MyWebTimes.com, Illinois, ran a story about the Star Ratings issued recently by Coral Gables, Fla., BauerFinancial, which are based on bank and CU results reported in the fourth quarter of 2006. Analyzing a financial's call reports, Bauer Financial looks at capital, profitability, delinquent loans, historical data and enforcement actions to rank CUs and banks with one-to-five stars. Several local banks and CUs were highlighted, including Bakelite Credit Union and Streator Community Credit Union.
The Army Times did a piece on the Dept. of Defense regulations issued based on the law passed by Congress last year capping the interest rate of loans to military personnel at 36%. It noted the law was passed in response to DoD concerns of usurious rates as high as 390% being paid on payday loans taken out by military members and their families. "Military Annual Percentage Rate" is a new term coined by the DoD, referring to the total dollar cost of a loan, expressed as an annualized percentage rate. The M.A.P.R. would have to be disclosed before a military borrower agrees to a loan, and is used in the proposed regulations published in the April 11 Federal Register.
