Comments about ‘Financial faith: Americans' low confidence in stability of the U.S. banking system is taking toll’

Reality check, that's what the american people have adopted. And so should the financial system.

What else could the banks expect?

Job security and incomes have fallen drastically for those employed and can no longer afford the luxury's they once had.

Trust a bank and credit card companies? Not on your life. They all use subversion and lies to hook consumers in to debt they can't afford.

Business loans are down because consumers can't afford more debt to buy products. They produce less with smaller work force. Inflation, debt, foreign national labor, and incomes are the root cause of the continued slow economy. Business gives all its profits to investors and Wall Street then borrows to pay overhead costs.

Interest rates are and have been the least costly of financial debt, it's all the other fees and charges killing consumer trust. Consumers have learned that tangible assets, cash, has no finance charges and fees to spend it.

The credit bureaus have also created a system to help financial industry to adjust fraudulent rates and fees. Ability to repay is more important than what you can borrow.

I worked in the financial, finance sector in the old days, when people were real and banks were trusted. Loans were made with the idea that if the credit worthiness was not there, we had to eat the loss.

Todays world is one of non compliance to truth. this generation will have to learn how to deal with the real world. Debt is eating up the nation and government as we see it today goes right along with it. We will again, experience hard times. this current situation is a minor blip on the way down. the Obama philosophy will continue to punish the nation. He speaks with a forked tongue.

I'm appalled at the interest I receive from my credit union market share savings. Soon it will be down to nothing, and I have a substantial amount in savings. You big corporate entities have stepped on your own ability to scam the rest of us, and now you're crying about it? Ummm...capitalism without conscience = greed. Are you getting it? Sure, go outsource all the jobs so you can make more money, while Americans lose jobs and can't afford loans and credit. Waaaa...my money is more secure under the mattress. I'm looking forward to the day you rich guys take yourselves and your off shore bank accounts to some other country so Americans can rebuild a decent society. We need an updated Constitution and more women in government, or at least more "female/balanced energy". This society is too male oriented and too war-mongering. Men, please balance yourselves. Thank you.

Government intervention has undermined the stability of banks and credit unions.

Banks [I include credit unions in the term] were forced to make loans to people clearly unable to repay them, for houses they could not afford.

Foreclosures are being encouraged with easy bankruptcy to get out of paying debts people willingly incurred.

Banks are being forced to renegotiate mortgages at lower rates and marking down the amount of the loan.

Those loans were the source of funds to be paid to people with savings or checking accounts, and when the government forces banks to do stupid things, suddenly the banks are the bad guys?

Americans may not trust their banks as much as they used to, but it really our liberal government policies that are undermining confidence in our banking systems. And just about every other aspect of American society, industry and capitalism.

Socialism works great until you run out of other people's money to spend. The government is already out of money. It is starting to show in the banks, and will probably get much worse before we can restore capitalism to improve opportunities for everyone.

Banks rely on trust so they can take advantage of people, that’s how they maintain their bottom line.

Nobody goes into banking because they want to make a difference, people go into banking because they love money.

Even after the biggest financial meltdown in 80 years, banks still want to maintain the status cuo, even after their greed is destroying the worlds economy and ruining countless lives they don’t believe they’ve done anything wrong.

The reason people don’t trust banks now is because everyone willing to look can see that what banks like Goldman Sacks did was ruthless, unconscionable, and sick, yet banks defend their actions and ignore the suffering they’ve caused throughout the world.

All I know is that many people I've known have been very greedy. My mother grew up in a house with one bathroom which wasn't put in until she was a older child as she can tell me about the outhouse. Her parents had seven children and there were only three bedrooms. I see people who say there houses aren't big enough when they only have two kids and four bedrooms. I shared my bedroom when I was a child. Most of my friends had their own rooms, but we were poorer than they were. I live in a humble hovel, (Just a house we built 18 years ago), and am glad I didn't buy into the 'I need more because I want more.' My house is paid off. It may not be fancy, but its mine. I don't worry about its value as I have no intention of selling it. People have been greedy and now they complain about their circumstances. We must live with our choices. I want a nicer house, too, but I wouldn't let myself buy myself one as I couldn't justify the cost. Put blame where it belongs.

DN Subscriber -- let's try to clear up one thing: THE GOVERNMENT DID NOT, IN ANY WAY FORCE BANKS TO PROVIDE DANGEROUS LOANS TO ANYONE.

That is just another Republican falsehood. It was bankers seeking larger profits. It was NOT the government. The few laws that help enable this came as direct results of intense lobbying from banking interests that were rewarded by predominantly Republican Congresspeople.

I think it is funny that many of the posts blame the government and specifically Obama for the mess were in. Seems to me it was the banks that through there hope of chasing higher profits made loans they shouldn't have to people who in know way could afford them (ironic that in an age with the far right calls for personal responsibility that millions, including many of their own ilk should little of said responsibility). I'm growing very tired of the talk that it is all the current administration’s fault when the reality is this was building and finally exploded under G.W. Bush's laze fare presidency. Do you realize how much debt we as a nation took on to fight two wars? Look at Regan and Bush Jr. they racked up debt like it was going out of style. I am not saying the dems have it right either as the far left is just as kooky and unrealistic as the far right. I just am sick of the partisan bull that comes from many in this far right state that has questionable basis in reality when all facts are laid bare.

The current inept administration is more to blame for this mess than any other single entity. But the Bush Republicans can also take their share of blame. All in all - it is government. Government is the problem. It's that simple. Of course, everyday people and corporations all contributed. But the blame should rest primarily upon the federal government. We were already in deep trouble before the incompetence of Barney Frank and Chris Dodds in lying to the people about Feddie and Fannie. Then to add "health care reform" with its $1 to $5 trillion price tag is just unbelievably stupid. But those of you who voted for President Ego and the rest of the socialists, I hope you are honest enough to stand and share the blame as Nero starts to fiddle.

Bush caused the 9/11 disaster months after he took office, now after well over a year into it, Obama STILL isn't responsible for anything and it is still Bushes fault..

That just goes to show you how low an opinion you have of Obama! He REALLY IS that worthless!

"one old man" What planet have you been on for the past several years? The Liberal Left Democrats in the Congress did, indeed, pass banking regulations that required financial institutions to make housing loans to unqualified home buyers. Of course, this was all for the noble purpose of getting everyone into their own home! Banks were penalized if they did not do this. The banks were able to cope with this unrealistic situation by selling these loans to Fannie or Freddie.
When Fannie & Freddie went belly-up, it was ironic that the same congressional "lefties" who caused the problem then blamed the financial institutions for the problem.

That's true, Dave. Every time a bank makes a loan they are accepting a certain amount of risk from their creditors and so they have typically been fairly careful about examining the past history and the future capability of their borrowers to return the assets over time. They simply did not make sub-prime loans.

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, conceived to help reliable borrowers who simply lived in a high risk neighborhood, has been amended many times to put pressure on banks to make risky loans of all kinds. By 2000 even Fannie and Freddie were required to spend at least 50% of their assets on sub-prime loans. Congress allowed risky loans to be repackaged and sold into various financial markets as a means of spreading the risk.

No President or Congress since then has wanted to be perceived as heartless toward the poor. Instead they have remained either mum or actively promoted it in an effort to gain the support of the poor at election time.

Credit is like fertilizer. A little carefully applied is a good thing. But pile it too deep and we all get burned!

I talked with a mortgage broker during the "Subprime" loans, Liar Loans. He was told by his supervisor "push Sub-Prime even if people qualify for Fixed, we get 4% commissions". According to the Federal Regulators, the ones that were told to look the other way by our government, that 80% of those loans were Fraud, like income. The borrower put down $2000 a month and the Mortgage Broker put down $7000. The banks did not verify it and the mortgage broker knew it. Then, it was packaged and "thrown over the fence" to the world as Derivatives and AAA rated Securities based on Mortgages. Our government failed us, to protect us from this disasterous scam. Mortgage borrowers were lied to, as were Seniors who refinanced to a subprime and could have qualified for a fixed loan. The Financial System, driven by Wall Street and the money they poured into congress to enable the bilking of honest Americans made this happen. For those of you who think it was the stupid people who borrowed over their heads, you are naive and are throwing rocks at the wrong people. You should be outside the doors of banks with pitchforks.