Big Bottom Backyard Money: The Liabilities

I begin with money.

For several reason.

• One, it may be the single most powerful backyard weapon from the Big Bottoms. (More in a post to follow.)
• Two, I’ve a poor history with money.  As I begin this to explore how to backyard my money, my family has credit card debt and a mortgage.  We have a 401K and a home that is floating nicely above water.  I would benefit from backyard money training.
• Three, a cursory net search found decent resources for research and backyarding ideas.

I begin with researching the companies that hold my money and investments.

My credit card debt is with Bank of America, which took $45 billion in TARP bailouts.  It repaid the loan and deposited $4.6 billion in interest back in government coffers.  It also received $25 billion through the Capital Purchase Program.  It repaid in full.

So Bank of America was worse with money than me but managed to repay the taxpayers.

Here’s the site I’m using to research bailout figures: 

More research reveals that Bank of America is on the smarmy side.  They’ve recently spent a share with four other banks of $26 billion to settlement for foreclosing on folks illegally.  They’re also paying another $2.43 billion in a settlement after being accused of swindling investors about the health of Merrill Lynch.  I think they bought Lynch and lied about how good the deal was.  They’re also paying $1.6 billion in legal fees over the deal.

At least Bank of America is an equal opportunity smarm, cheating regular homeowners and shareholder investors alike.  Also, I have a friend who worked in one of their custom call centers.  He said he felt smarmy just going into work with the way the bank treated customers.

Analysis: I’m not comfortable doing business with a bank that proven itself more inept with money than me.  I’m irked that it appears not value truth or the law.

My mortgage is with Wells Fargo.  It received $518 million under the Incentive Payments for Home Loan Modification program, which looks like a subsidy, rather than a loan.

The government is suing Wells Fargo.  U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara characterized Wells Fargo’s practices in FHA home mortgages as a “reckless trifecta of deficient training, deficient underwriting and deficient disclosure, all while relying on the convenient backstop of government insurance.”

Analysis: Wells Fargo didn’t take nearly as much taxpayer money, but its not going to pay it back either and is being sued for playing fast and loose with people looking for home loans.

That completes my debt research.

Next up, I’ll research those banks and companies holding my money on the plus side of the ledger.