Posted on 09/15/2009 3:02:33 PM PDT by Kartographer
Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc customers defaulted on their credit card debts in August at the highest rates since the onset of the recession, a sign that the banks' consumer lending woes are far from over.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
But...the recession is over.
The big boys would rather charge the big interest rates than get paid off.
The Recession is over. Bernanke sez so. Don’t confuse us with facts.
The doo-doo has yet to hit the fan, in spite of what the market and O is proclaiming.
” The Recession is over. Bernanke sez so. “
I’m getting with the program - I’ve quit believing my lying eyes...
/sarc
I ran up $300 of debt on my credit card during to prolonged vacations in Florida this summer. It’s the most I’ve put on a credit card in fifteen years.
“customers defaulted on their credit card debts”
Er..yeah. That kinda happens when you lose your job.
Queue the Freepers who chime in to brag about their low debt.
But...the recession is over.
I have been reading “The Crash of 1929” and this year is just like 1928.
Both Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc are currently rated as “zombie” banks. This has been widely known since February. But the way things work, likely when the next big crisis happens, one or both of them will blow up “out of the blue”, as far as most people are concerned.
However, more than fair warning has been given to account holders and others who do business with them to get out of the building before it is blown up. If they fail to do so, it is their own fault.
Undoubtedly, someone might chime in that they are FDIC insured, so there is nothing to worry about. However, there might be days or weeks of delay, with accounts frozen, until they can make it good.
Naw man... the kenyan says “ebey thang fine bro”.
LLS
Chase will show similar results. They have more than doubled the minimum payments on outstanding balances on their credit cards. Anyone who has been just scraping by with the minimum payment is screwed.
Gee ya THING? Gotta love these STUPID stories. How could there possibly be anything but consumer stress, there are MILLIONS out of work!
Also sprach Bernanke. Even though defaults are rising and unempoyment is rising and credit is not expanding, we are "in recovery."
Go figger, but don't buy it.
In a way, the finance system is its own nightmare with how they run themselves. I still believe they could have headed off the housing mess. There was still to be trouble, but it could have been less that is was. Credit card debt, commercial, etc is the same way.
But don’t worry, being punished for calling the prez a liar is more important right now anyway, this can wait until tomorrow.
The massive snowball rolling down an ever increasingly steep slope continues to gain speed and mass.
Contributing...
Really, really stupid people took out ridiculous mortgages on houses they could not afford.
Less stupid people that have treated their house like a piggy bank for years. Rf-fi, then re-fi the re-fi and get a chunk of change as well.
Then the “housing/banking crisis” hit.
And the economy went to hell.
Masses lost their jobs.
The really, really stupid people were stuck with a house plummeting in value. No way to re-fi. Their choices: file bankruptcy, which isn’t the easy road it once was, let the lender foreclose on the house, or just walk away. In all cases the house is gone. Their job may be gone too. What to do?
In the meantime, the piggybankers find themselves in a similar situation. Little or no equity in a house whose value is dropping like a stone. Loss of job means making the house payment is really painful. Foreclosure, bankruptcy or walk away. What to do?
All these people need money. Unemployment benefits, for those who quality, help some. But eventually even that dries up. And there are no jobs. Now they are desperate and take advantage of the last line of refuge... the credit card. Cash advances, buy necessities, then the bill comes due and can’t be paid.*
There millions of people like this.
IMHO, credit card defaults and the commercial real estate crash that is picking up steam will flat shut down any chance of a quick recovery. In fact, I think it will get worse, much worse. The snowball continues to roll...
* Lest you think I’m making this up... I interview folks like this every week as part of a volunteer job with a food/clothing bank. The stories they tell are heartwrenching. Lots of people making very bad decisions and having to live with the consequences.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.