Story Archives of 'Banks'

It seems everyone is either getting bailed out or wanting to get bailed out - the mortgage industry and those who can’t pay their mortgages, the credit card companies and those overwhelmed by credit card debt, Wall Street, banks and the auto industry. Some see bailouts as a necessary evil to keep the economy from tanking, while others suggest the country can’t afford its government bailing out any more companies when its economy is already in such bad shape. We’ll look at who’s being bailed out, who may be next and what the effects may be.

Guests

• Jim Chappelow, economist at the Institute for Trend Research in Concord
• John Vogel, adjunct professor of business administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

New Hampshire’s Attorney General office has asked a Superior Court judge to extend the ruling that lets state banking officials take control of Noble Trust Company.

State officials temporarily took control of the Manchester based trust earlier in the week.

They’ve asked the court to secure the trust’s assets for another 30 days to keep them firmly in place.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s David Darman has more.

House lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on a plan to that would reduce by more than tenfold the annual interest rate on payday loans.

At present, interest rates can top out at more than 500 percent. The proposed change would cap rates at a maximum of 36 percent a year. The measure would also bar payday or title loan lenders from making more than one loan to a customer in any 60 day period.

The state's top banking official and advocates for the poor say the policy would be a step in the right direction. But loan providers say the measure will effectively shut down an industry that provides people with needed money.

New Hampshire Public Radio's Josh Rogers has more.

As thrilling as a good bank chase scene is in the movies--a gangster on the run with bags of cash--the reality is these crimes are a real problem. In recent months, there’s been an average of one bank robbery a week in New Hampshire. We’ll find out why and look at new efforts underway to stop these crimes. Laura is joined by Jay Fallon, FBI Agent in New Hampshire, and William Rehder, retired FBI agent and author of "Where the Money Is: True Tales from the Bank Robbery Capital of the World". We will also hear from Jerry Little, President of the New Hampshire Bankers Association.

Governor Jeanne Shaheen today signed into law a measure she says will make NH more attractive to credit card companies.??Supporters of the bill say it balances the needs of lender and borrower. Detractors call it a sellout to Providian, the financially troubled NH based national bank.