the company acquired many foreign financial companies such as Banco Itau of Brazil. Bank of America Corporation has also acquired US Trust, ABN Amro North America and many other companies. And the corporation continues to purchase businesses at home and abroad.

Bank of America corporate structure. Bank of America Corporation consists of several divisions. Each of these divisions has a certain function. For instance, Global Consumer and Small Business Banking division is the largest in Bank of America. This division focuses on consumer banking and issuing of credit cards. There is Global Corporate and Investment division that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory, underwriting, capital market, etc. Global Wealth and Investment Management manages assets of different companies and people.

Everybody know that insurance is a kind of risk management and a company that issues insurance policies is always aware of the risk factor. And people who buy the insurance try to limit the risk of possible definite, accidental, large or calculable loss. Thus, if something happens to the insured person, his or her insurance company provides coverage – a premium. And at the present day insurance is a thing that everyone has to have. That is why insurance companies flourish, grow and expand. Insurance business is almost like a gambling business: an insurer never loses, just like a casino. An insurance company would never sell the insurance to a person that will surely get into trouble and make the company pay off the coverage. And ING Insurance is one of the companies that always stick to the rule.

About the company. ING Insurance Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of ING Group that is a financial services company. ING Group was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. ING Group is the tenth largest company in the whole world. ING Insurance Company serves individual, corporate and institutional customers in more than 40 countries of the world, such as Australia, Mexico, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Peru, Turkey, Canada, the USA and many other countries.

ING Insurance services and products. ING Insurance Company provides a diverse range of different insurance services and products. The company insures any risk that can be potentially quantified. ING Insurance Company offers life and annuity coverage, health coverage to cover the costs of medical treatments, dental insurance against dental costs, disability coverages: total permanent disability insurance, disability overhead insurance, worker’s compensation; property and casualty coverages: auto insurance, crime insurance, crop insurance, terrorism insurance; liability coverages, credit coverages and many other services.

ING Insurance Company controversies. Notwithstanding the fact that ING Insurance is one of the leading insurers in the world, there have been many complaints filed against the company. Several years ago, ING Insurance Company was accused of violating the rules of business practices, getting involved in the improper market timing in funds and many other related violations. National Association of Dealers forced the company to pay several million dollars in restitutions and fines. Besides, many clients of ING Insurance complain about the business practices of the company. People state that they suffer very often because of the mistakes of the system and oversights of the employees of ING Insurance Company.

If you managed to earn a fortune it is only half a business. The other half is – to know how to use it wisely and make money work for you. Today nobody keeps his/her savings somewhere in a sock under a couch or in a coffee jar in the cupboard. Opening a deposit in a bank, investment or a small business is the way people manage their money in the 21st century.

Wachovia Corporation. Wachovia is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Based on total deposits, it is the third largest banking chain in the United States. The company provides a wide range of banking, wealth management, asset management, and investment banking products and services. Wachovia Corporation and First Union Corporation merged in1879 and the Wachovia National Bank in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was established. Wachovia operates Wachovia Securities, which provide brokerage services. There is also an asset management division - Evergreen Investments.

Is a good name a guarantee of success? When choosing a bank people prefer name, experience, and long history. But it is impossible to make money doing business fairly. And therefore even a trusted company lets its clients down. Wachovia is not an exception. Recently, for example, the company was accused of processing fraudulent checks. And this problem became public only because it had a major character. But what about minor frauds, when separate individuals lose their money and the company enriches due to them? On the other hand, it is not safer to keep money at home in a safe. Every now and then an experienced burglar may break into the house. It is a controversial topic to dwell upon. There is always a risk. Some people make money on their assets others go bankrupt within a few months. Investment market is comparatively steadier and the chance to lose money is lower. No matter what you do it is better to consult several independent financial professionals in the sphere and then make a decision. Sometimes it is better to split the money in half and invest it in different businesses. The risk is automatically lower. But you can never get a 100% guarantee.

Where should a person go in case he/she experiences financial problems? The answer is obvious – to the bank, a credit or loan company. They will definitely help you out and will give you the needed amount of money. But then every month they will make you coming back again and again. And then it may be very difficult to say them ‘good-by’.

Quicken Loans. Quicken Loans is a company that provides home mortgage lending services throughout the U.S. It entered the market 1985. The company was founded by Dan Gilbert and Ron Berman. Today it is one of the country’s largest independent mortgage companies, headquartered in Livonia, Michigan. In 2007 the martgage industry faced a crisis, and the company does not provide Second Mortgages, Home Equity Lines of Credit, Alt-A Products, and Deferred Interest Loans any more. More over Quicken Loans has been involved in a law suit. Its employees claimed ton to be paid for overtime working hours.

Pros and cons. There is no easy money. Either you have to work hard to have some, to steel and then go to prison or borrow and then… Before applying for a credit it is very important to weigh all the pros and cons. Then if the decision is taken the other step is to choose the company, since there are plenty of them. Some offer favorable interest rates, others longer terms for settling the credit, and so on. They try to trick in as many clients as possible because they bring them profit. Quicken Loans, for example, offers its services in all the 50 states, processes the loan within 15 days. They even come to your office or home, if you are too busy, to sign all the necessary documents. All you have to do is too take money and then return 3 times more. In addition to the interest rate there will different fines and charges which you will have to pay. It is not a problem to borrow money but it is hard to pay them back.

But life is not simple and not everybody is lucky to be well-off. And somehow it is necessary to manage the situation.

Sometimes we need to choose between some companies to select the right one. This concerns financial institution as well. These companies can make or break the lives of people. That is why it is very important and even vital to make the right choice and choose the financial services company that would fit all the needs and desires of the client. And this company can be Commerce Bank.

Company overview. Commerce Bancorp dba Commerce Bank is a bank holding company. Commerce Bank provides a diverse range of services of financial nature such as commercial banking, consumer banking, brokerage services and investment services. The bank operates in 9 U.S. states. Commerce was originally by an owner of fast food restaurant franchise to bring fast food convenience to banking. The tagline of the company is: “No stupid fees, no stupid hours.” Commerce Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Commerce Bank features. There is a number of financial services performed by Commerce Bank that include seven day drive through hours, immediate fashioning of automated teller machine cards at the very moment of opening the account. In addition, the company offers to use its free coin counting machines and foreign ATM fee reimbursement. Besides, there are special dog cookies in the lobbies of Commerce Bank location stores and lollipops for human clients.

Criticism. There have been several law suits filed against the Commerce Bank executives. These law suits alleged that those people were involved in corruption. Besides, Commerce Bank paid a huge penalty to National Association of Securities Dealers for some violations of MSRB. There have been numerous complaint filed by the clients and former employees of the company. People state, that Commerce Bank provides very poor customer service. Customer service representatives are being very rude and intolerant to the customers and cannot help. They seem to be incompetent and inapt people that are able just to make the situation worse by their indifference and rudeness.

Bank is the residence of money. There is not such a person in the world who have not had dealt with banks. People go there to open an account, to borrow money, to pay bills and the like. Do all the banks offer proper service to their clients? Do banks take claims for granted and ignore them or they properly handle people’s complaints? It is easier to speak using your own experience.

What is KeyBank? KeyBankis a bank headquartered in the Key Tower in Cleveland, Ohio. KeyBank is owned by KeyCorp which was formed in 1994 through the merger of Society Corp. of Cleveland (”Society Bank”) and Key Bank Albany, New York. The bank provides investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. The company’s businesses deliver their products and services through branches and offices. It has almost 1500 ATMs in 13 states where full service branches operate.

Bitter experience. A friend of mine opened an account in the main office of the KeyBank in Cleveland. She was told that for the first 5 days only 3% of the sum would be available and in 5 days the rest of the money. When in 3 days she went shopping it turned out that more than those 3% were withdrawn and the next day she got a letter informing her about a debt on her account and which would be covered with the money that would come in 2 days. When the time came it turned out that the amount of the withdrawn sum was doubled. No one in the bank could properly explain the situation. Unfortunately, she did not manage to get her money back.

A tendency? And that is not the only case of such misunderstandings. Lots of people send their claims to KeyBank but no results. Improper instructions, wrong pin codes for plastic cards, unpredictable fees and charges – all these things should have decreased the reputation of the bank. But no! It is the 12th largest bank in the United States based on total deposits. How come?

Large banks are not reliable because numerous clients and big sums of money cause constant misunderstandings and confusions. Small banks can go bankrupt very soon. You never know where to go ‘to be right on money’.

Sometimes I just cannot but wonder how some fraudulent companies can still be in business. It seems like there is no law for them ad they just keep on cheating unaware customers – honest people, who do not deserve to be hurt and broke. Especially it concerns financial institutions, which business activities have to be transparent and well known. And unfortunately, some of these suspected companies keep to perform their shady business and no one can judge or punish them. But sometimes there is some hope for justice and these companies are punished. Like in case with Chase Bank.

Class action suit. In 2004, there have been several class action suits filed against Chase Bank. It was so evident that the bank is performing like the outstanding con artist, Better Business Bureau and Attorney General finally decided to interfere. That class action suit stated that the bank is creating a fraudulent business environment and spreading scam on the territory of the whole United States. Thanks to many efforts of poor people who had suffered because of Chase, the judge made the financial institution pay several millions of dollars in penalties. And to close several branches and prosecute some of the most fraudulent employees of the bank.

Results. But after that case Chase Bank did not file for bankruptcy or started to close some of the branch offices. They decided to choose the other strategy and had enough money for that. There is now a strict control of all the activities the employees perform and the managers are constantly monitoring the state of affairs. The customer service of the bank has been upgraded. It is very hard now to get a job at Chase. But it is very hard as well to return the trust of the customers. Who would like to take Chase mortgage now knowing the reputation of the bank? Or Chase loan?
There is no trust, still.

There is a number of diversified financial marketing and service holding companies. They specialize in different branches of the financial industry such as residential mortgage banking, insurance providing, debt collection services, receivables management and many other services of financial nature. And every one of us at least once in a life used the services of such corporations because our existence is closely connected with material things such as money. And it could have been good or bad experience. One of these corporations is Countrywide Financial Corporation.

About the company. This company specializes in residential mortgage banking. Countrywide Financial produces, buys, and securitizes home loans. In 2006 the company serviced one fifth of all the mortgages in the country. The company was founded in 1969 and since then has been originating mortgage loans through its network. Countrywide Financial has a special Mortgage Banking division that deals with loan production, loan servicing and loan closing services. The company originates new mortgages or purchases them from other lenders. Mortgage loans are offered directly to consumers.

Countrywide complaints. Countrywide Financial Corporation has been the subject to many class action suits. Countrywide employees sued the company for forcing them to work overtime for free. The company settled the lawsuit and paid $30 million in compensation. Besides, the company performs in-depth investigations of new employee applicants without their permission. That is why applicants complain and state that these background searches are illegal and discriminatory. Besides, the company provides loans to customers with poor credit records and then compromised their ability to pay for their living. Countrywide was also accused in predatory business practices after missing the payments and then forcing the customers to pay late fees and leading to the lost of homes. This policy is considered to be unethical and brutal. People with financial difficulties have nothing to do but to go to such predators and then they just cheat them.

There are some financial institutions that were created to work with money and make money work on them. Of course, the most respectable ones are banks. They operate under special statutes and laws that coordinate the work and services of the banks. It means that all the business activities of the banks are to be legal. But in real life this is not like that. And many banks such as Ocwen Bank became fraudulent establishments that cheat. However, what goes around comes around.

About Ocwen. Ocwen Bank is owned by Ocwen Financial Corporation. The company is one of the leaders in the finance industry. Ocwen Bank provides different services such as consumer and corporate banking, insurance providing, servicing of different types of loans and tax refunds. There is an Ocwen Bank official website through which the company offers new home loans, college loans, vehicle loans and many other loans. The bank is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. Ocwen Federal Bank specializes in residential loans servicing and accounts receivables servicing. The bank has many branch offices in such states as Florida, California, Arizona, Illinois, Georgia and New York. Besides, the company has numerous operations in Canada, Germany and India.

Critisizm. Notwithstanding the leading positions on the market, Ocwen Bank got involved in a number if litigations. There has been a class action suit filed against the fraudulent business activities of the company including phone harassment, breach of contract, and fraudulent debt collection practices. Ocwen Federal Bank has been sued for several million dollars. According to the suit, there are hundreds of people who complained about the mistreatment and suffered from the filing of bogus reports of Ocwen Federal Bank and many other shady activities. It still remains a mystery how such a huge and respectable financial institution could get involved in the dirty business? Do not bankers and employees earn enough money? Probably, it is always difficult to understand when enough is enough.