“BofA names Bessant to corporate bank chief-report - Reuters” plus 4 more

BofA names Bessant to corporate bank chief-report - Reuters
Gnip, Betaworks create short URL seed bank - CNET News
Bank Of America Ends Arbitration Of Card Disputes - Post Chronicle
National Bank Insurance donates $42,000 to the Quebec Breast Cancer ... - Market Wire
PayPal Makes a Bid for Student Banking - Wall Street Journal

BofA names Bessant to corporate bank chief-report - Reuters

Posted: 14 Aug 2009 04:18 AM PDT

NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) promoted Cathy Bessant to president of global corporate banking, the Charlotte Observer said on Friday, as the largest U.S. bank shuffles management in the wake of its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

Bessant will report to Tom Montag, a former Merrill executive who oversees global markets and global corporate and investment banking, the newspaper said.

She recently served as head of global product solutions. Part of that business will be moved to the commercial banking and technology areas of the company, the newspaper said.

Joel Van Dusen, a London-based executive who has headed corporate banking, will report to Bessant, according to published reports attributing all the changes to the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank.

Bank of America did not return requests for comment.

Corporate bankers typically work with companies to provide cash management, payments and other services.

They often work with investment bankers who provide such services and stock and bond underwriting and merger advice. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Derek Caney)

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Gnip, Betaworks create short URL seed bank - CNET News

Posted: 14 Aug 2009 07:53 AM PDT

In light of the near-shutdown of Tr.im--and the actual closing of URL shortening services like URLTea, Shurl.net, and Qurl.net--users of the URL shorteners still standing may wonder what's going to happen to their favorite services if they, too, go belly-up.

On Friday, Gnip is announcing that it's releasing a public database that will give URL shortening companies a place where they can archive or escrow their short URL directories, in the event their services shut down. The database would provide a way for another company to take over the services of the closed URL shortening service and keep the mapping of short-to-real Web links alive.

The database will live at 301works, a site owned by Betaworks, which is not coincidentally an investor in Bit.ly, Twitter, and Tweetdeck.

The 301works site will not, at least at first, be a live short URL servicing company. Rather, it will be just a database that collects the mapping of short URLs from the companies that makes them. Under circumstances agreed to by the URL shortening companies and the 301works admins, portions of the database may be released to third parties when certain conditions are met--like a site shutting down for good or suffering a period of sustained downtime.

In other words, the 301works site will not be enough to ressurect the URL mappings of a short URL site that folds. It's just a repository of the data that a still-standing URL shortener could download and add to its own system, to keep a collection of short URLs alive.

Gnip CEO Eric Marcoullier says it's a "break-glass-in-case-of-emergency" product.

But Marcoullier sees the escrow project as more than just an emergency bank for the URL maps. URL shortening services represent bottlenecks and vulnerable failure points. "These services are still somewhat fragile," said Marcoullier, who hopes that the creation of the 301works database will serve to "socialize these short URL companies into making these linkages available to the public domain. Our hope is that cool things will now occur, and that this will be a forcing function to the other companies (that don't use the 301works database)."

He is hoping that the URL shortening industry, such as it is, begins to come together around this service, and that perhaps the conversation leads to some consolidation or cooperation so that the services become more robust, scalable, and survivable.

Gnip is providing the database at no charge (which is appropriate--it's about the simplest data structure I could imagine, and it will be hosted on Amazon.com's cloud servers), but Marcoullier said his company will benefit from the exposure the 301works project provides. "We'll be a good industry citizien," he said.

Companies onboard for the launch announcement include shorteners Adjix, Awe.sm, Bit.ly, Cligs, and URLizer. The service is set to launch in a few weeks.

Further reading:
URL shortening is hot--but look before you leap
The Perils of Short Links

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Bank Of America Ends Arbitration Of Card Disputes - Post Chronicle

Posted: 14 Aug 2009 08:15 AM PDT

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the largest U.S. bank, said on Thursday it is dropping a requirement that forces consumers with disputes on credit cards and other accounts into an arbitration process, which critics say favors card issuers.

The new policy applies to credit card, auto, marine and recreational vehicle loans, as well as deposit accounts, and means unhappy consumers will be able to file lawsuits against the bank to address perceived unfair or illegal activity.

Bank of America is the first major U.S. bank to say it is curtailing arbitration in a wide array of consumer accounts.

"It is certainly significant," said Alan Kaplinsky, a partner and head of the consumer financial services practice at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP in Philadelphia. "Whether others follow is an open question. Other banks and companies have used arbitration for years and are happy with it."

The change comes as the Obama administration pushes for a new consumer finance protection agency and as card companies prepare for new limits on rates and fees that take effect next February.

Consumer advocates have faulted the arbitration process, saying it is biased in favor of companies and that consumers often do not realize they are waiving their right to sue when they accept services. Supporters of arbitration say the process can be faster and less costly than going to court.

"While the bank thinks arbitration is a very fair way to go, customers do not," Bank of America spokeswoman Shirley Norton said. "It is in everyone's best interest to change it. We're hoping we'll be able to resolve more disputes directly with our customers."

Norton said the bank will review consumer cases already in arbitration on a case-by-case basis.

Bank of America's change follows announcements last month by two major arbitration firms that they would stop accepting new cases.

The American Arbitration Association said it would halt consumer debt collection arbitrations until new fairness standards were established.

The National Arbitration Forum agreed to cease consumer arbitration disputes as part of a settlement with Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.

She had accused the firm in a lawsuit of deceiving consumers about its impartiality and instead working closely with card companies and other creditors to insure it would handle more arbitrations.

The National Arbitration Forum has estimated that lenders prevail over consumers in 94 percent of debt collection arbitrations.

It was not immediately clear whether other major card issuers would follow Bank of America's decision.

American Express Co (AXP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said they are evaluating changes to policies for resolving customer disputes. Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it is "continuing to monitor events" involving consumer arbitrations.

Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Discover Financial Services (DFS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said they have not changed their dispute resolution policies.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; additional reporting by Elinor Comlay and Juan Lagorio; editing by Andre Grenon, Bernard Orr)

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National Bank Insurance donates $42,000 to the Quebec Breast Cancer ... - Market Wire

Posted: 14 Aug 2009 05:59 AM PDT

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Aug. 14, 2009) - National Bank Insurance (TSX:NA) recently had the honour of presenting the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation with a cheque for $42,000. This donation was made possible through its clients with Truly Me insurance coverage, which protects women if they are diagnosed with the seven most common types of female cancer.

For each Truly Me policy issued, National Bank Insurance donates $10 to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. Truly Me ensures that women have the financial support they need so they can focus all their energies on treatment and recovery.

National Bank Insurance also undertakes to refund the premiums paid if the insured has not made any claims after 20 years of continuous coverage or when she turns 70. Clients who have never been diagnosed with cancer are guaranteed to be accepted, even if they have a family history of cancer. Clients interested in enrolling in the Truly Me Insurance Plan can obtain coverage for up to $50,000.

National Bank Insurance is the only financial institution in Quebec to offer such a product to women. For more information or to order your Truly Me Insurance Plan information kit, visit www.nbc.ca/trulyme

National Bank Insurance is a trademark used by National Bank of Canada and some of its subsidiaries.

About National Bank of Canada

National Bank of Canada, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2009, is an integrated group that provides comprehensive financial services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations in its core market, while offering specialized services to its clients elsewhere in the world. National Bank offers a full array of banking services, including retail, corporate and investment banking. It is an active player on international capital markets and, through its subsidiaries, is involved in securities brokerage, insurance and wealth management as well as mutual fund and retirement plan management. National Bank has close to $138 billion in assets and, together with its subsidiaries, employs 17,343 people. The Bank's securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:NA). For more information, visit the Bank's website at www.nbc.ca.

The telephone number provided below is for the exclusive use of journalists and other media representatives.

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PayPal Makes a Bid for Student Banking - Wall Street Journal

Posted: 14 Aug 2009 08:22 AM PDT

By Mary Pilon

From The Wallet:

Parents and students looking to manage their budgets might find help from an unlikely place: PayPal.

Long associated with online payments and transfers of funds on sites like parent company eBay, PayPal this week launched a student account, stepping further into the world of mainstream banking.

The student account functions like a normal PayPal account with one major difference: Other accounts can be added on to it. It also comes with a debit card. However, unlike other PayPal accounts, it is not linked to outside checking accounts. Instead, all transactions flow through the parent's account. The parent can set restrictions on spending and access to online purchases, and view transactions made by the student.

Both kids and parents can use mobile phones to check balances and transfer money via text message or the PayPal iPhone application. There are no fees, sans a $1 fee for using the debit card at an ATM, plus whatever the host bank charges you, says Don Fotsch, vice president of customer experience and design at PayPal. There are no overdraft fees; if a limit is exceeded, the a student is turned away at the point of sale.

"We're trying to let the financial line out and do so in a way that parents can have peace of mind," says Fotsch, himself a father of six.

Parents can set up regular automatic transfers, or allowance payments, to children with linked accounts. Parents can link up to four accounts to their PayPal accounts, but can call customer service and add more, Fotsch says.

One downfall is that since the student accounts aren't linked to their own checking accounts, tasks like depositing birthday checks or a first paycheck can be difficult. Students have to deposit the check through their parent's account, then have the money funneled to their PayPal account. PayPal is looking to add linking abilities with other accounts in the future, Fotsch says. The target age demographic is age 15 through the college years.

The PayPal student account is similar in spirit to American Express's recent offer to allow customers to set limits for kids' cards and prepaid-debit offerings. The new approaches should be welcome, as new federal regulations will make it significantly harder for the under-21 set to get a credit card.