Monday, June 7, 2010

Find Information About Debt Consolidation For Problem Credit Right Now

You can manage difficult debt troubles in many different ways. You can always take the legal choice of filing bankruptcy but before you do that you may want to reflect on the several debt consolidation, debt settlement programs and credit counseling programs that are available.

Debt consolidation refers to the action of taking out one loan to pay off many other debts. This loan is usually at a lower and fixed interest rate while the debts that it pays off are usually at a higher interest rate or maybe even a variable rate.

You can get a consolidation in the form of another unsecured loan but more frequently than not the debt consolidation loan will be a secured loan with a important collateral. Most often this is a home. Because the loan is secured by guarantee it allows for a lower interest rate.

Numerous people will take advantage of the debt management solution when they are trying to pay off credit cards. Credit cards can have a much higher interest rate than even an unsecured loan from a bank. Because of the advantages for the consumer occasionally the companies will take advantage of the customer by charging very high fees for a debt consolidation loan. Sometimes these fees can soar as high as the state limit for mortgage fees, so a consumer will want to study their good faith estimates and the costs of the loan very prudently.

Consolidating all of your debt might sound good at first, but as with anything that works well for people who are desperate to remedy a tense situation in their lives there are unprincipled individuals just waiting to take advantage of those people. Be alert of greedy lenders that offer up a swift fix solution to debt problems. You need to find out up front about all of the costs and how it may affect your credit in the long run.

There are also debt settlement programs that you may want to consider. A debt settlement company will bargain with the lenders to reduce the balance on the debt. Monthly payments are paid into an escrow account until the settlements are reached. The consumer remains at some jeopardy with these programs however, because not every lender is willing to bargain the balances and they can still pursue legal action against the consumer if they choose to.

Credit counseling can impart consolidation of your debts without the hassle of taking out a loan. This is referred to as a debt management plan. Usually the credit counselor will help you to join multiple unsecured debts into just one monthly sum.

About Swiss Banking

Swiss banks have earned a reputation around the world for providing sophisticated and discreet banking services. There are more than 400 banks in Switzerland. Banks are licensed by the Swiss Federal Government through its Banking Commission, and may operate throughout the country. A number also have offices or other representation in foreign countries.

Are Swiss Banks Safe?

Swiss private banks have a huge reputation for money and asset management. There is a government insurance for small bank deposits. The banking industry is very important to the Swiss economy and any type of financial crisis in the banking sector would receive the full attention of both the Swiss bank industry and the government of Switzerland.

What services do Swiss Banks provide?

Some banks specialize in only a few banking services, whereas others provide a wide range. As in most of continental Europe, individuals usually buy and sell stocks and bonds through their banks. The Swiss banks collectively have a long reputation for managing investment portfolios for their clients, and providing other services such as estate planning, wealth management, trust companies, etc., for individual customers.

What is Private Banking?

Private banks are those which are not incorporated, and hence the entirety of their partners' assets are available to meet the liabilities of the bank. These banks have a very long tradition in Switzerland, dating back to at least the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). They are primarily associated with portfolio management for private clients. Most have become incorporated companies, so the term is rarely strictly true anymore. The term "private banking" is used more loosely to encompass all the banking services provided to clients in the area of portfolio and other wealth management services. These services are directed primarily at "high net-worth individuals", and there are a number of "private banks" which refuse any account of less than $ 1 million (or equivalent).

Swiss Bank Secrecy

Banks in most countries are prohibited from divulging information about their clients, and the provisions of the Swiss law follow the same lines. Swiss law is especially strict on any breech of confidentiality, whether in banking or in other commerce. The banking act adds a special section (introduced in 1934, in order to protect accounts of Germans, especially German Jews, from Nazi confiscation) which makes it a criminal offense, with the possibility of an individual going to jail, for the bank or its employee or agent to improperly divulge any confidential information. These portions of the banking law have been interpreted, both in practice and by the courts, to make it a serious offense to divulge any information about a bank customer to any third party, including official requests of foreign governments, unless very specific criteria have been met. Swiss bank secrecy is reinforced by a constant awareness of the seriousness of the bank's obligation to maintain confidentiality, starting with bank employees having to sign the secrecy portion of the banking act as a condition of employment. Both individuals and the banks are prosecuted if a lapse is discovered; this keeps awareness of bank secrecy high and and lapses rare. While this culture of absolute discrection is integral to the Swiss banks, the branch offices outside of Switzerland must operate according to the laws of countries in which they are located, which may not provide so much protection.

There are several measures in place to counter money laundering. The Money Laundering Act sets forth requirements of account holders' identification, and requires reporting of any suspicious transactions to the Money Laundering Reporting Office.

Matters such as Inheritance, divorce, and civil tax present problems regarding banking secrecy, these are civil not criminal matters. Political discussion is under-way concerning how to deal with tax matters which foreign governments consider a crime but Switzerland considers a civil offence.

Numbered Accounts

Numbered accounts (or pseudonym accounts) are not very different from normal bank accounts. The usual account records omit reference to the customer's name or other identifying information, replacing it with a code number or the pseudonym. The relationship between the code number or pseudonym and the actual customer is known only to a few senior managers and their secretaries within the bank. It is important to emphasize that a Swiss bank has an obligation to know the true identity of both the account holder and its beneficial owner, and that there is no such thing as an anonymous account. Because of the constant awareness and strict enforcement of bank secrecy, there is actually little need for numbered accounts, and it should be noted that they incur additional overheads for the bank (it is more difficult to validate transactions to and from such accounts). For all these reasons, the stories one reads about anonymous, numbered accounts are fiction.

Opening a Swiss Bank Account

If you would like to open a Swiss Bank Account, first find out what type of account you need. A Private Swiss Bank Account is for HNWI's (High Net Worth Individuals) and offers a prestigious service. Regular Swiss Bank Accounts can be expensive to maintain.

Swiss laws designed to prevent money-laundering are very strict. The Swiss bank is required to know its client sufficiently well to ensure that the funds being placed on deposit are unlikely to be coming from illegal activities. Opening an account on behalf of someone else is very tightly regulated, and those allowed to open such accounts must meet the same requirements as banks with respect to knowing the client. While each bank may set its own internal policies to ensure compliance with the money-laundering legislation, most banks require a personal interview before opening an account. The standard policy is therefore to interview the client at the bank's offices in Switzerland, make copies of identity documents (passport) and any other relevant information, and discuss how the account will be used and the source of funds. Ony after evaluating this information will the bank decide whether to accept someone as a client. We advise extreme caution before becoming involved with a Swiss bank without going through these formalities.

Repair Your Own Credit By Increasing Your Credit Rating Watch a Related Video

A credit standing can turn out to be one of the most essential numbers in your lifetime, at least your financial life. A credit rating is a numerical interpretation of your creditworthiness. It's based upon all of your past credit history, your current credit status and other factors that are contained on your credit report. You can fix your credit by increasing your credit score.

One of the most frequently used and most recognized credit scoring system in the United States is the FICO credit score. The acronym FICO stands for the Fair Isaac Corporation. In addition there are other businesses that conduct credit scoring, nevertheless, none are so famous as the FICO score.

FICO scores are contemplated to be one of the best predictors of creditworthiness because it takes only into consideration reasonable and objective measures like past credit historical past, how you manage your credit and the current debt load.

Virtually all creditors will depend a great deal on the credit scores of their applicants. The credit score can establish if you will get the loan, the interest rate you will be charged and the restrictions on the credit line. Whenever you take actions to repair your credit and raise your credit score it can be very useful for your economic life.

Before you decide to begin to repair your credit you will need to get a report from each of the big 3 credit reporting companies. In the United States, they are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each of them has their own credit report and their own credit score so it is crucial to get every one of them. You are entitled to one free of charge report one time each year from each agency or you can also pay a fee and get a tri-merged report that will have all three reports in one.

Be sure that your financial life is in good order before you begin to fix your credit. All of your existing obligations must have the payments made on time or you will be defeating your objective. Also, if feasible pay down all of your debt to less than 20% of the line of credit. A big percentage of your score is the amount of credit that you have accessible compared to the quantity of credit that you have utilized. Your score will be higher if you keep your balances below 20% all the time.

The duration of your credit history is also very imperative so utilize the credit cards that you have had the longest most often. A new credit card is not constructive and can essentially be detrimental to your credit score. Also, every time you ask for new credit your score gets dinged by the query so try not to ever submit an application for credit. Another concern is that if you happen to cancel a line of credit, your score will go down because you will have a reduced amount of credit obtainable. Therefore do not terminate credit cards or credit lines but rather just stop utilizing them.

Private Banking Services

Swiss banks offer a Private Banking service to clients who are investing large amounts of money. High Net Worth Individuals or Ultra High Net Worth Individuals tend to use Swiss Banking because it offers a more personal and professional service than commercial bank services.

We work closely with a top Private Bank in Switzerland and open up Private Bank Accounts for clients world wide. You will be designated a Swiss Private Banker who can put together a tailor made banking solution for you and your future.

Swiss Banks offer the very best in Private Banking facilities and Investment Solutions in the world. This is due (in part) to the vast experience and and renowned professionalism of the Swiss Banking sector.

The Private Bank we work with is one of t he oldest and most experienced in the world. To speak to one of our representatives, visit our website privatebankaccount.com and use our consultation form or contact us via telephone.

Privacy is in order with Swiss banking privacy laws. PrivateBankAccount.com can help you to find the right Private Bank Account and the service is free of charge.

The Private Banking services offered include:

Asset Protection

Business Accounts

Commercial Account

Corporate Bank Accounts

Estate Planning Help

Family Office

Financial Advice

Foundations

Money Management

Inheritance Advice

Investment Advice

Truss

Wealth Management Vehicles

The private banks we work with offer the following services: Corporation formation in: Switzerland, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Thailand, Ireland, Holland, Hungary, Mauritius.
Trust formation in: Switzerland, Holland, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Nova Scotia, Belize, Isle of Man; and Partnerships, Scotland. Foundation formation in: Switzerland, Curacao, Liechtenstein, Panama; We provide introductions to major institutional trustees and are also an affiliate of four private international trust companies. Accordingly we are able to provide clients with an array of choices for trustee selection, from the large institutions to smaller, more flexible private trust companies. Specific services offered in this area include: Providing mailing address for a trust or trustee; Providing secure storage for original trust agreements, share certificates, letters of wishes and related documents; Preparation of annual accounting for trusts and beneficiaries; Provision of nominee officers and directors; Preparation of minutes and resolutions for routine and special corporate meetings; Financial corporate book keeping and accounting; and Preparation of financial statements.

About Investment Banking

Investment banking is a type of banking that helps companies in accumulating more assets. Further to the acquisition of more assets, investment banking offers guidance for a range of transactions a company or corporation may participate in.

Normally banks engaged in commercial banking or investment banking. In commercial banking, the bank collects deposits from clients and gives loans to companies and individuals. In the USA, it used to be illegal for banks to have commercial and investment banking, that was until 1999 when the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act made it legal.

With investment banking, an financial institution generates assets in two different ways. They can draw on public funds using the capital market by selling stock in their corporation/company. They could also attain venture capital or private equity in exchange for a stake in a corporation/company.

An investment banking company does a large amount of consulting. Investment bankers will give companies or corporations advice on mergers and acquisitions. They will study the market in order to give advice on when to make public bids and how to manage the business' public assets. Some of the consultative activities investment banking firms take part in coincide with those of a private brokerage. They will often give buying and selling advice to the companies they are representing.

Investment banking and other forms of banking have been partially indistinguishable in recent years. As self-regulation has allowed banks to take on more and more fields. With the beginning of Mega banks operating at different levels, many of the utilities are often grouped with investment banking and are now accessible to clients who may not have been big enough to make their business productive.

Careers in investment banking are lucrative and one of the most sought after positions in the money-market world. A career in investment banking involves extensive traveling, grueling hours and an often cut-throat lifestyle. While highly competitive and time intensive, investment banking also offers an exciting lifestyle with huge financial incentives that are a draw to many people.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Ordering Customized Personal Checks Can Actually Save You Money

As technology
has developed over the last two decades, companies have found that they are able to extend their reach beyond just serving other businesses and can now offer their products to the end user directly. No where is this more evident than in the personal check printing industry. Where in the past these companies mainly just dealt with the banks, today individuals can order checks directly from them via a simple interface on the companies' websites.

It isn't surprising that personalized or custom printed bank checks are very popular. We love to express our individuality in a variety of ways including getting tattoos or putting vanity license plates on our cars. When we have the opportunity to make a personal statement or customize something so that it better reflects who we are, we repeatedly take advantage of it.

Whether you are an animal lover, sports fanatic or a proud university graduate you can find a related personal check design that will share your passion with the rest of the world. Every time you write a check the recipient will learn a little something about you without you having to say a word. The customization options don't just stop at choosing a theme as you can also select your favorite font and other adornments.

What is surprising is that these personalized designer checks are often even cheaper than if we had ordered the run-of-the-mill checks that are offered by our banks. Banks get their checks from nation printers and then mark that price up and pass the cost along to us. When we order online we are able to bypass the middleman, the bank in this case, and order checks less expensively from the printer directly.

Historical Facts About The Gold Standard

Let us start with the definition of gold standard. The Encyclopaedia of Economics and Liberty, an essay on gold standard, defines the gold standard as "a commitment by participating countries to fix the prices of their domestic currencies in terms of a specified amount of gold. National currency and other forms of money like bank deposits and notes were liberally transformed into gold at the permanent price."

The first gold coin in the history has been by the Lydia in 643 B.C. They were made of a crude material naturally occurring, and were a mixture of gold and silver. The Midas touch and the Celts are prominent historical achievements towards the evolution of modern-time gold standard setting. Then the Romans came with gold, silver, bronze and copper coins. After the death of Julius Caesar, gold coinage became very important in the Roman Coinage system.

The first ever one-pound coin was the gold sovereign, which came into existence in the year 1489 under the kingdom ship of King Henry VII. The Pound Sterling has been regarded as a unit of currency for centuries. This coin denomination was circulated with a weight of 240 grains equal to 0.5 troy (15.55 g) and was smelted using the standard gold coinage alloy of about 23 carat (95.83% fine).

It was 1971 when gold was priced as $38 per ounce, and in 1973 as $42 per ounce. As the dollar lost its value, people were stimulated to sell their US dollar hoards in lieu of gold. At last, in late 1973, the U.S. government separated the value of dollar being affected by gold altogether and vice versa. It was then that in the open market, the price of gold soared to the peak of $120 per ounce.

In 1946, system of fixed exchange rates was created by the Bretton Woods System. Through this system, United States treasury was made bound of buying gold from other governments on a fixed price that was $35 per ounce. Nobody could violate this law to buy or sell gold above or at low price than $35 for per ounce. This system came to an end on August 15, 1971.

Britain too was the initial industrialized power and had embraced the gold standard around the 1820s. The United States did not follow the trend till 1873, when the Coinage Act took place. France and Germany then followed the steps of the US after some time.