Free Republic

America needs a House and Senate filled with members who are aligned with “Donald Trump’s America first agenda,” Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) said during an interview on Breitbart News Saturday in which he said that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) essentially “handed the Speaker’s gavel over to the Democrats.” Banks discussed Johnson flip-flopping on Ukraine aid and discussed one of the more shocking developments over the last week.

U.S. Bancorp (USB.N), opens new tab cut its forecast for full-year interest income and reported a 22% fall in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, as higher deposit costs and a larger corpus of rainy-day funds to cover potential defaults continue to weigh on the sector. Shares of U.S. Bancorp fell 4% in morning trading. It was among the top losers on the broader regional banking index (.KRX), opens new tab. Lenders in the U.S. have been offering higher interest rates in recent months to retain deposits as customers are increasingly seeking better returns by placing their money in higher-yielding alternatives. U.S....

John Eastman, once an attorney for former President Donald Trump, was de-banked twice in the span of several months by two prominent financial institutions, Bank of America and USAA, he told the Daily Caller. His accounts were closed as he faced substantial backlash for his work advising Trump around the time of the 2020 election.

-A year after Silicon Valley Bank's failure, less than half of U.S. banks have established borrowing capacity by pledging collateral at the Federal Reserve's emergency lending facility, according to Fed data released on Friday. That's despite a crescendo of calls from financial regulators for banks to make sure they can access the Fed's discount window quickly if trouble arises. But the data also showed some real progress, with an increase in the number of banks signing up and a jump in the amount of total collateral pledged. SVB's inability to access the window in March of last year in the...

“Banking is slightly illegal,” says world-renowned economist Richard Werner, who is leading the charge against CBDCs. In this episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast," Richard teaches Glenn that “banks don’t take deposits, and banks don’t lend money.” That begs the question, “What do banks actually do?” This discussion may make you realize that all you think you know about money is wrong. That’s not all we don’t know about the economy. We also have no clue which banks make up the Federal Reserve, who created Bitcoin, or the real relationship between inflation and interest rates. But we do know that...

If you plan to deposit $10,000 or more into your checking account, there are a few things you should consider first. By law, banks have to report deposits that exceed a certain amount. Not only that, but many bank accounts come with maximum deposit restrictions. You may also be subject to certain fees when making such a large deposit. If you frequently make large deposits, you should also watch out for any potential scams or fraudulent activity. But even if this is a one-time thing, it’s still important to know about these factors and how they might affect you. Banks...

As the shadows of economic uncertainty lengthen, the once-solid foundations of commercial real estate markets now tremble under the weight of impending crisis. With banks holding nearly 40% of all CRE debt, the tremors are felt far and wide, signaling a looming catastrophe that could spell disaster for financial institutions worldwide. The warning bells are ringing loud and clear, with UBS flagging the downturn in commercial real estate markets as one of the “top and emerging risks” facing the banking sector. The sharp decline in demand for office space, coupled with soaring borrowing costs, paints a bleak picture for an...

The Meltdown of Commercial Real EstateIn case you’ve still got money in a bank, Bloomberg is warning that defaults in commercial real estate loans could “topple” hundreds of US banks.Leaving taxpayers on the hook for trillions in losses.The note, by Senior Editor James Crombie, walks us through the festering hellscape that is commercial real estate.To set the mood, a new study predicts that nearly half of downtown Pittsburgh office space could be vacant in 4 years. Major cities like San Francisco are already sporting zombie-apocalypse downtowns, with abandoned office buildings baking in the sun.So what happened? The Fed’s yo-yo interest...

Banks are often among the biggest companies in the world.In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu lists the top 50 banks in the world by consolidated assets, based on a 2023 report from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The data represents each bank’s total assets for the most recent period available.Chinese Banks Keep on GrowingAccording to S&P, the four largest Chinese banks grew their assets by 4.1% in 2022, reaching a combined total of $19.8 trillion.In fact, Chinese banks already account for over a third of the assets held by the largest banks on the planet. Four of the 15 biggest...

Australians made $746 million in digital payments in 2018—that number soared to $93 billion in 2022.. A new all-in-one mobile app will offer what its developers claim is Australia’s first end-to-end digital banking platform for the country’s 2.4 million businesses with fewer than 10 employees. The announcement comes a day after Bankwest announced that it is closing 45 of its branches and transitioning the remaining 15 to Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) branches, going digital-only by October 2024. Bankwest is a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank, which trades on the Australian Stock Exchange. ... The new app, called Business+, was...

In a major push to seize control of the public’s financial freedom, Canada is radicalizing its banking system by linking citizens’ bank accounts to a tyrannical social credit score.The Canadian banking system will soon be transformed by a so-called “open banking” framework.Proponents are framing this as a more “inclusive” way for banks to easily share information and access user data.However, the move will merge social standings with banking to provide governments and unelected bureaucrats with complete control over our finances.The organization Open Banking Excellence (OBE), a World Bank partner that originated in the UK, boasts that it will incorporate social...

You might have missed it in the headlines, but US Bancorp recently initiated significant job cuts, with areas like talent acquisition and technology taking a hit. But what does this mean for the broader financial landscape? Well, let’s talk about multifamily commercial real estate (CRE) mortgages – a sector that’s been quietly raising red flags. While apartments have held up better than other segments like office and retail, cracks are starting to show, with some eye-popping defaults in recent months.

The United States government has been pouring millions of tax dollars into developing AI-powered tools to censor and blacklist dissent voices. This month, the House Judiciary’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government Committee revealed that the U.S. government is funding AI censorship technology via the National Science Foundation (NSF) to censor political debate on social media platforms.

What do the two have in common? They are both insidious threats to a free people. Central banks and espionage agencies are insidious threats to any free people. The former manipulate the value of money, and the latter manipulate the perceived truthfulness of information. Both ostensibly work for the broader public’s “best interest,” but as is true of all institutions, they ultimately serve the interests of those people who run them. Spies and bankers should not have so much power over free citizens. Both institutions are not only plainly anti-democratic but also inherently authoritarian. The central banker says, “Free markets...

Banks are growing increasingly confident in the capabilities of online banking, according to Steven Reider, the founder and president of Bancography, an Alabama-based consulting firm that advises banks on branch planning and strategies. That confidence can lead to significant savings since the average freestanding bank branch costs around $2.6 million a year. In just two months, Bank of America's 41 closures might have saved it almost $100 million. .....And now, credit unions are playing a more significant role than ever before - offering very similar services to traditional banks and eating up a share of the market. Unlike banks, their...

16 Republican AGs seek answers from Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf... ... debanking ... Wells Fargo is pushing the Biden administration's anti-gun and anti-traditional energy policies and discriminating against customers who don't fall in line with their political beliefs," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen... As attorney general, it's my job to protect Montanans from discriminatory business practices. I will continue to investigate and fight against any illegal actions that could impact Montana businesses and consumers." ... Wells Fargo unexpectedly closed the business and personal accounts of Bradon Wexler, the owner of Florida-based firearms dealer Wex Gunworks, with a vague explanation...

New York Community Bancorp sent its shares plummeting 26% on Friday after the regional lender said has discovered “material weaknesses” in the ways it tracks loan risks and that its CEO is leaving. The New York-based firm announced late Thursday that CEO Thomas Cangemi would be leaving NYCB — capping off a 27-year tenure at NYCB — and that Alessandro DiNello would take his place, effective immediately. DiNello, NYCB’s executive chairman, had been acting as the bank’s true boss since earlier this month ... One NYCB director, Hanif “Wally” Dahya, said in a Feb. 25 letter that he “did not...

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser got a 6% pay bump for her performance in 2023, a year the bank's profits dropped 38% and Fraser began a dramatic restructuring that will result in an estimated 20,000 job cuts. The board awarded her total compensation of $26 million, ... The $26 million for Fraser was the lowest among CEO rivals at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, who received between $29 million and $37 million. Bank of America's Brian Moynihan was the only CEO among this group to experience a compensation decline. ... Fraser had a lot...

State officials have threatened legal action against nonprofit climate alliances and banks’ participation, highlighting the contentious relationship between environmental initiatives and economic interests.

This headline from Zero Hedge makes me so glad I have eaten heart-healthy Quaker Oats and Cheerios every morning for the last 20 years! Study Finds 80% Of Americans Exposed To Fertility-Lowering Chemicals In Cheerios, Quaker Oats. The chemical (chlormequat chloride) was detected in “92 percent of oat-based foods purchased in May 2023, including Quaker Oats and Cheerios.” But that was nothing compared to this Zero Hedge headline: EU “Suicide Pact” Threatens To Flood Continent With 75 Million More Migrants. Makes me wonder if Biden/Mayorkas are under orders from the UN/WEF/Soros to let immigrants pour across our southern border (including...