Loan Spread Calculator Pro has been upgraded to version 4.3. This release is a free upgrade for all who have previously purchased Loan Spread Calculator Pro. Current users may update the software by clicking the Update Button or choosing ‘Check for New Version’ on the Online Resources menu.
Loan Spread Calculator Pro simultaneously compares 135 loans. The Loan Summary feature allows you to drill into the details of the loans you wish to review.
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) are being filed by banks in unmanageable numbers according to a story on the MSN Money site. Banks file SARs to protect themselves from Federal fines. More than 1 million SAR filings with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are expected in 2006.
A SAR is a report that financial institutions are required to file when they notice a transaction that is ’suspicious’. There are guidelines for banks and other financial institutions to use in determining what ’suspicious’ means, but ultimately, it’s the responsibility of the bank to correctly determine whether a transaction qualifies for reporting.
The program was designed in 1996 to gather information about ’suspected criminal violations of federal law or a suspicous transaction related to money laundering activity, or a violation of the BSA (Bank Secrecy Act)’. In other words, it’s a good thing … but appears to be going bad because of the hypersentive reporting of financial institutions.
Finally, no one at your bank is permitted to notify you if a transaction has been reported. But, as with most things in life, the cliche, ‘honest people sleep well,’ holds true. It’s probably true that only those who initiate suspicious transactions have reason to worry about their bank filing a SAR report. What I think would be interesting to see would be a comparison of reporting behavior by small, community banks and large, megabanks. I imagine a small town bank would report far fewer SARs than a large, impersonal financial behemoth. Just a guess, though …
In real estate the mantra has often been, “location, location, location.” On the web (at least in search engines) the mantra holds true.
I’ve started another blog to serve as an online workshop for SEO (search engine optimization). It’s still young and, therefore, pretty empty, but I think it has a lot of potential. The new blog is titled, “Good SEO Tools” and is at: http://www.goodseotools.com/
In “I Want My Bubble Back“, Fool writer Seth Jayson writes with clarity about the National Association of Realtors’ apparent lack of clarity about the housing bubble.
It’s witty, good writing about the larger effects of the housing bubble on the national economy and individual homebuyers.
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