The Mortgage Bankers Association’s refinance index fell by 28% over the past week, as the refi gravy train came to a screeching halt. The Google Trends search frequency for “mortgage refinance” remains a good indicator of refi activity and is now at th…
While there is still some debate about the degree to which higher rates are impacting housing demand (see post), there is no question about the drop off in refinancing activity. The refinance applications index is down 60% from a year ago. The (poorly …
The weekly financial statement of the ECB showed a 21.3 billion euro ($26.8 billion) decline in loans made under the long-term refinancing operations, known as…
(Reuters) – The European Central Bank has stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks… The news sent the euro lower against the dollar, fanning concerns…
Tenneco profit falls 36% on refinancing chargesMarketWatchBy Kristin Jones Tenneco Inc.'s (NYSE:TEN) first-quarter earnings fell 36% as refinancing charges masked a jump in the company's core North American sales. Tenneco, which makes emission-…
If you have a mortgage with Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and want to refinance, don’t bother.
You are not worth the bank’s time. Or at least I wasn’t.
That’s what I learned first-hand last week when I called Bank of America to refinance a home mortgage I’ve had with them for years.
My jaw practically hit the floor when Alejandro from BofA’s mortgage department told me this over the phone.
“Because of excessively high demand,” Alejandro said, “we can’t accept your refinancing application. But we can take a reservation and have an agent call you in 90 to 120 days.”
Huh?…You can’t be serious.
I really have to wait three or four months to even apply for a lower interest rate when I’ve been an existing customer for years?
Yeah, I bet, I thought to myself…
They’ll call me when interest rates are much higher or when BofA works its way through its part of the $25 billion robo-signing settlement reached over its abuses in the foreclosure process.
Of course, all of this is after BofA received $45 billion in taxpayer bailout funding.
And after they reportedly shifted the risks associated with $75 trillion in derivatives from its investment banking and trading units to BofA’s depository arm, a unit flush with FDIC-insured deposits.
But that is another story for another day.
How Bank of America Treats its Customers
Suspecting something wasn’t quite right, I made a second call to BofA to inquire about a new loan.
Not ten minutes later I was put through immediately to an underwriter who was all too happy to help a new, unknown prospect – a.k.a. me – take on more debt. Imagine that.
Wednesday is the big day as the ECB reintroduces El Toro (LTRO) Grande otherwise known as the big Long Term Refinancing Operation. Everybody, and I…
Tax receipts are not keeping up with the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee (TBAC) forecast.
Banks to gulp half a trillion euros from ECB
Reuters – 3 hours ago.. .
By Jonathan Cable and Yati Himatsingka
LONDON (Reuters) – The European Central Bank will lend nearly half a trillion euros to banks at rock-bottom rates next week through its thr…
Liquidity indicators backed off slightly from their recent strength last week, but overall they remain firm. I see no reason to expect either a big…