| Britons 'clueless over credit card cash withdrawals'
Consumers are largely unaware of the true cost of making cash withdrawals via their credit cards, according to new research. One million Britons wrongly believe that using ATMs with credit cards is free, as with debit cards, uSwitch says. The price comparison website claims the confusion arises from the way in which credit rates are determined following legal changes? to the display of interest rates. In May 2005 ? the month the Consumer Credit Act was reformed by the government ? the average APR for cash withdrawals was 20.8 per cent, but today stands at the equivalent of 27.1 per cent. This increase could have added up to 334 million to Britons' credit card bills, uSwitch says. "Consumers could be forgiven for thinking that they are being treated as the banking industry's personal ATM," said Nick White, director of financial services at the website.
Increased provisioning to cost banks Rs 4000 cr
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its third-quarter review of the monetary policy for 2006-07 (refers to financial year, April 1 to March 31), has increased the provisioning requirements for scheduled commercial banks (SCBs or banks) from 1% to 2%; the increase applies to banks exposure in the standard assets category towards the real estate sector, outstanding credit card receivables, loans and advances qualifying as capital market exposure, and personal loans. Further, the provisioning requirement for banks exposures in the standard assets category to the non-deposit-taking systemically important non-banking financial companies (NBFCs-ND_SI) was increased to 2% from 0.4%. The increase in provisioning requirements would have a significant impact on banks profitability if the entire enhanced provisioning quantum were to be borne by banks in 2006-07.
Opposition MNAs are wealthy too
ISLAMABAD: A large number of opposition members of the National Assembly (MNAs) do not lag behind their colleagues from the ruling coalition in terms of wealth, declared in their annual statements of assets submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
A close look at the voluminous official gazette containing the original assets statements of the MNAs shows that there are a sizable number of opposition lawmakers who each own assets worth Rs 30m and more. Even among them stands out Mian Muhammad Aslam of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) as the wealthiest MNA.
Makhdoom Amin Fahim has not given the value of most of his assets, which include more than 200 acres of inherited land.
He has cattle (Rs 700,000); a DHA Karachi house (Rs 4m), mortgaged with a bank; another house in DHA Karachi in his wifes name (no value given); yet another house in the same area that he holds on the basis of a power of attorney; another house again in the same area, jointly held by his son and wife (Rs 13m), which is mortgaged with a bank; a house also in DHA, Karachi, in his wifes name, mortgaged with a bank; a farmhouse in Islamabad, no value given; and an apartment in the UAE (DHMs 2.2m).
Are you really ready to sell without help?
An article in The News-Sentinel March 28 provided tips on selling your home without a real-estate agent and advised people who were "taking on the job themselves" to prepare for a "little work." No disrespect to the writer, Amy Hoak, but if you're selling your own home today, be prepared for a lot of work. If an unrepresented seller is fortunate enough to get a buyer and a signed contract, that's only half the journey. According to the National Association of Realtors 2006 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, handling paperwork is one of the biggest concerns for unrepresented sellers. The typical home sale today involves more than 20 steps after the initial contract is accepted to complete the transaction, not to mention all the complex negotiations that may be required, such as a buyer's request for 100 percent financing with closing costs funded from the transaction.
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