U.S. bank Wells Fargo to cap use of subprime auto loans + MORE Mar 3rd

LONDON – Barclays reported a net loss of 174 million pounds ($267 million) for 2014, compared with net income of 540 million pounds the previous year, as it paid the price for past scandals.
The London-based bank set aside 2.8 billion pounds to cover the costs of conduct and litigation issues, 15 per cent more than the previous year. This includes 1.25 billion pounds for penalties related to allegations banks manipulated foreign exchange markets and 200 million pounds for the misselling payment protection insurance.
Underlying profit, which excludes such one-time items, rose 27 per cent to 2.78 billion pounds.
Chief Executive Antony Jenkins, who has made cleaning up the sins of the past his top priority, said Tuesday the bank was stronger than at any time since the financial crisis.
The post Barclays takes net loss for 2014 of $267 million as it takes provisions for past troubles appeared first on Canadian Business.

A credit score of 700 gets you the best lending rate from the banks. But if you’ve missed some bill payments—or worse, filed for bankruptcy—you’ll have to work strategically to build your score back up. These tips will help you do it as quickly as possible.
KNOW YOUR LIMITS Try to keep your credit-card balance well below the limit. If your cards are almost maxed out, it suggests you’re overextended and more likely to make late or missed payments. The higher your balance, the more impact it has on your credit score.
CHECK YOUR SCORES—BOTH OF THEM Anyone contemplating a bank loan should check their credit score six months to a year in advance to ensure there are no surprises or errors. Just keep in mind that Canada has two major credit-reporting agencies: Equifax and TransUnion. This can lead to significant differences in scores, as these firms only synchronize their scores every two months.
STEER CLEAR OF RETAIL CARDS The next time you’re tempted to sign up for a Brick or Sears card, remember that each separate credit card application inquiry results in a ‘hard check’ that lowers your credit score by seven points…

One of the U.S. biggest banks, Wells Fargo, has said it will cap the amount of money it lends as subprime auto loans, according to the New York Times.

TORONTO – Market attention moves to the Bank of Canada this week now that the quarterly earnings season has pretty much wrapped up.
There are still a few companies to report, notably Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS), which hands in results on Tuesday.
A run of generally positive reports from the other big banks helped give some lift to the TSX last week, which finished up 0.04 per cent.
Traders are looking to the central bank’s rate announcement on Wednesday to see if it will again surprise markets with a cut as it did in January. At that time, the bank decided to take a pre-emptive move to support the economy to deal with the economic effects of the collapse in oil prices, cutting its key rate a quarter point to 0.75 per cent.
Since then, there has been heightened speculation that the bank would cut again, as early as Wednesday. But Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz indicated last week that the bank may not want to move right away.
He said the cut in January has given the Bank of Canada time to figure out how best to steer the country back toward stability…

Did you know: March is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada. Despite awareness efforts, banking and credit card fraud remain prevalent. The first step to avoid being a victim of fraud is to recognize when you’re being targeted. Here are six credit card scams to watch out for, provided by Barry Choi of Moneywehave.com.
By Barry Choi
Credit card scams have been around for some time but criminals are always coming up with new ways to obtain our information. It’s easy to fall victim if you’re not paying attention so here’s a list of common credit card scams to be aware of.
Skimming
Skimming is one of the oldest credit card scams and anyone can be a victim since it’s hard to detect. Thieves tamper with ATMs and collect your credit card data so they can clone it later. They also install a secret camera to capture your PIN as you enter it.
Without your PIN, cloning your credit card is useless so make sure you cover the keypad when entering your PIN.
Telemarketing scams
This scam has become quite popular in Canada in the last few years…