| CBA overhauls NetBank, website
THE Commonwealth Bank has upgraded its online banking service NetBank after customer feedback as the big banks try to push more services online. The bank’s online banking service NetBank has been revamped with a new homepage and links to finance tools, with the changes to go live on Saturday. "NetBank …features an improved home page, simpler short cuts, customer news bulletins and links to useful tools such as budget planners and a home loan calculator," Ross McEwan, CBA group executive, retail banking services, said. "We started the ball rolling six months ago with the introduction of two-factor authentication for NetBank to deliver safer and more secure online banking." CBA has simplified the navigation process on its homepage and boosted the search function on the website.
Big, Bad, Bucking Bankrate
Shares of Bankrate bucked yesterday's downward trend, climbing 4% after the company posted better-than-expected third-quarter profits. (Contrast that to last quarter's earnings announcement, after which shares of Bankrate fell 7%.) Earnings quadrupled to $0.28 a share during the quarter, or $0.39 a share once you back out stock-based compensation expenses. On that adjusted basis, analysts expected a profit of $0.35 a share. Bankrate is a lead generator for the financial-services industry. With credit tight and money tighter, this would seem to be a lousy time to get on a bullhorn and pitch interest-related products. You see that in the online lending industry, where specialists like Popular's (Nasdaq: BPOP) E-Loan and IAC/InterActiveCorp's (Nasdaq: IACI) Lending Tree are struggling.
Commerce Bank Selects the DealerTrack Specialty Solutions Network to ...
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRAK) today announced that Commerce Bank, N.A., a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH) , has signed an agreement to participate on DealerTrack's online specialty financing platform. DealerTrack is a leading provider of on-demand software and data solutions for the automotive and specialty retail industries. Once implemented, recreational vehicle (RV) and marine dealers nationwide will use the DealerTrack Specialty Solutions platform to electronically submit consumer loan applications as well as complete the loan contracts with Commerce Bank. "Commerce Bank maintains a significant presence in the recreational lending industry, and we value the relationships we have with our dealers," said Leonard Metzger, Commerce Bank senior vice president of dealer financial services.
Valimo Touts Digital Signatures
Consumers use mobile signatures for digitally signing loan applications, online bank authentication, transaction confirmation, mBanking and cardless ATM usage. In addition to banks, 2 brokerages are using mobile signatures for confirming trades: Ak Yatirim, Finans Invest; 2 municipalities (Fatih, Sisli) and 3 e-government services (Customs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Justice) use mobile signatures for user authentication and digital form signing. According to Dr. Deniz Tuncalp, Mobile Signature Unit Manager at Turkcell, the 'Mobilimza' mobile signature service has now clocked over 500.000 signature requests from Turkcell's subscriber base. Nationwide marketing campaigns feature full-page ads in magazines; and financial instutions advertise their mobile signature service in daily newspapers.
Surgery a money trap for unwary
COMPANIES spruiking easy, high-interest loans for cosmetic surgery are exploiting vulnerable people, consumer and doctors groups say. Credit providers offer loans up to $40,000 for anything from breast implants to hair replacement, even for those with bad credit histories. International Surgery Group patient adviser Pamela Noon said about 80 per cent of her clients borrowed to pay for their surgeries. "It is particularly popular with young women who get their procedure done and then have weekly payments of around $50 to $60 a week," she said. Websites such as cosmeticsurgeryloans.com .au offer online approval and no-deposit terms. Mediplan, which provides credit for medical, cosmetic, veterinary and dental costs at a rate of 14.7percent, gets half its business from cosmetic surgery, chief operating officer Stuart Johnson said.
New Free Online Tools Make Accurate Mortgage Calculations a Few Clicks ...
New free on-line mortgage calculators give homebuyers detailed calculations at their finger tips. Calculations include taxes, insurance, PMI, closing cost and pre-paids for all 50 states. The perfect tool for homebuyers that are not financially savy, or lack mortgage knowledge. (PRWEB) August 8, 2006 --Most new homebuyers have no finance background and little experience with mortgage loans, yet bank and mortgage brokers treat their online customers as expert Loan Officers. Today's online mortgage tools are completely inadequate and assume the user knows the intricacies of the mortgage business. New tools developed by The Mortgage Toolbox eliminates the 'guessing game' that occurs with those other so-called 'free sites', and allows consumers to find real answers about their home financing options.
Lending Club Partners with Top University Alumni Associations to ...
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the early 1900s, homecoming has marked the return of millions of alumni looking to reconnect and give back to their alma maters across the country. Lending Club, the rapidly growing people-to-people (P2P) lending service, today announced the availability of its affinity-based lending service through the websites of top university alumni associations to offer a new way to lend and borrow money among fellow alumni. Lending Club is the first in the P2P lending industry to provide co-branded lending applications to online communities, including the alumni associations at Georgia Tech, Kansas State and University of Michigan. "Whether it's helping fellow alumni pay off student loans or launch new enterprises, we offer a rewarding new way for alumni to invest directly in each other," said Renaud Laplanche, founder and CEO of Lending Club.
Bowdoin to replace all loans with grants
College graduation is often associated with freedom. But with tuition costs at an all-time high, Bowdoin graduates often find themselves shackled by student loan debt years after receiving their degrees. No more. The College announced last week that it will replace all its loans with permanent grants beginning in the fall in an attempt to ease the amount of money students owe when they graduate. "The student loan burden that we have imposed on studentsthat has grown over the last 10 yearsis at a level that makes it very difficult for students at the College while they're here," said President Barry Mills in an online video released with the announcement. "It makes it very difficult for them as they think about their career options for the future." Tuition and fees totaled $46,260 this yearalmost $20,000 more than they did a decade ago.
Dante Tosetti Appointed Managing Director
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- First Republic Bank, a leading provider of private banking, private business banking and wealth management services, today announced that Dante Tosetti has been named Managing Director - Business Banking. Tosetti, who has 10 years of banking experience, will work with commercial business clients in the Bay Area and is located at the Bank's Walnut Creek office at 1400 Civic Drive. First Republic's business banking group provides an array of innovative financing solutions to businesses. Products include lines of credit, business loans, commercial real estate financing, and cash management programs, including online banking, remote deposit, and lockbox services. "Dante Tosetti is a terrific addition to our growing team of business bankers in the San Francisco Bay Area," said Katherine August-deWilde, President and Chief Operating Officer of First Republic Bank.
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