Goldman Sachs, Chase, AmEx Make Top 50 ‘Most Admired’

Never mind that they may be associated with the financial crisis, bailouts and credit card rate hikes, but four financial giants cracked the top 50 most admired companies list by Fortune magazine. Apple took the top spot, while Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson and Amazon.com rounded out the top five. Goldman Sachs Group – labeled the “strongest financial services firm to emerge from the recession” – ranked 8th.

Chase Freedom Card Boosts Cash-Back Rate to 5%

Top credit card issuer Chase has boosted the cash-back rate of its popular Chase Freedom card to 5 percent, expanding its purchase categories and making it simpler for customers to keep track of changes in its rewards program. Starting on March 15, Chase Freedom customers can enroll in second-quarter promotions for 5 percent cash back at home improvement stores, lawn and garden outlets, home furnishing retailers and drugstores.

Chase to Open 14 More Foreclosure Prevention Centers

Chase has opened two additional “homeownership centers” in the New York-New Jersey area – adding locations in the Bronx and Brooklyn – and today said it would open 14 more counseling facilities throughout the country this Spring. It now has 37 such centers to help distressed borrowers avoid foreclosures.

CitiMortgage, GMAC Lead with 50% Rate in Active Modifications

Each with 50 percent share of eligible borrowers under active mortgage modifications, both CitiMortgage and GMAC Mortgage claim the top spot as the most proficient servicers under the government’s foreclosure rescue program. Eligible borrowers are those at least 60 days delinquent on their mortgage. In the category of total modifications, CitiMortgage is fourth with 122,176; and GMAC sixth with 32,824. But the two lenders have consistently led in the ability to convert those eligible into the program.

Volcker Rule Aside, JPMorgan Makes Move on Commodities

This nation’s second-largest bank and top credit card issuer made a bold move into commodities today with the announced acquisition of RBS Sempra Commodities’ global oil and metals division, and it’s European power and gas assets. The investment arm of JPMorgan Chase is expected to pay $1.7 billion pending regulatory approval in a deal that will virtually double JPMorgan’s corporate clients served in the commodities business to about 3,000.

Drama Over Banking: Netflix Liked More Than BofA, Chase

The online video stalwart may have an advantage in the public opinion arena. It didn’t have to take a government bailout and its executives aren’t associated with Wall Street’s elite. Nonetheless, customers feel much better about their Netflix than their big banks: particularly Bank of America and Chase, according to the latest report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

Chase Lawsuit Eyes ‘Right to Cancel’ in Credit Card Reform

A lawsuit by a former credit card customer against JPMorgan Chase is shining a light on an expanded provision of credit card reform laws set for full compliance Feb. 22: the right of a cardholder to cancel his card agreement if the interest rate is raised on future transactions. Most importantly, the Federal Reserve stated in its “final rule” last month covering the new laws that such a cancellation by the cardholder “does not constitute a default under the existing cardholder agreement, and does not trigger an obligation to immediately repay the obligation in full,” or through a method “less beneficial” than those under the Truth in Lending Act amendments.

Will Chase, Goldman Sachs Exec-Pay Deals Soften Critics?

Surprising to many, Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon led Wall Street’s big financial firms in 2009 compensation packages for top executives with a deal worth about $16 million in mostly restricted stock and options – no cash. But the biggest stunner Friday was the announced $9 million bonus – also consisting of stocks – for Goldman Sachs Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, who was anticipated to receive a package in the $40-$50 million ballpark. Blankfein got a $68.5 million payout in 2007 – one of the last sky-high payouts before the financial crisis fully erupted.

Chase Reports Big Jump in Health Savings Accounts

Chase has seen significant growth in its Health Savings Accounts – where customers can move tax-advantaged funds for medical expenses – with the banking giant reporting a 30 percent increase in HSAs for 2009 over the previous year. Chase added 115,000 HSAs and $220 million in deposits last year, bringing its total to 500,000 health savings account holders with $740 million.

‘Penalty APRs’ Re-Defined with Credit Card Reform

Precisely when and how penalty APRs – or interest rate hikes for late payments – are applied is changing significantly beginning Feb. 22 with the arrival of credit card reform rules. Much to the benefit of card users who may inadvertently miss the due date by a few days, credit card issuers can now longer slap a higher interest rate on existing balances for an undetermined period of time.

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