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Daily Archives: May 30, 2012

U.S. PIRG – The Campus Debit Card Trap Are Bank Partnerships Fair To Students?

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The Campus Debit Card Trap – Are Bank Partnerships Fair To Students? by Rich Williams, Higher Education Advocate, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, with Edmund Mierzwinski, Consumer Program Director, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, May 2012

  • “Banks and other financial firms are taking advantage of a variety of opportunities to form partnerships with colleges and universities to produce campus student ID cards and to offer student aid disbursements on debit or prepaid cards. In addition to on-campus services, such as student ID functions offered on the card, some cards offer traditional debit card services linked to bank accounts; other cards provide additional reloadable prepaid card functions. The disbursement of financial aid and university refunds is the most significant partnership identified. While schools are obtaining revenues and reducing costs by outsourcing certain services, the relationships between schools and financial institutions have raised questions because students end up bearing some costs directly – including per-swipe fees, inactivity fees, overdraft fees and more. Other issues include the effect of aggressive marketing strategies by partnering companies on student choice and weaker consumer protections on certain cards that hold student aid funds.”
  • Related postings on the financial system

    • Deloitte Shadow Banking Index – 'Only' $9.53 Trillion in Size at End of 2011

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    “The shadow banking system in the United States might not be as large today as regulators and market participants feared, according to a new quarterly index introduced today by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services. However, with regulatory changes and financial innovation looming, the shadow banking system could creep back very quickly, the Deloitte research… Continue Reading

    Principles for Voluntary Efforts to Reduce the Impact of Botnets in Cyberspace

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    Industry Botnet Group Principles for Voluntary Efforts to Reduce the Impact of Botnets in Cyberspace “The proliferation of botnets and malware in cyberspace threatens to undermine the efficiencies, innovation, and economic growth of the Internet and diminishes the trust and confidence of online users. Every participant has a role in helping to reduce the impact… Continue Reading

    CRS – The Financial Action Task Force: An Overview

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    The Financial Action Task Force: An Overview, James K. Jackson, Specialist in International Trade and Finance. May 9, 2012 “The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, or the 9/11 Commission, recommended that tracking terrorist financing “must remain front and center in U.S. counterterrorism efforts” (see The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of… Continue Reading

    Federal Reserve assembles inventory of historical materials on central banking in the United States

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    “The Federal Reserve System is preparing an inventory of historical materials (PDF) to enhance transparency through improved web access to records of the Federal Reserve’s past. The initiative is motivated by the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Federal Reserve Act in December 2013 and the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Federal… Continue Reading

    New GAO Reports: Budget and Spending, Indigent Defense, Securities Regulation, Tribal Law and Order Act,VA Administrative Investigations

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    Budget and Spending GAO Schedule Assessment Guide, GAO-12-120G, May 30, 2012 Indigent Defense – Surveys of Grant Recipients, Select Tribes, and Indigent Defense Providers, GAO-12-661SP, May 30, 2012 Securities Regulation – Opportunities Exist to Improve SEC’s Oversight of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, GAO-12-625, May 30, 2012 Tribal Law and Order Act – None of… Continue Reading

    Report – Increase in Employment Discrimination Lawsuits Under the ADA

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    Via Jeff Lamicela: “The latest month-by-month data from the federal courts shows that in April of this year there were 183 new lawsuits filed claiming employment discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to the timely case-by-case case civil enforcement information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this count was 21.2%… Continue Reading

    CRS – U.S.-EU Cooperation Against Terrorism

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    U.S.-EU Cooperation Against Terrorism, Kristin Archick, Specialist in European Affairs, May 21, 2012 “…challenges persist in fostering closer U.S.-EU counterterrorism and law enforcement cooperation. Among the most prominent are data privacy and data protection concerns. The EU considers the privacy of personal data a basic right and EU rules and regulations strive to keep personal… Continue Reading

    Report – The Military Lending Act Five Years Later

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    The Military Lending Act Five Years Later – Impact On Servicemembers, the High-Cost Small Dollar Loan Market, and the Campaign against Predatory Lending, Jean Ann Fox, Consumer Federation of America – May 29, 2012 The Military Lending Act set an inclusive 36 percent annual rate cap for loans made to covered service members and their… Continue Reading