Category: Saving & Banking
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A federal borrower earning $45,000 with $35,000 in loans now pays $150 a month instead of $176
A federal student loan borrower earning $45,000 a year with $35,000 in debt is now paying $150 a month instead of $176, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The lower bill comes from a new income-driven repayment option called the Repayment Assistance Plan, which opened to borrowers on July 1, 2026, and replaces the…
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The wrong ATM now costs $4.86 on average, a record, and $5.37 in Atlanta
Pulling cash from an ATM that doesn’t belong to your own bank has never cost more. The average combined fee for an out-of-network withdrawal climbed to $4.86 in Bankrate’s latest annual study, and in several major cities it now tops $5 a swipe. For anyone who still keeps cash on hand for tips, a rent…
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Regulators barred four bank employees, one at Truist, from ever working in banking again
Federal regulators quietly closed the book on four bank employees this summer, permanently barring each of them from ever holding a job at a federally insured bank again. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation released the decisions as part of its routine monthly enforcement list, and one of the four worked at Truist Bank, a bank…
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The $5 overdraft cap never took effect, and the average overdraft fee is $26.77
A rule finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in December 2024 would have capped most bank overdraft fees at $5. It never took effect. Congress killed it in the spring of 2025, and the fee data collected since then shows exactly what that repeal costs the typical account holder: the average overdraft fee now…
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Credit card balances rose $21 billion last quarter, and 6.97 percent of that debt is newly 90 days late
Households added $21 billion in credit card debt during the second quarter of 2026, even as total household borrowing edged down for the first time in months. Credit card balances now stand at $1.263 trillion nationwide, and the share of that debt sliding into serious delinquency has ticked higher too. The numbers come from the…
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A House bill would cut consumer bureau supervision to banks above $30 billion, up from $10 billion
A group of House Republicans introduced a bill this week that would redraw the line determining which banks answer directly to the federal government’s consumer watchdog. Right now, banks with more than $10 billion in assets are examined directly by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for how they handle overdraft fees, credit card terms and…
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The FDIC and four other regulators told banks they were never barred from warning a customer about fraud
Five federal bank regulators said this week that a rule banks have long pointed to as a reason they can’t explain a frozen or closed account was never the roadblock it was treated as. In a joint statement issued September 2, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the National Credit Union…
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A parent borrowing for college this year is locked into 9.07 percent for life
Federal Student Aid set new interest rates for the 2026-27 academic year in a June 4 announcement, and the numbers are steep across every loan category. A parent who takes out a Direct PLUS Loan to help cover a child’s tuition this fall will pay 9.07 percent for as long as that loan exists —…
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The Education Department will use Social Security disability records to find loans it can erase
The Department of Education published a notice on August 25 re-establishing a data-sharing arrangement with the Social Security Administration that flags federal student loan borrowers the SSA has already determined are disabled. Borrowers won’t have to track down a doctor’s certification or mail in a paper application to start the process — the match is…
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Uninsured deposits grew $317.4 billion last quarter, outpacing the money the FDIC covers
Money is flowing back into U.S. banks for an eighth straight quarter, and on paper that looks like a vote of confidence in the banking system. Look closer at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Quarterly Banking Profile for the second quarter of 2026, released August 25, and the growth tells a narrower story: nearly all…