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From the past, a look at Joe Biden's connections. Note — Barack Obama’s choice of Joseph Biden as his running mate is likely to bring up lots of old stories about the long-time senator from Delaware. In 1998, someone called me to talk about the sale of Biden’s house, which had been a minor issue in his reelection campaign two years earlier. But when I traveled to Delaware, I found there was more to it than met the eye, and it was just part of Biden’s close, intertwined relationship with MBNA, the giant credit-card company based in his home state....

During the years that Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. was helping the credit card industry win passage of a law making it harder for consumers to file for bankruptcy protection, his son had a consulting agreement that lasted five years with one of the largest companies pushing for the changes, aides to Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign acknowledged Sunday. Mr. Biden’s son, Hunter, received consulting fees from the MBNA Corporation from 2001 to 2005 for work on online banking issues. Aides to Mr. Obama, who chose Mr. Biden as his vice-presidential running mate on Saturday, would not say how much...

President Trump’s reelection campaign resurrected a stunning story of how Joe Biden once pushed legislation favoring the credit card industry while his son landed a lucrative consulting job with MBNA. Hunter Biden was paid an untold sum of money by the large credit card company based in Delaware --SNIP-- The Washington Post noted that “Biden’s son Hunter worked at MBNA for five years and was retained as a consultant for another five — all while Biden was backing the bankruptcy bill that would help MBNA.”

In the 1996 campaign, a Republican businessman named Raymond J. Clatworthy challenged Joseph Biden's run for a fifth term as senator from Delaware. By many accounts, Clatworthy ran a hapless, hopeless race. He tried to portray Biden as a soft-on-crime liberal. It didn't work. He tried to portray Biden as a big-government tax-and-spend liberal. That didn't work, either. He even brought in Hollywood GOP icon Charlton Heston to campaign for him in all three of Delaware's counties. Still no luck; the popular Biden maintained a strong lead in the polls going into election day. Despite his frustration, Clatworthy stuck to...

<p>It’s normal for a father to want to give his children every advantage in life. But when you are a Democratic Senator, that position can provide some unique opportunities to help the kids get ahead. Especially if the Senator in question is ethically challenged to begin with.</p>

Biden's son was paid by MBNA just in time to get the bankruptcy bill passed.

During the years that Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. was helping the credit card industry win passage of a law making it harder for consumers to file for bankruptcy protection, his son had a consulting agreement that lasted five years with one of the largest companies pushing for the changes, aides to Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign acknowledged Sunday.

WASHINGTON - A son of Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden was paid an undisclosed amount of money as a consultant by MBNA, the largest employer in Delaware, during the years the senator supported legislation that was promoted by the credit card industry and opposed by consumer groups. ADVERTISEMENT Barack Obama's presidential campaign said Biden helped forge a bipartisan compromise on the measure, which is now law and makes it harder for consumers to obtain bankruptcy protection in the courts. MBNA's consulting payments to Hunter Biden, first reported by The New York Times, followed his departure in 2001 from the...

Bank of America has begun quietly offering credit cards to customers in the Los Angeles are who don't have a Social Security number, The Wall Street Journal reports. Such persons are usually undocumented immigrants. The newspaper said that Bank of America, the country's second-largest bank, is offering credit cards to consumers who have had an account at the bank for three months or more, even if they do not have a credit history or Social Security number. It's the latest indication that American financial institutions are serious about doing business with the millions of undocumented immigrants who until recently have...

News Releases May 15, 2007ICE uncovers metropolitan area credit card fraud schemeTwo arrested for allegedly embezzling $6 million from major banks including Bank of America, Citigroup, Wachovia NEWARK, N.J. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents today announced the arrests of two men for allegedly masterminding a significant credit card fraud scheme that resulted in the loss of over $6 million to credit card lenders and banks nationwide. On May 11, special agents from ICE’s Office of Investigations in Newark, N.J., arrested Akbar Wrind, a 54-year-old resident of Bayonne, N.J., and Rafael Marte, a 47-year-old resident of Walnut Port,...

Bank of America Won't Cancel Controversial Credit Card Program Thursday , February 22, 2007 By Alexander B. Duncan Bank of America (BAC) defiantly declared on Thursday that it would not cancel its new credit card program for individuals with no social security numbers or credit histories, which critics charge is an attempt to profit from illegal immigrants and a potential threat to national security. In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Bank of America CEO Kenneth D. Lewis made clear the bank would not kill the program, which he said was intended only to offer services to customers...

MBNA has started fining customers who have positive balances on their credit card accounts. Robert Watts reports Swingeing rates of interest. Annual fees. Hidden charges. For years credit card companies have charged their customers for borrowing money. Now one card provider has started punishing its cardholders for being in credit. MBNA, the American credit card giant, has written to thousands of people in the past few weeks who have inadvertently paid the company too much money. Carolynn Shaw, a mother from Sydenham in south London, received her letter last week. MBNA's missive tells her that unless she clears the positive...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In one of MBNA's first marketing blitzes as part of Bank of America Corp., the company said Tuesday it will start offering credit cards tied to Olivia, a San Francisco travel company that caters primarily to the lesbian community. The Olivia-branded cards, which will allow holders to earn points for items such as airline tickets and hotel reservations, join the legion of so-called affinity cards offered by MBNA. The credit card company also offers cards tied to everything from National Football League teams to retailers such as L.L. Bean and Bass Pro Shops. "We are a leading...

Bank of America to Complete $35 Billion Acquisition of MBNA Corp. on Sunday RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- It'll happen on a quiet Sunday morning, the first day of the new year -- definitely not banker's hours. But that might just be the perfect time for Bank of America Corp. to complete its $35 billion acquisition of MBNA Corp., because there won't be much -- if anything at all -- for consumers to notice once the deal is done. ADVERTISEMENT When the paperwork is complete, the nation's second-largest bank will have 40 million active credit card accounts on its ledger, making...

Bank of America to Buy MBNA in $35B Deal NEW YORK - Bank of America Corp. said Thursday it will acquire MBNA Corp., one of the world's largest credit-card companies, in a $35 billion cash and stock deal that will result in 6,000 jobs cuts. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005. Under terms of the agreement, MBNA shareholders will receive 0.5009 common shares of Bank of America plus $4.125 in cash for each of their shares. Based on Bank of America's Wednesday closing stock price, the deal is valued at $27.50 per share, or...

Just got one of those tiny print Credit Card Agreement Amendments from MBNA in the mail. Here's a show-stopper: "Your account is now subject to Default Pricing. Unless you reject tbis charge as described below(1), if in the future your amount is late or you exceed your credit limit, we may increase your APR to 24.99% without giving you notice. The new rates will apply as of the first day of the billing cycle..." (1)"If you choose to reject this change, we reserve the right to immediately revoke your card." More Here

NY TIMES Expired: How a Credit King Was Cut Off By LOWELL BERGMAN and PATRICK McGEEHAN Published: March 7, 2004 N a chilly Monday in early November, Laura Bush appeared at a lunchtime reception at a baronial mansion in Wilmington, Del., to express her husband's gratitude for $350,000 in contributions to his re-election campaign. Her host was Charles M. Cawley, and most of the money had come from employees of the MBNA Corporation, the highflying credit card company that he had run for two decades. The Bush family was well acquainted with Mr. Cawley and his generosity. Only Enron, before...

Financial ServicesAmerican Express Backs Up Its Bark , 01.29.04, 4:47 PM ET NEW YORK - American Express and MBNA delivered a seismic shock to the credit card system today. Wilmington, Del.-based MBNA (nyse: KRB - news - people ), the second-largest U.S. issuer of Visa and MasterCard credit cards after Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ), will now add American Express (nyse: AXP - news - people ) cards to the mix. MBNA will be the first U.S.-based bank to issue cards on the American Express network. Over the course of 2003, AmEx executives said that the company...