Table of Contents

Students caught between banks and universities
U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG) has released a report that explores the relationship between banks and universities, including how partnerships between the two to provide student aid disbursements or student ID cards may end up costing students. Comments: 0

Credit reporting system fails in fairness and accuracy, report says
Public interest group Demos has released a report that reviews the country's credit reporting system and looks at the impact of credit reports and scores on everyday Americans. Among other things, having poor credit means a consumer pay more for a car or a home, and can even mean being denied for or terminated from a job. Comments: 0

Reward for whom? Credit card rewards cost poor consumers
A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston illustrates how low-income consumers are paying dearly for wealthier consumers rewards cards. Comments: 1

Can financial education head off early conomic woes?
A commentary in the Huffington Post delves into the problem of twentysomethings who are struggling to make financial ends meet and how financial education can play a role in heading off disaster earlier. Comments: 0

Forced arbitration ubiquitous in consumer contracts
A report from Public Citizen reveals that mandatory binding arbitration clauses, or “forced arbitration,” are prevalent in consumer contracts. Seventy-five percent of companies in eight industries used forced arbitration, according to the report. Comments: 2

Prepaid cards: New report finds fees, gotchas
A new report finds that upon close examination, prepaid debit cards are laden with numerous types of fees and other gotchas. Comments: 4

FDIC study: Serving the unbanked and underbanked
In the first national survey of banks' efforts to serve unbanked and underbanked individuals and families in their market areas, the FDIC found that improvement may be possible in certain areas. Comments: 1

Reasons you can’t get your credit report fixed
A noted national consumer law organization releases a report documenting the abysmal quality of the credit report dispute system provided for by law to protect consumers from errors in their credit reports. Comments: 2

Could regulations have prevented the economic crisis?
A new report by the Congressional Oversight Committee points to three areas of regulation that could have prevented the current economic crisis. Comments: 1

Old debt gets new rates: Citigroup raises credit card rates
An article by Tim Westrich of the Center for American Progress discusses Citigroup's announcement that it would raise its credit card interest rates on 20 percent of its customers, just weeks after accepting $25 billion from the federal government. Comments: 2