Posted by Linda H on 6:30:00 AM
One day after President Obama appointed Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the objections of Senate Republicans, the bureau announced the launch of a new “nonbank supervision program.”
What’s a “nonbank”? That’s the CFPB’s term for a lender that doesn’t have a bank, thrift, or credit union charter. Mortgage lenders, payday loan operations, debt collectors, and consumer reporting agencies are all considered “nonbanks.”
Millions of Americans deal with nonbanks regularly: Some 20 million consumers utilize payday loan services, while 2 million new mortgages were originated with nonbank lenders in 2010, and 14% of consumers have debt collectors after them.
Posted by Linda H on 6:20:00 AM
A young woman of 23 is helping to turn pizza crusts, leftover lasagna, and other food waste into methane gas to fuel electric generators at an alternative energy start-up that is transforming the way North America manages organic materials.
At its Waltham plant, Harvest Power uses airtight reactors to allow plant and animal wastes to decompose and produce biogas and other useful products, such as fertilizer.
“We are basically creating a facility where bacteria happily feed on waste and produce lots of useful bioproducts,’ said Molly Bales who also researches and develops composting facilities for municipalities, colleges, military bases, stores, and even theme parks.
Posted by Linda H on 5:14:00 AM
Freddie Mac announced Friday that it was giving mortgage servicers the authority to offer up to 1 year of mortgage forbearance to unemployed homeowners who have Freddie Mac-backed mortgages.
The change, with takes effect Feb. 1, means
loan servicers can offer six months of forbearance to jobless borrowers without Freddie's approval and another six months with approval. Currently, servicers can grant up to three months of no mortgage payments without prior agency approval, or six months of reduced payments with approval .
Posted by Linda H on 3:11:00 AM
Apple Needs to Make it in America
