The shenanigans of the giant monster mega-banks are about to come to an end next summer.

Too often at an ATM, some of the biggest banks will approve a withdrawal even when you have no money. Why? They're looking to generate massive overdraft fees. In addition, false balances are all too common at ATMs to trick you into thinking you have money you don't really have.

Meanwhile, when it comes to your debit card, your bank will no longer be allowed to rip you off by approving point-of-sale transactions that exceed your account balance -- unless you give them express permission.

That means you'd have to tell your bank in writing or with an electronic signature at your bank's website that it's OK for them to give you money that you don't have...and charge you a massive overdraft fee in the process. Who in their right mind would do that?!

These two areas represent a massive profit center for the banks. Some estimates suggest its been as much as $38 billion annually.

Of course, it's your responsibility to track your balance. But let's face it, it's much harder now with the ATM, checks, auto-drafts, debit cards and more. Banking has gone from being linear to us losing control! But you have to get it back under control.

Finally, it's important to understand that if you give permit any drafts on your account, you will be exempt from the coming protections. So discontinue auto-drafts in writing if you have any and don't set up anymore.

Britain is getting ready to bust up its giant banks, according to The Washington Post. This is a key step toward the United Kingdom preserving its national sovereignty. In the United States, however, the silence is deafening as we have made no efforts to break up the banks that caused us so much harm.

Three of our giant monster mega-banks -- Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Wells-Fargo -- account for one in three deposit dollars in the United States. Their stranglehold on the banking business has demolished the economy and caused millions to be unemployed.

Moreover, these giant banks are only in existence because we keep them alive with Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds. Yet they turn around and stick it to consumers with microscopic interest payments and exorbitant fees. This is just so wrong.

We need to follow the British example and break up our giant banks. No one from the Obama administration has any credibility with Clark when it comes to eliminating this risk to taxpayers. Nor does anyone from the Republican or Democratic leadership in Congress either.

Where is the leadership, courage and vision to take on the giant banks?

Well, there is something you can do. Fire your giant bank and take your business to local community banks or credit unions. That will help build America up, not tear it down. We need to support institutions with a heart from Main Street, not ones that have no soul from Wall Street.

We've got changes coming concerning your relationship with your bank. But no matter what happens in Washington, the most important changes are the ones you make in your own life.

There had been in the past a very popular publication with bankers called Fee Income Report. This publication was like a venue for them to swap tips on new fees and other ways to stick it to the customer.

That mentality in banking is going to go away. One change you'll see will be how you're assessed when you overdraw your account. It won't be the gouge it once was.

Let's face it, it's much harder now to keep track of balances with the ATM, checks, auto-drafts, debit cards and more. Banking has gone from being linear to us losing control! But you have to get it back under control.

Remember, they can only take advantage of you if you let them by overdrawing your account. Forget about the changes in D.C. We need changes from you!

You need a system, whether it's using something like Mint.com for free budgeting software so you know you won't overdraw, or instead just using an old-fashioned bank ledger.

If you know you can't keep accurate records, cut up that debit card even though it means sacrificing convenience! Whatever causes the gotchas, attack it and get back to simplicity in your finances.

Bank of America is experimenting with levying annual fees on previously fee-free credit cards among approximately one percent of its customers.

One staffer on our team got a letter stating her annual fee would be $59. Other reports in the media suggest people are being told they'll face fees at either $29 or $49.

"We're testing this to see what the feedback is," a BOA spokesperson told the Associated Press. "In terms of any plans going forward, we haven't made any decisions." Basically they're testing the waters to see if people get hot under the collar.

So what should you do? Pick up the phone and tell them to stop clowning around. They may be instructed to give you the cold shoulder. We don't yet know how it will play out.

This is another example of why it's so important -- even if you're not a fan of credit -- to have three or four different cards from three or four different issuers. Remember, your "safe harbor" card should probably be from a community bank or credit union.

The reality is that if BOA gets away with this, then other dominant players in the industry like Chase, Citi, Capital One and American Express will immediately roll out similar fees.

You have to stand up to BOA; maybe the best way is to fire them.

A new survey from BankRate.com finds that customers of giant monster mega-banks are being hit with a triple whammy when it comes to ATM fees, checking account fees and overdraft fees.

• The typical fee to use an ATM as a non-customer is now $3.54.
• The typical monthly checking account fee is $12.55.
• Overdrafts fees on accounts can be between 2,500 percent and 3,250 percent!

Of course, the responsibility ultimately comes back to you. Giant banks don't force you to be their customer. If you're getting ripped off with a giant bank, it should be your mission to fire those "banksters."

There are many fine people in the banking business, especially at community banks and credit unions. Both do a great job for the customer. The one drawback is that they may not have branches coast-to-coast like the giant banks.

Second, know that there are many offers for truly free checking accounts with online banks, community banks and credit unions. Don't believe the giant banks when they promise you free checking that's actually known as "fee checking" in the lingo of the industry.

And on the issue of overdrawing, it is your responsibility to know what you have in your account. This can be tricky with auto debits and other drafts if you're not on top of your bank register. But the responsibility does come back to you.

After all, giant banks can't rip you off with 2,500 percent charges on an overdraft if you don't overdraw your account in the first place!

Whole Foods is experimenting with refusing to accept checks at locations in California and Arizona. As a high end retailer, they don't have many customers who write checks to begin with. The eventual goal is to ban checks chainwide if there's no pushback from customers.

Clark was in a discount store and had two people writing checks ahead of him. He thought the guy behind him was going to kill a woman who insisted on filling out her register before handing her check to the cashier!

But the real danger comes if somebody steals your checkbook and passes checks as if they were you. Retailers can swear out a warrant for your arrest if the check bounces because of insufficient funds. And that's even if you put a stop on the checks and close out the account!

Now, you can ultimately sue the store for false arrest, but who wants the headache of being imprisoned?

The solution? Don't carry a checkbook on your person. Keep your checks under lock and key at your home or business.

Want your say? Vote in our poll!

MONEY-SAVING MOMENT: Wells Fargo is planning to raise interest rates on credit card customers across the board by November 30. They're rushing through an increase before a new federal ban on raising rates on existing balances goes into effect December 1.

So what does this mean to you?

Well, the giant monster mega-bank was a beneficiary of bailout money and your reward is that they boost your interest rate?! Your assignment is to reduce the amount of money you owe on credit cards. Go join a credit union and get one of their credit cards to do a balance transfer if you must. At least the credit unions are not pulling all these gimmicks like Wells Fargo.

And we have one more announcement for Wells Fargo customers. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the bank is doing blanket reductions in home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs) without doing individual property assessments.

(Editor's note: Wells Fargo gave us the following statement: "The fact is we conduct case-by-case reviews based on a variety of possible factors such as credit scores, debt levels, payment history, property value changes, etc. to determine if a customer’s home equity line of credit limit is in line with their financial condition. We also encourage our customers to call us if they believe we made our decision on incorrect or incomplete information.")

This is reportedly happening to 3.6 million people.

(Editor's note: Wells Fargo maintains the following: "We serve a total of 2.6 million home equity households across the country. And the majority of our customers have not had their lines reduced or restricted.")

If you are in midst of using your Wells Fargo HELOC, Clark advises you to draw it down right away and deposit it at another financial institution so they can't automatically claw it back from your account.

Bank of America is garnering laurels from Clark for a new credit card that comes with one simple page of terms and conditions in plain English. Who says the consumer champ never has a kind word for the giant monster mega-bank?!

The BankAmericard Basic Visa card also includes the following features below.

(Editor's note: Clark is presenting these for your information only. He is not implying that these terms are necessarily favorable. He is, however, excited by the one-page disclosure that accompanies this card.)

• The interest rate is the same for all transactions, including purchases and cash advances.
• It comes with one interest rate -- set at U.S. Prime plus a margin of 14 percent -- that never changes for the life of the account. Unless, of course, the Prime Rate changes.
• No over-the-limit fee.
• One flat fee of $39 for late payments.

Looks like BOA has finally heard how how feed up people have become with bank gotchas, mice type and lawyer doublespeak in their contracts.

It should not have required the collective anger of a nation -- which gave rise to the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights -- to get to the point where a giant bank finally makes the terms and conditions on a credit card understandable. But Clark's glad we got here all the same.

Debit cards are something that Clark has worried about for years. Years ago, the powerful banking lobby got one set of rules for credit cards long before the first debit cards came on the scene. That effectively made debit cards exempt from many of the protections afforded to credit cards.

Banks will approve transactions using a debit card when they know you have no money. They want to generate overdraft fees, which are a massive profit center.

The New York Times reports that banks now for the first time make more money from debit overdraft fees than from all penalty fees combined on all credit cards in the United States!

Bank of America was one proud pioneer of a computer program that automatically juggles your daily transactions to generate the most overdraft fees possible. Now three-quarters of all the giant banks approve overdrafts in a similar way. According to the FDIC, giant banks are getting an effective interest rates of 3,520 percent with these overdraft fees!

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo has a system where branch managers have their pay reduced for making too many concessions to customers complaining about overdrafts on debit cards, according to the same New York Times report.

Of course, let's not overlook the personal responsibility issue here. If you don't overdraw your account, you don't get ripped off. So keep close tabs on your money! If you don't want to keep a running tally, then go to a cash-only lifestyle.

As previously reported, Bank of America will begin allowing you to opt out of their overdraft trap, but you've got to specifically request it.

CD interest rates are likely to drop even lower because of a new rate cap that's expected to go into place.

In January, the federal government will begin indexing what rates the giant monster mega-banks are paying. BizJournals.com reports that certain smaller community banks that may be in danger of going bust will then be capped out at those rates.

It's possible this new federal order will be loosened or waived, but Clark is expecting the interest rate cap to stick.

So what should you do with money that you have in CDs? If they're due over the next 90 days, you'll probably want to put that money in new CDs before the year ends.

But as a larger strategy, you need to think about building an entire portfolio. Ask yourself what money you need now; what you'll need in an emergency; what you'll need 5 years from now; and what you'll need 10 years from now.

In short, assess your needs based on immediate, intermediate and long term projections. Remember that CDs are best used for money you'll need in 5 years or less.

Finally, if the interest rates on CDs at banks drop too low, be sure to look at credit unions for CDs. They are exempt from this proposed cap, as far as Clark can tell.

Two of the giant monster mega-banks are instituting kinder, gentler policies because they're afraid of the formation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).

Bank of America will allow customers to opt out of a system that automatically approves debit transactions -- even those transactions that put you in the red. Beginning in mid-October, you can speak to a bank representative to complete the opt-out process.

Chase, meanwhile, has agreed to stop using software that calculates ways for them to generate the most overdraft charges possible on an account. This type of software is used by all the major banks, to Clark's knowledge. The practice will be discontinued by Chase starting next year.

Now, Clark could rant about how it's a shame that it takes the pressure and fear of the potential CFPA to make this happen. But instead he'll simply say to the banks, "Thank you for doing the right thing today."

CLARKONOMICS: There's a disconnect between what the brainiacs tell us about the economy and what average Americans are experiencing.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has just been quoted saying the recession is over. Yet a new poll from ABC News/The Washington Post says two-thirds of people report they've been hurt financially by job losses and pay cuts. In addition, 60 percent are worried about more of the same going forward.

For his money, Clark thinks we'll have a very sluggish return to hiring. We will not boom back because we still have to deal with all the excesses of the banks, brokerage houses and insurance companies.

To give you a feel for how messed up the banks had become, just look at Bank of America. Indictments of all the top brass are coming -- possibly later this week -- from New York's attorney general.

BOA entered into a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) where they agreed to pay a fine for defrauding shareholders -- without actually admitting any wrongdoing. The federal judge who was to approve this arrangement wants to hold BOA more accountable, even accusing the bank and the SEC of a conspiracy.

When BOA took over Merrill Lynch, the bank did a secret deal to allow $6 billion to be paid out in bonuses to Merrill Lynch's people. That is core to what is going to go on in a trial that the judge is requesting to bring BOA and the SEC to justice.

It's all so indicative of what went wrong in this country. So many job losses are because of the recklessness of banks, brokerage house and insurance companies.

CLARKONOMICS: A federal guarantee on money market funds set to expire next week should not signal you to panic and pull your money out.

Money-market funds have long been considered just about the safest place to stash cash. During the nearly 30 years of their existence, no one had ever lost a single penny in a money market fund…until last September.

At that time, Clark took a number of gut-wrenching calls from listeners who had money in one particular fund called the Reserve Fund. The Reserve Fund made silly bets with people's money and lost big in the Lehman Brothers collapse.

As a result, the Reserve Fund was forced to do something that's anathema to money market funds -- they "broke the buck" by devaluing shares below $1. That set off panic as people clamored to get their money out. As panic spread, the government stepped in with a federal guarantee that was ultimately extended through Sept. 18, 2009. Now that date is fast approaching.

Clark himself has money tied up in money market funds…and he's not changing anything if the guarantee ends as expected. He has no plans to move his money -- nor should you, in his estimation.

Consider that even in the worst scenario from last September, people's money was only marked down to 97 cents for every dollar. In Clark's words, "Your money was, is and will be safe."

Most of us don't ask for a lot when we do business with a company. Of course, there are some people that can never be pleased. But the vast majority of us just want to be treated decently.

Clark has long had a bias against the giant banks. So often, it seems like they don't have the need to treat people in a dignified manner -- despite only breathing because of the generosity of taxpayer bailouts.

Have you heard about the recent inhumane behavior of Bank of America? The St. Petersburg Times recently ran a story about just how bad it can be for customers at a bailout bank.

Steve Valdez went into a branch to cash a check written to him by his wife, who was an account holder. But Valdez was born without arms and has prosthetic limbs. That means he was unable to provide a fingerprint, which is routine policy when BOA cashes a check for a non-customer.

Valdez had 2 forms of ID. Yet the bank's manager stuck to the letter of the policy and would not cash the check because no fingerprint could be obtained.

Where is the humanity?

After this became a national story, Bank of America called Valdez to offer an apology while maintaining that the bank manager was just following policy.

There is a better way around all of this. If you're getting undignified treatment from your giant bank, why not consider taking your business to a community bank or a credit union?

Are you a small business owner? Clark says you're out of your mind doing business with a giant bank. As a business owner, you need special care from time to time and you won't get it at a giant bank. Believe him now or suffer the consequences later.

New developments in the banking world will make it possible to deposit a check via your smartphone. No more waiting in line at the branch or an ATM!

This service is being offered by USAA, a one-branch bank in Texas that serves military customers all over the world. It is among the 25 largest banks in the country.

Clark's brother is a retired naval officer living in Arizona who has been a USAA customer for decades. A few years ago, he started making his deposits by scanning checks into his computer and e-mailing his deposit, instead of doing it by traditional snail mail.

Once you've received credit for a check that's submitted in this way, you can either file it away or destroy it. Other banks have since followed USAA's lead and adopted similar systems.

Now USAA is experimenting with another groundbreaking deposit option for iPhone users. You can now take a picture and e-mail it in to deposit the money!

Clark loves these kinds of things. They're now possible because of the Check 21 law. Isn't it great to be able to live in one part of the country and use a bank or credit union in another part? This opens up competition to seek better rates or continue banking where you used to live if you wish.

It also opens up the possibility for a "branchless" bank, much like ING Direct.

Peer-to-peer lending is re-emerging in the marketplace after a rough patch. This is a great way for people to lend to each other online without bank interference.

Prosper.com was one of the earliest P2P lenders to gain traction. But they didn't initially screen their borrowers well enough and a lot of loans went bust as a result. Then the government stymied them briefly over a misunderstanding about securities.

But now Prosper is back in action with a relatively low default rate of 5% among borrowers, according to Barron's. This service and its competitors are now putting people through their paces to weed out the baddies. The company claims 850,000 members and just a little under $200 million in loans underwriting at this date.

Lending Club has a 3% default rate, meanwhile, and turns down 90% of potential borrowers in an effort to cull the herd and find the most credit worthy.

That, of course, begs the question: Who would anyone go the P2P route if you're credit worthy? Generally, you can get a better deal with a P2P lender vs. a bank. Yet it's roughly equivalent to the kind of deal you'd get at a credit union.

For you as a lender, P2P lending allows you to slice up your money to limit risk. So if you want to put $1,000 in the game, you lend $100 here, $200 there and on and on.

The returns you might get as a lender can be enticing. Prosper claims the average lender earns 7% on their money, net after expenses and charge-offs. But those who are really into this virtual underwriting boast that they can make a 12% return.

Large and mid-sized banks across the country are investing in automated telling machines that allow customers to receive photocopied proof of check deposits.

This is really just an extension of what some small business owners have been doing for years. Clark recalls manually photocopying every check in his travel agency days before making a deposit at the bank. That way he was protected if the bank tried to say he did not make a deposit he knew he did.

It was actually Fidelity Investments that pioneered the idea of ATMs giving photocopies of checks.

And under the new Check 21 rules, one additional benefit of these new ATMs is that you'll likely get credit for a deposit one day sooner than before.

Yet this all begs the question: Why are banks spending money on purchasing and installing these fancy devices? Simply put, they save a fortune by eliminating labor costs involved in manual check processing. The payback period on these machines is 14 months, according to The Boston Globe.

In another banking trend, some smaller institutions let you make deposits from home by scanning your check and then e-mailing it. That's exactly how Clark's brother in Phoenix does his banking with San Antonio-based USAA.

Fees are on the rise again as banks try to make up for revenue they've lost to bad debt write-offs. In fact, three-quarters of bank revenue on supposedly free checking accounts now comes from overdraft fees. That's why it's called "fee checking" in industry lingo!

One of the most controversial practices among the giant banks concerns their overdraft systems. They won't allow you to opt out of the loop where they approve debit card transactions knowing you're overdrawn just to fee you.

Bank of America has now increased the maximum amount of its overdraft charges per day to $350. Don't adjust your computer screen…that's $350, according to The Washington Post.

If you're in danger of running in the red with your account, then you need to rethink everyday spending. Go old-school -- live a cash-only lifestyle and swear off the debit card. You might also want to fire your giant bank and take your business to a smaller community bank or a credit union.

A new Supreme Court ruling allows a state's attorney general to protect consumers against giant monster mega-banks, according to an Associated Press report.

This case went to the Supreme Court because Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan believed that big banks should be above state law. The irony here is that Dugan is supposed to be defending consumers as part of his job. But he's obviously more interested in protecting his friends in the banking industry.

It's rare that Clark calls out an individual on the show, but Dugan is deserving in the consumer champ's mind. As always, the Comptroller is welcome to come on the show to defend his position.

This whole debate goes back to earlier in the decade when North Carolina wanted to protect its citizens against subprime mortgages. At that time, banks were making 2/28 ARM loans by the millions, where the payment was affordable for 2 years and then ballooned to exceed monthly income for the remaining 28 years. Talk about a sure recipe for disaster.

On top of that, banks fought true, clear disclosure of what you were agreeing to when you sign a mortgage!

The American Enterprise Institute, a Libertarian think tank, has published a one-page mortgage cheat sheet and a separate definition of terms to help clear up confusion. (Editor's note: You must be able to open up pdf files to access these.)

Banks benefit from the confusion surrounding mortgages because they can put you into a stinky deal. But you don't have to let them.

It is time for us to have 50 states as cops on the beat, through their attorneys general. Congrats to the Supreme Court on this decision.

The FDIC has announced a settlement with a company running ads for above-market CD rates in 80 newspapers nationwide.

AmeriLife First Financial LLC reportedly used the high CD rates as a lure to get people in to buy annuities or other investments.

However, those who stood their ground and held out for the advertised CD rates got what they wanted. AmeriLife would pay a bank in cash to issue the CD at the advertised rate.

What a business model! Apparently the loss they took on the CD rates was outweighed by the gain of the sales commissions made on annuities.

Interestingly, AmeriLife put out a press release disputing the FDIC's findings.

The message here for you is be careful anytime someone promises you what exceeds what you can safely earn on a CD.

And remember, it almost never makes sense to buy an annuity. The only kind of annuity that Clark recommends if you're looking to not outlive your money is an immediate payout or life annuity. But you'll rarely hear about this option from salespeople because the commissions on it are so low.

Looking for the best online bank? Consumer Reports has a list of the top places to stash your cash in cyberspace.

INGDirect.com was named as the best bank with a score of 80, while HSBCDirect.com came in with a score of 78.

The online banks were ranked on customer service, fees and other criteria.

Of course, keep in mind that you can't make everybody happy, even with a clear winner like ING. Clark recently spoke to a man who had a bad experience going through them for a mortgage. Boy, was he sore at the consumer champ for recommending ING!

On the bottom of the tally, 3 of the giant monster mega-banks got atrocious scores for their online banking arms. Wells Fargo came in dead last with a score of 50, followed by Chase (58) and Bank of America (61).

Just to illustrate the disparity between the best and worst, ING pays 1.5% APY for savings vs. Chase (.01%), Wells Fargo (.05%) and Bank of America (.2%). Those are just embarrassing, silly numbers. (Editor's note: Rates accurate as of June 23, 2009.)

Don't read this and then turn around to do business with these giant bank clowns…they're ripping you off with high fees and low interest rates.

Years ago, a listener who happened to be a disgruntled bank employee shared a trade publication called Fee Income Report with Clark. In the pages of Fee Income Report, bankers would share tips about ways to take advantage of customers via fees.

Clark also learned from the publication that banks typically raise fees and change terms and conditions twice a year: Once during the summer (usually in August) and then again around Christmas.

Those are the 2 times of year when most people are out of their routine and focusing on family and vacation. Perfect times to stick you with a gotcha, right?

In that spirit, USA TODAY reports that the giant monster mega-banks are getting ready to pile on checking account fees.

Wachovia, for example, is doubling its fee to transfer money from one account to another to cover insufficient funds to $10. The actual real cost to the bank for such a transfer? Zero dollars.

Bank of America, meanwhile, is increasing the monthly fee on MyAccess accounts by 50%.

So what can you do about it? Take your business to a credit union (where customers are owners) or to a smaller community bank (where they build relationships with customers).

Institutional trust had been declining for years, but it really fell off a cliff in the last couple of years.

The financial sector has been hit hardest by the erosion of trust, according to a new survey from Forrester Research. There's been a widespread loss of faith in stockbrokers, financial planners, banks, insurance companies and others across the board.

There are, however, two glaring exceptions, two institutions that actually still command trust from the public! They are USAA and credit unions, and they're both tied for first place in the survey with a 68% vote of confidence.

USAA is an insurer of military personnel that has a large banking arm, a credit card operation, a home loan operation and more. Credit unions, meanwhile, were lumped together because no one institution was large enough to be on its own as a brand name.

Life insurers did horrible: New York Life (30%), Prudential (35%) and Nationwide (37%). And the stock brokerage firms didn't fare any better: Ameriprise (33%), Charles Schwab (39%) and Edward Jones (40%).

One absolute shocker was Vanguard. Clark has long trusted this organization, but it only received a 36% vote of confidence.

Forrester's survey of more than 5,000 households was conducted in the latter half of 2008.

Most CD rates are looking anemic across the nation. But there are a number of smaller banks, credit unions and some wholly unusual sources that are offering rates above the national average.

As an example of the latter, Clark recently saw a banner ad on The Boston Globe website for a 5-year CD at 3.75%. He clicked through and sure enough it was a real deal available to members of AAA. That means tens of millions of people in the United States could take advantage of this deal!

3.75% is the highest interest rate available anywhere in America, according to BankRate.com. In addition, AAA is offering 3.25% for a 3-year CD. (Editor's note: Rates accurate as of May 29, 2009.)

If you're searching for more great rates, you can also try looking locally at any small bank in your town. Remember, your money is protected up to $250,000 with the FDIC, or with the NCUA if you're talking about a credit union.

Clark also recommends laddering your CD investments (1 year, 3 years, 5 years) so you always have money maturing. That way you have some money available should a more attractive interest rate present itself down the road.

Bank United, the largest independent bank in Florida, failed this week. This is going to cost taxpayers roughly $5 billion. After the recent stress tests, it appears lots of smaller banks, ones that don't fall into the too-big-to-fail category, may not make it -- and we'll all be left holding the bill.

What if you are a depositor in a bank that ends up being seized this summer? The FDIC is extending the $250K insurance coverage for several more years, so while your deposit will be safe, the money you earn on that investment is subject to change. The acquirer of your bank may decide to change rates on your existing CDs, for example. While that may seem like a rip off, remember that it wasn't the acquirer who entered into a contract with you initially. The good news is you won't lose your seed money-- just the earning power that money may have originally had.

Bank executives at Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase are benefiting financially from the deaths of their employees, according to a shocking report in The Wall Street Journal.

What they've done is to take out life insurance on their rank and file. This insurance is used as a tax dodge and it pays bonuses to their key executives when an employee dies.

Worse still, American taxpayers subsidize this special tax break that funnels tax-free income to the big cheeses that are named as the beneficiaries. This should be a criminal act of tax evasion, according to Clark.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Bank of America and Wells Fargo both have $17 billion each in these life insurance policies. Chase has $11 billion.

So if an underling dies, do they have a party to celebrate the money they make? The employee's family gets nothing, not a cent.

Last week, there was proposal to take away this tax deduction. That's too little, too late. It should be a criminal offense. Period.

In one recent court case centering on this controversial policy, a former bank employee died after being fired. Then a check showed up at his residence for $1.6 million. But the check was made out to the bank, not the late employee's widow. It turns out the insurance company mis-mailed it!!

Disgusting, reprehensible and unacceptable, according to Clark. The giant banks must be dismantled. We need a serious anti-trust law here.

The recent bank stress test has raised a lot of questions about how much more money American taxpayers will have to pour into the giant monster mega-banks.

The latest numbers show that Citibank needs another $51 billion to stay solvent -- and 90% of it will come from taxpayers. Bank of America needs another $34 billion to keep their doors open at the moment. And Wells Fargo needs another $15 billion.

To date, we're on the hook for half a trillion dollars for Citibank and Bank of America alone.

A host of other banks and financial institutions passed the stress test, and that's caused the stock market to breathe a sigh of relief. These solvent institutions include Chase, MetLife, Goldman Sachs, Capital One and American Express, among others.

The real problem here is that we have no procedure to deal with seizing and disassembling giant monster-mega banks that fail. FDIC head Sheila Bair wants to divvy up the duties between the Treasury Department, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Clark's remedy would be to bust the giant monster mega-banks up into smaller regional banks. Each would be forbidden to control more than 1% of our nation's deposit dollars.

After all, we should not be in a position again where taxpayers are getting burned at both ends. First, the banks get massive bailout funds from us. Second, they turn around and stick it to us with increased fees and reduced credit lines. It's just not right.

We need Congress to overcome the dirty money and lobbying power of the giant monster mega-banks and get a regulatory structure in place.

Why should the stockholders of small banks that fail be wiped out, yet stockholders in the giant banks are propped up with bailout dollars? You undermine capitalism when you decide that the privileged few don't have to play by the same rules as the rest of us.

CLARKONOMICS: A recent survey done by CreditKarma.com finds that more than 40% of consumers had their credit limits lowered or their cards closed involuntarily during the last several months. In addition, more than half of respondents also had their interest rates raised.

If you're a regular listener to the show, you know this to be true from all the calls we receive about it.

What's interesting and revolting is that it's predominantly the giant monster mega-banks that are doing all these crazy things. A recent analysis in the The Wall Street Journal suggests that it's specifically the banks that received federal bailout funds that are feeing us to death.

Consider this: Citibank and Bank of America have federal bailout money nearing half a trillion dollars. Bank of America, in particular, has $163 billion in backstop funds and it needs another $36 billion just to keep the doors open, according to analysts.

Meanwhile, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis recently bragged to analysts about how they're ripping off customers to the tune of $10 billion annually with fees.

Nobody asked taxpayers if they wanted to bail out Bank of America. And then they have the audacity to turn around and stick their customers -- the same taxpayers who bailed them out -- with fees?

Why would you want to do business with a bank like that?

The giant banks are tightening their purse-strings when it comes to lending, according to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal.

The disturbing thing is that the federal government spent more than $1 trillion in an effort to put money back into the economy and get lending going again.

But the banks are instead holding that money close and using it as a cushion to avoid insolvency.

The Wall Street Journal has a chart that shows month-by-month lending activity from the banks that got the federal money. The lending over a 5-month period has dropped by a fourth so far. In one example, JP Morgan Chase has reduced its lending by 35%.

So here's what you need to know: If you're a business with an open line of credit or a homeowner with a HELOC, Clark wants you to draw down those lines now before the banks cut them off. Be sure to deposit the money at a different bank or credit union. That last part is very important.

In most loan agreements, there's a clause that allows the bank to claw back the money owed on a loan if they suddenly call it due. So if it's sitting on deposit at the bank, they'll just help themselves to your account to get it. No notice provision is necessary. You could easily wind up bouncing checks and there's nothing you can do about it.

Sure, it's convenient to do your borrowing and depositing at the same place. But it's a very risky move in today's high-stakes banking environment.

CLARKONOMICS: During a recent speech, Clark picked up on audience fear about the financial environment that transcends common stock market jitters. It's gotten to the point where people just want to stuff their money under the mattress!

If you're looking for absolute safety, the only option is being in a bank account that is FDIC insured or a credit union account that is NCUA insured. Remember, money that you will need any time during the next 5 years should be saved -- not invested.

FDIC and NCUA protection are currently available up to $250,000.

Are you a business, a non-profit or a wealthy individual with money in excess of $250,000? Use the CDARS.com program to insure your money up to $50 million.

Another area of great concern is having a CD at a failing bank that's either seized by the FDIC or merged into another institution. The acquiring institution is not required to honor your original rate. The contract is voidable in this situation.

RIP-OFF ALERT: USA TODAY has done some new research into how the giant monster mega-banks rip you off.

This should be of special interest to customers of Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, HSBC, PNC, U.S. Bancorp, SunTrust and others. Here's a quick rundown of the newspaper's findings:

• All the banks allow you to overdraw at the ATM -- except Citibank.
• All the banks allow you to overdraw online.
• All the banks allow you to overdraw at the register -- except Citibank.
• The majority of the banks won't even give you a warning at the ATM to deter overdraft.

Bank of America recently settled a class action lawsuit over their overdraft fees. It turns out they had software to calculate how to generate the most overdraft fees when a customer went negative on his or her account.

A typical overdraft fee at most banks could easily be $35.

This is the game the giant monster mega-banks play. So it's incumbent on you to do a few things. First, you can take your business to a credit union or smaller community bank instead. Second, you can continually monitor your account online to make sure you're in the black. Third, you can use a bank register to track your account to the penny.

Don't let the banks play Jesse James with your money. The real irony here is that at least 3 of these banks -- Bank of America, Chase and Citi -- are like pigs lining up at the trough of federal bailout money from we the taxpayers.

And this is how they turn around and thank us?!

Meanwhile, to add insult to injury, Chase had been planning on buying 2 private jets at $60 million a piece, and wanted to spend $18 million to dress up an airplane hangar, according to a TV news report Clark saw. Chase has now agreed to delay these purchases until they pay taxpayers back.

Finally, senior producer Kim brought some perspective to the USA TODAY article by explaining how ING Direct went above and beyond when she nearly overdrew her account. Talk about great customer service!

The web has made finding the best deals on banking so incredibly easy. It's gotten to where you can just pop in your zip code to see if a small community bank or credit union has a great deal available near you.

For example, some checking accounts come with very high interest rates because they're essentially funded by retailers! Merchants pay exorbitant fees whenever you run a debit transaction as a credit card and sign for it. So the bank, in essence, rips off the merchant and then passes along a part of the bounty to you.

This is similar to a checking account equivalent of a credit card company offering big cash back rewards funded by heavy merchant fees, according to Clark.

CheckingFinder.com is one website where you can search by zip code for high-interest checking account offers. The consumer champ popped in his zip and found 2 banks paying at least 4% on their accounts.

Most of these kinds of accounts will require you to do a certain number of debit card transactions each month and they may have other requirements as well.

The world of money-market funds was rocked to its core in September 2008 when the Reserve Fund "broke the buck" by devaluing shares below $1. It was the first time ever in almost 30 years that a money-market fund made that misstep.

Money-market funds have long been considered just about the safest place to stash cash. The Reserve Fund's blunder was tied up with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which had been funneling the Fund's dollars into some very dangerous investments.

When investors got wind of what was going on, they tried to pull billions out all at once. That move effectively froze everything. To this date, customers have still only gotten back about 91 cents on every dollar.

So the government had to step in and provide a temporary bailout with federal backing until the industry could come up with a way to make these funds safe. That federal backing is set to expire later this year.

The industry has now answered with a plan that will make money-market funds safe, but not necessarily lucrative.

As part of the proposal, money market funds would have to keep minimum levels of cash on hand -- instead of investing it. That fact alone means lower returns on your money. Nor would there be anymore Lehman-style funny business as money-market funds will be required to reduce the levels of risk in their portfolios.

In addition, regulators would also keep close watch on any funds that offer interest rates that are substantially higher than what's available from competitors. That's one red flag that a fund may be making questionable investments.

It's important to remember that most money-market funds already follow these kinds of common sense rules. They'll simply be standardized across the industry if adopted.

The pendulum has obviously swung to a position of excess caution. But know this: Clark himself has substantial money in money-market funds and he's not planning on making any changes as we transition from government backing of the industry to a marketplace solution.

CLARKONOMICS: Is your bank financially healthy? A new analysis from Barron's takes a hard look at the 13 largest banks in the United States and has identified seven that are effectively insolvent.

The single most troubled bank in the nation is Citibank. As Clark has said previously, we taxpayers are about $400 billion on the hook for this bank's assets. Bank of America follows closely as the second most troubled bank. Rounding out the "Dirty Seven" are PNC, Wells-Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, US Bancorp and Bank of New York.

The other six banks of the 13 largest institutions -- BB&T, Capital One, Comerica, KeyCorp, Marshall & Isley and Sun Trust -- are all adequately capitalized and healthy at this time, according to Barron's standards.

Of course, some would probably argue with the Barron's results and debate their methodology.

But the more important question is this: What do you do if you have money with one of the seven troubled banks? First, don't panic! Your money is safe up to $250,000 under current FDIC terms.

In Clark's experience, when a bank gets into trouble, the quality of customer service is what really declines. If you're a small business owner, you may want to move your business elsewhere for that reason alone.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been testifying about the bank bailout and the threat of galloping inflation. He's also been denying any further nationalization of our financial institutions.

This kind of talk can be a lot of mumbo-jumbo unless you know what the direct impact is to you. In Clark's estimation, the question of nationalization raises issues about decreased customer service at the bigger banks.

Here's the scoop: The nation's largest banks will undergo a "stress test" of sorts to determine their viability. Several will become wards of the state.

In fact, Citibank and Bank of America are both unofficially wards of the state in all but name. We're already on the hook for $400 billion with Citibank and $160 billion with Bank of America!

If you have a heavy-transaction account -- such as a business checking account -- the quality of the customer service is going to decline at a bank that's become the walking dead. Morale, layoffs and uncertainty about the future are all reasons why.

Even in the event your bank fails, you can rest assured that if you have under $250,000, there's nothing to fret about. You won't lose a penny of this FDIC insured money.

Just expect a serious decline in customer service.

The recent release of The Orange Code -- a new book about ING Direct -- highlights the fact that not all giant banks are bad.

When ING first formed, they hosted focus groups to find out what people hated about their banks -- and they did the opposite. The first rule of ING's code of conduct is a simple concept: "We will tell the truth." Great businesses often start from this premise. Look at Costco, for example, which has "Obey the law" in its code of ethics.

This is not one of those banks that will give you a disclosure consisting of 4,000 pages of mice type. Clark recalls a TV story he shot where a team of lawyers were asked to vet credit card terms of disclosure from another bank. Even the lawyers were stumped by the convoluted language!

ING's business model is so different from the reality of modern banking where many banks are dead-set on deceiving you and cheating you. Mind you, not every big bank is out to get you, but that seems to be the general m.o. of many of them.

ING has $60 billion in deposits and serves 7 million Americans. When you get a mortgage through them, you get a rate upfront and usually pay a total of $800 in closing costs. That's it. Their banking and checking options come with very few fees and some of the highest interest rates in America.

It's no secret that Clark has a strong bias against the giant monster mega-banks. But he wants to praise Bank of America for their adoption of the SafePass account security system.

The SafePass produces a one-time randomly generated password you need to get into your online account. That password -- which expires immediately after use -- adds a second layer of security beyond just your username and password. So even if a crook has your username and password, they can't access your account without the additional information from the SafePass.

Similar technology has been in use for years in Europe, but our banks have used their powerful lobby to fight what's called "additional authentication" (aka "two-factor authentication").

Bank of America is the first of the major American banks to adopt such a system. The cost for the SafePass is $20. Clark likens it to buying your own insurance policy on an account.

Three years ago, Christa logged into her brokerage account to find that it had been compromised. Someone had sold all her holdings and set up wiring instructions to get the money. Thankfully, she was able to act quickly and reverse the trades.

Her brokerage house then sent her a key fob that offered additional authentication by generating a random code necessary for account access. There is no protection under federal law for brokerage accounts that get looted.

A new FDIC report finds that banks use profitability formulas to purposely cheat you with overdraft programs. This is a $2 billion business annually for the banks.

As a general rule, the bigger the bank, the dirtier the pool they play. No surprise there, but why did it take 18 months to compile the findings in this report, Clark wonders?!

One of the worst practices perpetuated by the banks is false balancing. That's when the bank approves a debit card transaction knowing full well you don't have enough money in your account. They're just looking to hit you with a $38 overdraft fee. Banks can even auto-enroll you in a false balance program and they're not required to give you an opt-out option, according to the FDIC report.

Now was that $1 coffee at Dunkin Donuts or that $5 latte at Starbucks really worth $38 to you?

So, wait a minute, let's take a step back. We are $700 trillion on the hook for a bailout of the banks and this is how we're treated as consumers?! Shame on the banks.

The moral of the story here is that you've got to track your own balances -- especially if you live close the edge of your means. Use a pen and paper with an old-fashioned bank register to make sure you know what's in your account.

Finally, whatever happened to the moral compass in our nation's banking system? This does not apply to all banks, mind you, but the bigger the bank, the more likely it is to happen.

Interest rates on CDs, checking accounts, money-market accounts and other places to stash cash are better than they've been in awhile. Why? Despite all the highly publicized bailout funds, the banks still need more money. So they're giving higher rates of interest in return for you lending your money to them.

According to BankRate.com, 5-year CDs are offering interest rates of around 5.2%. 1-year CDs are bringing in about 4.25%. One caveat: BankRate.com won't show rates from local credit unions or smaller community banks. You've got to look at local newspapers and billboards for those rates. (Editor's note: Rates accurate as of 11/19/08.)

Meanwhile, you should also check the online direct banks. See Clark's discussion of direct banks for links to several of them. Finally, consider the stockbrokers. Schwab offers deals on checking that are some of the most competitive in the United States.

Think of the non-traditional sources to find the best deals!

RIP-OFF ALERT: Several years ago, Clark alerted listeners to the dangers of ATM card skimming. To refresh your memory, skimming is when criminals put a small piece of hardware on an ATM where you insert your card.

The skimmer captures info from the magnetic strip on the back of your card. Crooks can then remove the skimmer, download the info and create duplicate copies of your card. There's also typically a camera hidden somewhere so the thieves can record you typing in your PIN. Once they have duplicate cards and your PIN, they employ a team of runners to empty out your account.

Now the Sun Sentinel reports that the skimming crime has escalated, especially with ATMs at gas stations. Thankfully, the article also reveals a technique you can use to avoid putting yourself in harm's way. Try shaking the area where your card goes in. If it has a skimmer, it will be obvious because they're designed to be installed and uninstalled quickly. If you suspect there may be a skimmer on the ATM, let the bank or gas station know.

Meanwhile, beware when using an ATM that's not from your bank or credit union. It can take weeks to dispute any issue with the ATM owner.

Clark has long warned about payday lenders on his show. They are one of the worst examples of capitalism gone bad. Many listeners have pointed out that Clark speaks with a forked tongue when he professes a love of the free market and simultaneously slams payday lenders. But you know what? This is one time when he's happy to be a hypocrite!

The payday lending industry had ballot measures in Arizona and Ohio that could have overturned state caps on the interest rates they can charge. They also spent millions on misleading ad campaigns to sway voters.

In fact, a small campaign in Arizona to stop the payday lenders' initiative was outspent 90:1 by the industry. In Ohio, meanwhile, a similar anti-payday lending campaign was outspent 60:1.

Thankfully, the voters saw through the smokescreen and defeated the ballot initiative. So we're now at 15 states that have capped payday lenders or outright banned them. Of course, you can expect the industry to fight this tooth and nail on a state-by-state basis. Clark himself has relished testifying against these loan sharks and hope he gets the opportunity to do so again before more state committees.

So here's Clark's warning to you: Payday lending is still legal in 70% of states. Don't fall for it. The industry says it meets a legit need, but when you put a noose around your wallet at 391% interest or more, it is destructive.

We've had soldiers who couldn't deploy because they got into severe financial trouble with payday lenders. Our Congress had to pass a law that capped interest rates for military at 36%.

These payday loan sharks were harming our national security. But what about your own financial security?

Clark has only paid an ATM charge once in 12 years, back in June 1996 in Moab, Utah -- and it still eats at him! He can practically remember the very day! But most of his fellow Americans don't care if they get ripped off with inflated fees for using an ATM as a non-customer.

The annual survey that BankRate.com does of ATM charges shows that they're up another 13% -- to just under $3.50 per transaction. But the big banks can charge up to $5 for non-customers! The highest Clark has ever seen was $10 in a Las Vegas casino!

The only reason the banks can raise their ATM fees every year is because we let them by continuing to use non-affiliated ATMs. There are so many ways to get cash back for free. You can do so by using your debit card at the supermarket or the drug store, or by using an affiliated ATM in your bank or credit union's network. Meanwhile, USAA and some of the online banks will reimburse any fees incurred by customers when using others' ATMs.

So if you've been wasting money like this, stop doing it. Just use the easy alternatives Clark has suggested above.

By now you've probably heard the report that consumer confidence is the lowest ever since surveying began during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson.

Clark believes we are in difficult times, but not dire times. Of course, the endless media coverage would convince you otherwise. For example, it's now common to hear a lot about the Volatility Index (VIX) -- even though only a small percent of Wall Streeters ever knew about this previously. Talk about creating a perception of doom and gloom.

Clark has said that he expects our nation could spend 7 to 12 years working our way out of the funk. We spent like crazy -- and borrowed to spend -- on an individual, corporate and government level. To some extent, this is a worldwide contagion.

But before you accuse Clark of contributing to the doom and gloom, you've got to realize that he does not mean 7 to 12 years of daily doom and gloom. Rather, he means we'll have a continuing drag effect on our economy. Think of running with weights around your ankles; you can run, but it sure is difficult. That's exactly how Clark expects us to financially wheeze along for the next 7 to 12 years.

Yes, the news feels rotten and there's more to come. But we are not as a country facing The Poseidon Adventure with a tidal wave that's about to sweep us away.

Those of us who are having a tough time must rely on family, friends and religious organizations. Also, there will be a push when the new Congress convenes to offer extended unemployment benefits. The great thing about our country is that we don't just leave people out on a limb.

Clark is a longtime opponent of the payday lending industry. He's privileged to have been able to testify against the industry in state legislative committees. Right now, however, he's horrified by the payday industry's latest tactics in Ohio and Arizona.

First, though, a little perspective: The Wall Street Journal reports that the average interest rate charged by payday lenders is just under 400%. Interestingly, the industry doesn't disclose interest rates. Clark thinks it would be OK to charge 400% if they clearly disclosed it to customers. But they don't.

That has prompted states like Ohio and Arizona to cap the interest rate that payday lenders can charge at 36%. As you can imagine, such a limit severely cuts into their profit margin.

So what did the payday lenders do? In Ohio, they spent $16 million on saturation-bomb advertising to get an initiative on the ballot that could overturn the state's 36% cap.

Clark recalls a payday lender on Clark Stinks who was hurt by his characterizations of the industry. That individual may have a good heart and feel the business serves a positive function for society. But Clark doesn't believe an interest rate of 400% can truly be a positive thing.

Yes, payday lenders do open in neighborhoods that the banks have abandoned. Likewise, they do treat people with dignity when they walk in. And yes, they say "yes" to people in low-income neighborhoods that have otherwise been beaten by life -- but the consequences of that "yes" are brutal.

Gratitude is sometimes expressed in unexpected ways.

You'll recall that the giant monster mega-banks were bailed out by we the taxpayers. So how do they turn around and thank us? The Chicago Tribune reports that we'll be hit with higher fees as giant monster mega-banks get bigger and go to full-tilt gouging -- bounced checks, ATM charges, you name it.

Do you have to sit and take it? Of course not -- just go instead to a small community bank or a credit union. Credit unions are overwhelmingly superior to the giant monster mega-banks. The only reason to do business with the latter is for the sake of convenience.

The giant monster mega-banks thrive by doing heavy advertising and creating a familiar brand. But you never hear someone in real life say they love their behemoth. Giant monster mega-banks live on every corner, like a plague decimating life in a city. They have austere branches, minimal hours and they suck the life out of a neighborhood.

Can you tell that Clark loves the giant monster mega-banks?! He's expecting to be invited any day now to receive a "Person of the Year" award at their annual convention!

Police officers do an important job in our society, putting themselves in harm's way for the public good. When a police officer pulls you over, it's a natural assumption that they're the real deal. Very rarely it will be an impostor -- and it always makes big news. In the Internet world, however, it's much harder to tell friend or foe.

The hottest way to steal your personal info right now is through pop-ups or other ads that claim to be for antivirus programs. A new report suggests that 30 million of us have been fooled in this way. That's 1 in every 7 adults! Panda Labs -- a company selling legitimate antivirus software -- reports there's now 7,000 phony solicitations from the bad guys out there in cyberspace.

Don't click on those pop-ups about antivirus software! Ignore those e-mails about free services!

A North Carolina State study found that a majority of us believe when a dialog box pops that the people initiating the Internet chat are legit. Don't fall for it. The Internet does not have brave men and women running around acting as police officers to protect you. You've got to be your own cop on the beat.

If you need antivirus software, see our suggestions for free or low-cost options. And heed this warning: Don't visit our messageboards looking for a link. Yes, we police our forums with the help of a team of moderators, but we can't ensure that every thing on the forums is completely legit.

In related news, be wary of e-mails promoting secret shopping and mystery shopping. It used to be that you'd get taken for $20 or $30, but now the scammers are angling for $2,000 or more. You should never pay to be a mystery shopper -- whether it's $20 or $2,000.

Finally, Christa read an article in the Pocono Record that reports the money transfer scam -- an oldie but baddie -- is back. Here's how it works: You're contacted to act an intermediary who transmits money for others. You're sent a check and told to keep 10% of it and wire the rest to a certain person or business. It turns out to be a stolen checking account number, perhaps from a real business. When the police come after you for cashing fraudulent or washed checks, that's when you get to wear some new jewelry -- handcuffs! Don't do it!

Over the last 6 weeks, Clark has been getting numerous calls from listeners about ING Direct. People wanted to know if their money is safe. Clark repeatedly said that you don't have to worry because ING Direct (a U.S. subsidiary of Dutch giant ING) has full FDIC insurance -- like any other bank -- on deposits up to $250,000.

Well, now the other shoe dropped and ING needed a huge bailout from the Dutch government of 10 billion Euros, which is roughly $13.5 billion. Yet even if the Netherlands hadn't intervened, it would have made no difference to your money. You can have piece of mind -- up to $250,000 -- so long as your bank is an FDIC member or your credit union is an NCUA member.

In related news, the rates out there on savings are good. You can get a 5-year CD in the low 5% range from some institutions -- though not the giant monster mega-banks. Discover, meanwhile, has a 5-year CD offer for its cardholders of around 5.2%. (Editor's note: Figures accurate as of 10/20/08.)

There's been a surge in the sale of home safes as people have lost confidence in banks, credit unions, insurance companies and brokerage houses. They're closing out their accounts and stockpiling cash, gold and other valuables. Obviously, people are frightened about the future.

The real shocker for Clark was when one money market fund "broke the buck" by devaluing shares below $1. This isolated incident devastated confidence in what was thought to be an ironclad, completely safe option. Confidence was restored when the government put in place a temporary guarantee of money market funds. Interestingly enough, some very unlikely companies like Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab joined the government's program just to restore customer confidence.

Clark has 3 money market funds and has not run away from them. Therefore, he wants you to feel at peace too. Our institutions are safe; your money is insured collectively by all of us through the FDIC program.

Need more convincing not to go the home safe route? In a safe, you earn 0% interest on your money. With a competitive credit union or community bank, at least you have the chance of earning upwards of 3% interest.

For several days, Clark couldn't work because he had a bad case of laryngitis. He came down sick just as our government did a partial nationalization of the 9 largest U.S. banks…and he was mute. Talk about torture!

Many of you have gotten down on the penny-pincher about his belief that the partial nationalization was the right move. In fact, he believes that it was wise of the feds to require that the banks take the bailout instead of making it voluntary.

One benefit of the move is that traditional non-interest bearing business checking accounts -- the kind favored by small and midsized businesses -- will now be covered up to an unlimited sum of money.

Of course, this partial nationalization is not like waving a magic wand that will make everything better. But if it encourages lending to businesses that can in turn make profits, that's a good thing.

Yes, there is an irony in the fact that right now we've got to be socialists to be capitalists. But in retrospect, Clark believes this will be seen as a good move. He is worried, however, that we'll forget about this episode of American history too soon. If we learn anything from all of this, it should be that we need more cops on the beat to protect us from the excesses of capitalism.

Our financial marketplace has undergone a transition and been re-made in the image of the 3 remaining giant monster mega-banks. But there are still a ton of community banks out there that offer personalized banking, plus great deals on savings and CDs.

MoneyAisle.com is a website you can use to help get the best deals. It's an online auction marketplace where small banks compete for your business.

You simply enter what you have at the site -- say, $5,000 that you'd like to lock up in a 12-month CD -- and the banks bid on your contract. This is a dynamic marketplace that could get you more or less than what BankRate.com says is out there. Remember, he who has the gold makes the rules. You're the one with the money, so shop for the best deal!

In related news, Clark wants to talk about the Reserve Primary Fund (RPF) -- the first money market mutual fund ever to "break the buck" by devaluing shares from $1 to 97 cents.

RPF has now announced partial distributions of money to begin tentatively on Oct. 13. If you're a small business in need of that money right now, some brokerage houses are making loans -- from 0% interest up to 5% interest -- to float you against your own money.

Then beginning Oct. 8, the government will begin insuring money market mutual funds and tax-free money market mutual funds to restore confidence in the market.

It's a new era in banking with 3 giant monster-mega banks -- Citibank, Bank of America and Chase -- rising to dominate the financial landscape. Historically, we've had many banking choices in the United States to avoid concentration of financial power. Canada was really the first developed nation to go the giant monster mega-bank route. As part of the backlash, our neighbors in the Great White North also embraced credit unions like no other nation!

When all the financial mess settles down, Citibank, Bank of America and Chase will together account for about 1 in every 3 deposit dollars in the United States. The relative lack of competition means the banks have no incentive to offer good customer service. But you don't have to do business with them -- even though convenience is king for many people.

Clark thinks we need intense supervision of these 3 outfits so they can't get into any lending foolishness that could undermine our nation.

Meanwhile, Europe is facing 3 bailouts of its own during the last 36 hours. The most prominent has been the Benelux-funded rescue of banking and insurance company Fortis. There were also similar bailouts in Britain and Germany. So is the world on the verge of financial collapse? No, but we've got a lot of homework to do here and overseas.

The failure of Wachovia -- the nation's fourth largest bank -- is the next shoe to fall here at home. Let's start with some common customer concerns that Clark is hearing. First, accounts are completely safe, and you can access your funds just as you did before the failure. Second, if you have a mortgage or HELOC with Wachovia, you still must pay on your debt to the same address where you've been paying all along.

The FDIC claims this is not a failure, but that's baloney. Wachovia stockholders -- including Clark himself -- are wiped out. For months, Clark has been blasting Wachovia on air over a variety of issues. Therefore, he felt it would be unethical for him to sell his holdings, and so he too went down with the ship.

We as taxpayers did not pay anything for the Wachovia failure, but our maximum potential exposure could be up to $270 billion under the deal the FDIC arranged with Citigroup. This fact is not being reported widely.

Meanwhile, the federal bailout is designed to prevent a death spiral; credit unions and other institutions now are being granted access to money to bolster our financial system. So where is it safe to put your money? Clark wants to emphasize that it's completely safe to use all of our nation's banks, mutual fund companies and credit unions.

One final word for Wachovia customers: Print out hard copies of all current balances on all holdings. Having current records is your best defense against things getting bungled down the road as Citigroup takes over.

Many banks have software systems designed to throw you into overdraft so they can score big on fees. Here's how it works: Let's say you have a debit card. You use it and your transaction is approved even if you don't actually have the money in your account. That's when you'll get hit with an overdraft fee -- even though the transaction goes through!

PIRG now reports that half of all overdraft fees come from debit cards in this way. But there is a solution. You can tell your bank to remove the overdraw authorization on your account. Clark recommends you go in person and fill out the necessary paperwork.

Yes, you'll have the embarrassment of having your card rejected at the coffee shop if you don't have money in your account. But it is better that you should have to dig through your pockets for cash than pay a hefty fee later and get the transaction approved up-front.

The banking world continues to be in turmoil, making this a better time than ever to heed Clark's advice about not having uninsured money on deposit.

New data out today shows that IndyMac had $541 million of uninsured money on deposit at the time of failure. That's $541 million that went up in smoke -- and there's no way to get it back.

An organization called Highline Financial has ranked the strength of the 10 largest financial institutions on a scale from 0-99, from the worst to the best. Citigroup gets a 1; Wachovia gets a 6; and Bank of America gets a 17. These are ugly numbers. On the flip side, U.S. Bancorp and the Bank of New York Mellon score 81 and 71, respectively.

FDIC insurance is available on deposits up to $100,000 ($250,000 for retirement funds). But Clark advises people to only put money in up to $90,000. That way you don't forfeit a penny of interest in the event of a bank failure.

Beware if you think a revocable trust will expand your coverage beyond $100,000. As many IndyMac customers found out, a revocable trust that's been filed incorrectly will be void -- leaving you completely exposed.

So here's the bottom-line: Don't put more than $90,000 in a single bank. Split it up yourself among several banks or use the CDARS program -- especially if you're a non-profit or a business.

Do you have money that hasn't been touched in a while in a bank account, brokerage house, insurance policy or company stock? After a period of time, the State eventually rules that account dormant, and that money gets sent to an unclaimed property office. The state office it gets sent to depends on where the company involved is based.

Recently, USA Today reports that certain states suffering from budgetary problems have decided it's ok to steal these leftover funds from you. Washington, Delaware, Alabama, Oregon, South Carolina, Louisiana and Kentucky changed their laws so that it would be legal to seize unclaimed money and not give it back.

But there's good news: there's a way to find out whether you have dormant money, so you can claim it before the state does. A website called Missingmoney.com allows you to pop in your name and see if you (or your relatives) are due a refund. Do a multi-state search to include the state you live in and the headquarter states of all your previous employers. Always search in Delaware and Connecticut too, as most stock and insurance companies are based there. Another website to check is unclaimed.org and if you've ever had an FHA loan, be sure to see if there are leftover assets waiting for you at hud.gov. You could be a hero to a loved one, or be the beneficiary of money you didn't even know you had!

CLARKONOMICS: The FDIC recently reported that there are now 117 un-named banks on its watch list of potential failures. There are likely to be even more than that. Meanwhile, the head of the FDIC reveals that they'll need to come to taxpayers to deal with the cost of future bank failures.

The cost to be shared by taxpayers is a collective one. There is, however, a more immediate and personal cost. Think about those who get burned when they have deposits in excess of the FDIC limit ($100,000 for individuals, $250,000 for retirement accounts) in a failing institution.

The most recent bank failure was the Kansas-based Columbian Bank and Trust Company. The uninsured money on deposit there totaled $50 million. That's $50 million that just vanished into thin air!

It's usually non-profit organizations, local governments and wealthy private individuals that tend to have deposits over FDIC limits. But there is a better solution. Visit CDARS.com to find out how to get FDIC insurance on deposits up to $50 million. The process actually involves splitting your money among a number of participating banks.

Regional bank Synovus has a similar program using its own branches.

Here's a story that really has Clark steamed.

Between 1992 and 2003, Citibank used a proprietary computer program to steal money from deceased account holders. Whenever their computer found a surplus in a deceased person's credit card account, the software swept it into the bank's coffers without leaving a paper-trail. The software also did the same thing for living accountholders who may have inadvertently paid a credit card statement twice.

The software program was discovered by an employee who brought it to the attention of his supervisor. The response? "Stealing from our customers is a business decision, not a legal decision," the supervisor reportedly said.

The attorney general of California got involved after a whistleblower lawsuit was filed by the employee. Citibank is now being forced to pay restitution to families. The whistleblower, meanwhile, got a $300,000 payment.

Citibank does not acknowledge any wrongdoing.

What kind of respected name-brand bank thinks such software is a good idea? Clark invites a Citibank spokesperson to come on the show and explain the bank's position.

And what's the consumer lesson here??

Don't trust the computer-generated statement you get in the mail. Go through it thoroughly and keep good financial records. Usually, you'll just encounter honest clerical errors. But beware that after 60 days, the bank gets to keep any error in their favor that you don't notice.

For the first time in a good while, you'll finally be able to earn much better rates on savings. You can now actually keep pace with inflation!

5-year CDs are again earning over 5% -- that's after months of 5-year terms yielding around 2.5%. 1-year CDs, meanwhile, are in the steady 4% range. For the shorter term, Clark suggests you might want to look at an online savings account.

So how do you find these deals? Many of the best ones are at community banks and credit unions in your hometown. Look on billboards or signs when you're driving around. Just don't look at the giant monster mega-banks!

You can also get a good survey of rates around the country at BankRate.com.

No one knows where CD rates are going from here. That's why Clark recommends laddering your CDs. The easiest way to do that is to split your money into 3 piles -- a money-market or savings account; a 1-year CD; and a 5-year CD.

A more sophisticated laddering approach would involve a 6-tier setup. Splitting your money into 6 even piles, you'd have the following set-up: A money-market or savings account; a 1-year CD; 2-year CD; 3-year CD; 4-year CD; and a 5-year CD.

Then when your 1-year CD comes due, you re-up in a 5-year CD; ditto for your 2-year CD, your 3-year CD, etc. That way you don't lock all your money into a 5-year CD if rates go up or down.

There is now a federal move to cap the interest rates that payday lenders can charge at 36%. That would extend the protection against outrageous rates now enjoyed by military personnel to all civilians.

As surprising as it sounds, a wide-reaching 36% cap would nearly demolish the payday lending industry. They simply can't staff their outlets and give out money haphazardly at that rate of return.

Clark believes the industry really brought this on itself. If they had kept to interest rates of only around 50% or 60% -- and Clark uses the word "only" very loosely! -- they may not have attracted such ire. But instead, the payday lenders have been greedy, sometimes charging hundreds or even thousands of percent interest!

On a related note, Clark is disappointed that credit unions have only had limited pilot programs for short-term borrowing. He feels they missed out on an opportunity to provide a real community service to those who would otherwise be targets for payday lenders.

As always, resist the temptation to go to a payday lender. It's never the right move.

RIP-OFF ALERT: There's a controversy brewing over supposedly ultra-safe cash investments that were sold by some of the biggest banks and brokerage houses in the country.

These so-called "auction rate securities" (aka "cash holdings") were touted as the equivalent of a money-market account. Banks and brokerage houses including Merrill Lynch, Citibank, UBS, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wachovia sold $300 billion of these to non-profits, local governments and individuals.

These auction-rate securities were pushed as a substitute to savings or money-market accounts -- even though it was known they were garbage. When the music finally stopped, people had their life savings wiped out and non-profits went insolvent.

This raises 2 points in Clark's mind: First, where is the moral compass of the banking and brokerage business? Why would they go out of their way to rip off customers and destroy them financially? The answer is simple -- the commissions were humongous.

Second, where is the federal government? The SEC, the Federal Reserve and the OCC haven't done anything. The only actions are coming from the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts.

There are just 2 lone wolves going after the bad guys! The banks and brokerages have been fined in the millions, but that's just a slap on the wrist for them. The attorneys general are trying to force full restitution to those who were ripped off. Clark applauds that effort and thinks jail time is in order for the culprits.

Always remember the core principle of investing: Know what you are buying. If you can't explain it to a fifth grader, don't buy it. That should help you stay out of harm.

There's a new trend that you need to know about if you have a home equity line of credit. Buried in your HELOC is a clause that allows the bank to freeze or reduce your line, at will, with almost no notice. In his TV work, Clark recently did a story about Bank of America doing this to its HELOC holders. But many banks other than just BoA are doing this.

This is a double whammy because many banks charged fees upfront to set up the HELOCs. So far they're not refunding the junk fees. Meanwhile, your credit score can also be demolished based on utilization of the HELOC. Say you have a HELOC with a $100K limit and you're only using $30K. That means you're using 30% of the limit, which is a relatively low level. But if your HELOC is suddenly dropped to a $30K limit, then you're using 100% of what's available to you and your credit is buckling under that strain.

Banks are slashing HELOCs because people are increasingly defaulting on them. Yet people with solid credit can get fantastic offers for borrowing right now because it's such an odd time in our economy. Clark's credit union is offering a 5-year fixed rate HELOC at 3.95%. That's really inexpensive! He also has access to car loans at 3.90% for new or used vehicles on loans of 4 years or less. There's such a stark contrast between what's available to people with good credit and people with bad credit.

CLARKONOMICS: Wachovia, Washington Mutual and National City -- 3 of the nation's top banks -- have all had to go looking for more cash, but hundreds of smaller banks around the country won't be able to find an angel to avoid failing. If you have less than $100K in a failing bank, none of what Clark is about to say matters to you; you'll be protected up to the full FDIC limit of $100K. But many business owners, people with inheritances and local governments have deposits that exceed that limit.

What can they do to avoid getting burned in the event of a bank collapse? CDARS.com extends FDIC protection up to $50 million by spreading your money among a number of participating banks. That way you never have more than $100K at any one financial institution.

On a related note, many people are upset that savings rates are in the toilet. But there are deals to be found if you search around. Many of the deals come from unusual sources. For example, CapitalOne.com is looking for a quick cash infusion on the cheap. So they're offering a simple savings account that pays 3.50% APY (accurate as of 07/31/08) if you have a minimum of $10K. Clark likes to check BankRate.com for CD rates. Do you have reservations about the financial health of any of these banks? You'll be fine as long as you stay below the FDIC limit.

Another day, another wrinkle in the mortgage crisis and its impact on other sectors of the economy!

First off, we had the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history with IndyMac on Friday. Just a day later, Clark got a call from a relative who wanted him to talk to a family friend. Clark had to difficult task of explaining what happens when you have money that's not FDIC-insured in a failing bank.

The latest stats show that 37% of people have money above FDIC limits --$100,000 in a bank account and $250,000 for retirement accounts. If this train wreck has already happened to you, here's the scoop: If there are assets left over after all depositors have been reimbursed up to $100,000, then you'll get a portion of your unprotected money back.

Hopefully, you're not in this situation. Heed Clark's advice now and reduce your accounts to $90,000 so you don't forfeit a penny of interest in the event of a collapse.

Second, let's address the mortgage crisis involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These are both private corporations that created money for mortgages with a wink and nod and the understanding that taxpayers would back them up in the event of any difficulty.

Well, now the difficulty has arrived and Pres. Bush, Treasury Secretary Paulson and the folks at the Federal Reserve have agreed to bailout private stockholders with taxpayer money. This is unacceptable. The only reason it's happening is because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are politically connected.

Third, the Federal Reserve has issued new rules for banks making mortgage loans. The first rule states that they can't make a loan if you can't pay it back. Duh! That took a federal regulation?! Under the new rules, they have to make sure you can pay at the highest rate that your monthly payment could adjust for 7 years. In addition, there will be no more pre-payment penalties (in most instances) and escrow accounts will be required for property taxes and insurance.

IndyMac Bank -- a failing mortgage company and bank -- has been the subject of a classic "run on the bank" scenario. That makes this a great time for Clark to remind you that a run is not necessary -- unless you have excess money in a bank.

The reality is that a large number of banks will go insolvent during the next couple of years. Many will be invisibly absorbed or merged into larger banks. You as a customer will be fine as long as you don't exceed FDIC limits.

During our last rash of bank collapses in the '80s, approximately 8% to 12% of money was uninsured. Today, that figure has ballooned to nearly 40% -- especially among organizations, non-profits and small businesses.

The FDIC will insure your bank deposits up to $100,000 in the event of a bank collapse. But Clark advises a $90,000 personal ceiling -- so you don't have to forfeit any interest. When it comes to retirement accounts at banks, they're insured up to $250,000.

In the world of credit unions, there's an organization called the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) that ensures deposits to the same limits as the FDIC. But be aware that in some instances, a credit union may only be covered by a state guarantee pool. This is riskier than the NCUA.

Speaking of going insolvent, cheap clothing retailer Steve and Barry's has filed for bankruptcy. Right now, they're planning to keep all stores open and honor all gift cards. This coming holiday season is one during which you don't want to give gift cards -- especially those from retailers and restaurants that may be here today and gone tomorrow.

There's been a widespread security breach at some 5,700 Citibank ATMs. Heed this special warning if you've used a Citibank ATM (including those found at 7-Eleven stores) at any point this year.

Criminals hacked into the bank's system and were remotely able to capture account numbers and PINs. They then made duplicate cards that were used to withdraw money from accounts for about 7 months.

The banking industry's longtime rule has been that the burden of proof was on you if your PIN was stolen. They believed their system was impenetrable and if something went wrong, well, you must have been at fault by not protecting your account or PIN. But the hacker community shares info about how to break into back-end systems on a variety of message boards.

The real problem is that our banks rely on 1960s ATM card technology. Over in Europe, they've long since switched to using smart chips in ATM cards. These smart chips defeat the ability of hackers to duplicate a card should they capture a number.

Washington D.C. has also been complicit in this backwards-looking policy. Federal regulators who are in cahoots with the banks have not followed through on requiring them to follow international banking security standards.

The takeaway for you is that you've got to thoroughly monitor your account and follow up on any discrepancies.

Meanwhile, the folks at Wired magazine originally broke the Citibank story. And Citibank, to its shame, is still being hush-hush about the number of people affected and the amount of money that's been stolen. Ukrainian immigrant Yuriy Rakushchynets and 2 others are the likely culprits of the crime.

Our banking industry operates at below-Third World standards when it comes to data safety. It's well past time for our government to mandate that the banks adhere to recognized world standards in the field. Clark also thinks banks should be required to provide full disclosure to the media and the American people when breaches like this one occur.

Happy birthday to Clark, who is celebrating his 53rd birthday today (June 20) at Dallas affiliate KRLD!

CLARKONOMICS: There's something really interesting going on with savings rates right now.

With the inflation rate hovering between 4% and 5%, it's almost impossible not to fall behind with your savings.

Like everyone else, the banks are suffering because of defaults on all kinds of loans. So they're doing 1 of 2 things. They're either offering lower rates on CDs and savings to conserve their dwindling funds, or they're offering higher rates to attract big chunks of money.

That may sound obvious, but it really means that now more than ever it pays to shop around. Visit BankRate.com to compare rates on CDs and savings.

First off, you should only save money that you may need access to in the next 5 years; money that you know you don't need to touch anytime soon should be invested, and that would warrant a whole different discussion.

When it comes to savings, Clark loves the idea of laddering. For example, you might opt for taking your money and splitting it among multiple lengths of CDs -- such as a 1-year CD; a 2-year CD; a 3-year CD; a 4-year CD; and a 5-year CD. That way you can benefit from varying interest rates over the next few years.

5-year CD rates are once again getting back up close to 5%. E-Loan is offering 4.85% right now with a $10K minimum deposit. For 1-year CDs, E-Loan is right around 4%. (Editor's note: Interest rates accurate as of 06/20/08.)

Finally, beware that brokerage houses have been quietly reducing the interest they pay on your cash by as much as 90%! You may need to manually move your money to a higher-earning account, such as an online bank that pays around 3.5% on savings. Brokerage houses are no longer necessarily a safe harbor for your cash.

It's often been said that there are no free lunches. But Clark thinks that credit unions are darn pretty close. This wonderful option is available to most adults, but only about 1 in 3 actually is a member.

What is a credit union? It's like a bank that you own as a shareholder. There's a nominal fee to become a member and then it's like you go to the mezzanine with a ton of great products at your disposal!

For example, Clark's credit union offers car loans at 3.9% interest to those with good credit. Home equity loans are available at 3.95% for 5 years.

Credit unions may have rip-off charges for overdrafts and the like, but they're usually lower than elsewhere. When it comes to credit cards, most credit unions offer Visa and MasterCard with interest rates that are about 20% lower than the giant monster mega-banks.

The one thing you don't get with credit unions is convenience. They typically don't have as many branches as the giant monster mega-banks.

Yet more and more people are turning their backs on the banks. In fact, banks only control about 12% of our collective wealth. The bulk of it is with stock brokers, mutual fund companies, credit unions, etc. For example, Merrill Lynch offers a cash management account for the wealthy.

Not sure if you're eligible for a credit union? Visit CUNA.org to find out.

Americans wasted over $4 billion on ATM fees last year, according to BankRate.com. Some giant monster mega-banks are pushing their non-customer fees as high as $5!

There's a better answer than getting ripped off. You can go to a credit union or a community bank and get real customer service and not have to pay for ATMs. Quite often, your credit union or community bank will have an ATM network that's fee-free. That means you can use the ATMs for nada at various banks, credit unions and other independent spots.

In another example, the stock brokerage Clark uses reimburses all his ATM fees. He always tries to find a free or very low-cost ATM because he feels guilty about sticking them with the bill. Similarly, Clark's brother uses an online bank and gets a monthly stipend to cover any ATM charges he incurs.

The bottom line is that there are many ways to get around paying ATM fees. But convenience is king and too many people don't want to be bothered. Yet at a time when every dollar counts, Clark would prefer that you choose to not get ripped off.

Several months ago, Clark told you that Wachovia was allowing illegal drafts from seniors' accounts. The bank has now been fined a pitifully low amount -- $10 million -- for its actions in a similar case involving unethical telemarketers. Wachovia had been taking a cut whenever it allowed fraudulent 3rd party telemarketers to make withdrawals from customer accounts.

First off, Clark says shame on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for being asleep on the job and allowing Wachovia to do this. Second, where are the jail sentences for the responsible parties?

The New York Times has gotten hold of some internal memos that show the company knew full well what was going on with the telemarketers. A Wachovia executive even wrote "Double yikes!!!!" on a memo that incriminated the bank in the rip-off.

But, wait, it gets worse. Wachovia knows exactly who they stole an estimated $100 million or more from. Yet they got the feds to agree that they don't have to give the money back -- unless those who have been wronged file a claim via a form that doesn't exist yet!

Clark is extremely upset about the puny $10 million fine and lack of prison time. If you stick-up a teller, you'll no doubt go to jail for a long time. So what gives in this case? In the interest of full disclosure, Clark wants you to know that he owns Wachovia stock. He also has a good mind to go to the next annual meeting and confront the company's big wigs face-to-face.

A press statement from the bank claims they're taking the crime seriously and trying to correct the situation. But it seems that if Wachovia wants to do right, they'd give the money back without making people fill out the form. Will the company just keep the ill-gotten gains from those account holders who are too old or sick to fill out a form?

One last note of general warning: You usually only have 60 days to dispute fraudulent transactions at your bank or brokerage house. You snooze, you lose.

CLARKONOMICS: Wachovia, Washington Mutual and National City -- 3 of the nation's top banks -- have all had to go looking for more cash, but hundreds of smaller banks around the country won't be able to find an angel to avoid failing. If you have less than $100K in a failing bank, none of what Clark is about to say matters to you; you'll be protected up to the full FDIC limit of $100K. But many business owners, people with inheritances and local governments have deposits that exceed that limit.

What can they do to avoid getting burned in the event of a bank collapse? CDARS.com extends FDIC protection up to $50 million by spreading your money among a number of participating banks. That way you never have more than $100K at any one financial institution.

On a related note, many people are upset that savings rates are in the toilet. But there are deals to be found if you search around. Many of the deals come from unusual sources. For example, Capital One is looking for a quick cash infusion on the cheap. So they're offering a simple savings account that pays 3.75% APY (accurate as of 04/16/08) if you have a minimum of $10K. Clark likes to check BankRate.com for CD rates. A quick search reveals that Countrywide is offering a CD that pays 4.05% APY and GMAC offers one that pays 3.90% APY (both accurate as of 04/16/08). Do you have reservations about the financial health of Countrywide or Capital One? You'll be fine as long as you stay below the FDIC limit.

Clark has long objected to companies putting mandatory arbitration clauses into contracts. Many car dealerships, home builders, cable providers, cell carriers and others do this. Why? They want to be able to cheat you and not worry about consequences.

The city of San Francisco now is suing Bank of America over its mandatory arbitration process. Stacked-deck kangaroo courts allow BoA to win 99.9% of the time with the arbitrators they choose. Sounds like the results of a Third World election.

One supposedly impartial arbitrator in Minneapolis has heard more than 18,000 cases. The arbitrator found for businesses 18,045 times and for the consumer 30 times. How can that be unbiased?

Clark loves alternative dispute resolution, which offers a mediation process where both parties agree not to go to court and instead arbitrate in a mutually decided upon forum. But that's not what BoA is offering; their arbitration is just a joke and they have no intention of fairness. The irony is that it will be up to courts again to decide if BoA's use of the mandatory arbitration process is fair. Boy, that bank is lucky that Clark's not sitting as the judge!

CLARKONOMICS: Washington Mutual has received a $7 billion bail out to keep the bank solvent. While this was not funded by taxpayers, it's just the latest in the parade of the nation's largest financial institutions getting into trouble and facing insolvency. Why should you care if a bank survives or fails? What difference does it make to your wallet?

Clark thinks back to the last wave of bank failures in late '80s/early '90s. At that time, people tragically lost their life savings because they didn't heed warnings about being above FDIC limits. Today, the problem is twice as bad. Barron's reports that 40% of the money in banks is uninsured. Much of it belongs to institutions like non-profits and small businesses. But some of it is also held by individuals. If that sounds like you, heed Clark's warning and dial back your savings to under the $100K FDIC limit. If you have retirement money in a bank, that will be covered up to $250K.

Get in touch with the FDIC if you have any questions about your specific account(s). Clark also wants you to beware that many banks are peddling non-insured financial products inside their branches. You may see commissioned salespeople who look like they're bank employees pushing such products. Be sure to read the small print for a simple English disclosure about how you could lose money in these kinds of savings options.

More than a month ago, Clark told you about the plight of a young man in mainland China who repeatedly took advantage of an ATM glitch and pocketed $24K. He was arrested months later (on an unrelated charge) and sentenced to life in prison when his crime was discovered. Public outrage against the harsh sentence prompted a second trial -- which almost never happens in communist China -- and the sentence was reduced to 5 years.

When Chinese citizens were polled after the initial sentencing, 93% of them said they would do the same thing as the young man at the ATM. That's how deeply alienated they feel from their system. Clark was curious about what you would do, so he put the question up in a recent poll. More than 80% of you said you'd stop the transaction and report it; 8% of you said you would pocket the money and then report the malfunction; and 12% of you said you'd milk the situation for all it was worth.

Then just days after Clark's initial report, a New Yorker went to a Chase ATM and wanted $110, but got $220 instead -- while the ATM only debited $110. According to a news report, that person went into the bank and reported the malfunction. But the bank never sought to reclaim the extra money. It's so ironic that the person was honest, but wasn't thanked and no action was taken. Meanwhile, Clark finds it interesting that there's a gulf between the results of his own polling and the reality of just 1 single person actually saying something about the glitch in New York.

RIP-OFF ALERT: If you think that banks are lying to you, the feds now say that you're right! The U.S. Government Accountability Office -- the investigative arm of Congress -- sent out undercover agents to determine whether a sampling of 185 banks across the country lie about their fees and rules. The results? Banks did lie, or they would not provide a disclosure of fees about 80% of the time.

Think about the debit card con game for a moment. These little cards are massive profit centers for banks. Banks say they approve transactions you don't have enough money for as a "courtesy" to you. But what they really want to do is rip you off with an overdraft fee of $30-$40. The Washington Post reports that banks make $18 billion annually on this con.

The bottom line is that you have a right to get a price list at a bank, just like you would at a restaurant. Did you know that in banking circles, free checking is called "fee checking" behind your back? Banks use offers of free checking as a loss leader to fee you to death. So if you're not good at keeping tabs on your balance, you need to become a cash person and buy with green. If you keep overdrawing anyway, you need to be more responsible and track your balance down to the penny. Some people think these suggestions sound quaint and very '90s, but what's the alternative? Clark has a teenager who has learned it all the hard way. She had a debit card at 15 and repeatedly overdrew it and got hit with fees. Now she's 18 and learned her lesson.

Clark is in Milwaukee again today doing listener-appreciation events with 10-year affiliate WTMJ. He's been thinking about the answer he gave to an entrepreneur looking to raise more money for his business. He picked up The Wall Street Journal and wished he'd told the entrepreneur about peer-to-peer lending, which was being featured in a story. P2P lending allows you to give banks the heave-ho when it comes to borrowing. Individuals who are willing to take the risk lend their money to others -- after carefully vetting a potential borrower's credit standing. It's almost like an auction, where people advertise how much interest they're willing to pay.

You as a lender have the opportunity, with risk, to earn a great deal more on your money than at the bank or a credit union. You can minimize the risk of default by splitting your money into a number of smaller loans. When Clark first heard about the P2P business model, he mistakenly thought there would be a high rate of default among borrowers. The Wall Street Journal reports such risk-based lending totals $100 million, which isn't much yet. But estimates suggest we'll hit $1 billion in the next 2 years. The Internet has given us the power to take advantage of this cooperative lending model.

Prosper.com is probably the largest and oldest of the P2P sites. Others include LendingClub.com; Zopa.com (the only one insured by the National Credit Union Administration); GlobeFunder.com; and Virgin MoneyUS.com, among others. People have become obsessed with this idea and there are already blogs and message boards dedicated to P2P lending. One caveat: Know your risk. There will always be people trying to clean up a mess in life with money. Know that sometimes you'll lose and sometimes you'll win with these sites. Rest assured they use collection agencies to go after those who don't pay.

Clark recently told you about a young man in China who received a lifetime prison sentence for repeatedly making withdrawals at ATMs that weren't debiting his account. There was outrage among the Chinese people because this man was railroaded while Communist officials get away with all kinds of abuses. The outrage has prompted a new show trial and the man is set to be re-sentenced. But 93% of people in mainland China said they would do the same thing. Clark was curious about what you would do, so he put the question up in a recent poll. More than 80% of you said you'd stop the transaction and report it; 8% of you said you would pocket the money and then report the malfunction; and 12% of you said you'd milk the situation for all it's worth.

People in mainland China are so distrustful of the communist government. But here in the United States, Clark likes to think that we have a little more respect for the law. Here's an example: The New York Post reports a person went to a Chase ATM and wanted $110, but got $220 -- while the ATM only debited $110. The person went into the bank and reported it, but the bank never sought to reclaim the extra money. So what happened? Somebody stocking the ATM put $20s in the $10 section. It's so ironic the person was honest, but wasn't thanked and no action was taken. Both stories tell so much. This latter one speaks to the impersonal nature of the giant monster mega banks.

Here's a question of morals and ethics for you: What would you do if your ATM kept giving you unlimited cash without deducting your account? That's the question posed this week in Clark's poll. A young man in China named Xu Ting faced this very same dilemma. His response was to make withdrawals at 171 ATMs and pocket $24K in cash. He received a life prison sentence for his crime after being stopped by police for a routine ID check. This story, reported in The Los Angeles Times, really highlights China's unjust judicial system more than anything else. After uproar among the people of China, Ting is being given a second show trial and will be re-sentenced. Corrupt Chinese officials, meanwhile, make out like bandits. While our country isn't perfect, we do have a tradition of sending our big wigs to jail when they mess up. Just think of Worldcom's Bernie Ebbers, some of the Enron people or Leona Helmsley. But how about you -- what would you do if faced with Ting's ethical dilemma? Remember, you can be honest because online polls are anonymous!

CLARKONOMICS: It's rare that we get the Clarkonomics sounder twice in the same hour, but there's just so much economic news out there you need to know about. The federal government is gearing up for a wave of bank failures. The FDIC is now hiring people out of retirement who were around during the last wave of failures 20 years ago. They're the only ones who have any experience with how to handle the coming failures! Note that Clark said coming, not expected. There are many zombie banks out there that don't meet capital requirements; the government is just not ready to shut them down yet. So heed Clark's longstanding advice and do not put in excess of $100K in an account. Certain retirement accounts will allow you to go up to $250K. But be wary if a bank wants to take a deposit of more than $100K and says they'll just title your money differently. Go to FDIC.gov to verify any titling issues. Don't just take their word for it. Your best bet is to spread your money out. Try CDARS.com if you have more than $100K to stash away. Play it safe and smart!

RIP-OFF ALERT: A well-respected bank with a huge national presence has been involved in a criminal enterprise. There were little inklings of this last year, but now The New York Times has released internal Wachovia memos that show the company aided and abetted criminal rings in stealing from people's checking accounts. In the interest of full disclosure, Clark wants you to know that he owns stock in Wachovia. It's one of the few non-index or mutual fund choices he has in his portfolio. As a stockholder, he's embarrassed and outraged by this news. Worse still is the fact that federal banking regulators are sleeping on the job -- they first discovered this scam 3 years ago.

Criminals know how easy it is to present a draft against an account and steal the money. The banking industry has no security against such drafts. So criminal rings were drafting people's accounts and hoping the customers wouldn't notice. There are systems in place where if too many disputes arise, it triggers a probationary hold or the loss of drafting privileges. But Wachovia kept allowing the drafts even after the alarms went off. Internal memos show employees knew they were dealing with criminal activity in 500,000 cases -- but the fee income was too large for them to care.

Wachovia has issued a statement saying they've now resolved the issue. It's great if that's true. But this scam has been going on at 9 banks and Wachovia was the only one named. Consumers Union has already detailed the cozy relationship between bank regulators and banks; regulators see themselves as protecting the banks! So here's what you need to do: Check your bank and credit card statements every month, line by line. If there's a charge you don't recognize, question it.

Recent news reports have trumpeted how savers are getting their clocks cleaned as CD and online savings rates continue to drop. So many people use the giant monster mega-banks for the sake of convenience and they keep getting larger all the time. But small community banks and credit unions have grown in number as people seek banking with a personal touch. Some smaller banks and credit unions now offer a new oddball checking account that pays up to 6 percent interest APY. They can afford to pay out such a handsome return because the account is, in essence, subsidized by merchants.

Usually called the Maximum Earnings (ME) account, this account can take deposits up to $25K. Stipulations include that you must do direct deposit and at least 10 signature-based debit transactions each month. That's where the retailers come in. Merchants pay exorbitant fees whenever you run a debit transaction as a credit card and sign for it. So the bank, in essence, rips off the merchant and then passes along a part of the bounty to you. This thing could go on for a while until retailers can break the Visa and MasterCard cartel. SmallEnoughToCare.com is one specific website Clark has found that offers the ME account.

Several months ago, Clark made a lot of listeners unhappy when he failed to bash Bank of America for charging non-customers a $3 fee for use of their ATMs. Clark defended BoA's right as a free-market enterprise to raise their rates, and he reasoned that non-customers would stop using their ATMs because of the added surcharge. But that's not what happened. In fact, Dow Jones now reports that other banks are following BoA's lead and raising their rates.

We are the ones who have to change our behavior -- not BoA or any of its competitors. They can only rip you off if you allow them to do so. Most every bank and credit union has a network of ATMs you can use for free. You can also shop around for the lowest surcharge before you do a non-customer ATM transaction. BoA and others are raising rates because we're willing to pay! If this sounds like you, your assignment is to go to the website of your bank, credit union or brokerage house and find out where their free ATMs are located. Another option is to use your debit card during a point-of-sale purchase to get cash back for free. If you don't change your behavior, today's $3 rip-off may be $5 or $10 next year!

About three weeks ago, Clark told you that E*TRADE was in danger of becoming insolvent. Customers began to flee after news broke, though there wasn't a full run on the bank. But those 60,000 people who had E*TRADE accounts with more than $100,000 in them narrowly escaped losing their shirts. Things didn't look too promising for a while. Some 30 companies were offered the chance to provide a bailout and passed up on the opportunity. Finally the Office of Thrift Supervision -- an obscure government department that becomes very important when banks fold -- intervened and got Citadel to invest $2.55 billion to keep things afloat.

Even if it E*TRADE had failed, those who were within FDIC limits would have been safe. The feds are very good at knowing how to handle these kinds of things. They got a lot of experience during the banking collapses of the late '80s! The good news is that your money is usually available the next day after a collapse if you had less than $100,000. But rest assured of this: More financial institutions will fail. Citibank nearly folded and Countrywide is in need of cash bailouts. So the important thing to know is that you must keep your investments within the safety range provided by FDIC coverage. Don't play with fire! Remember that the limit is $100,000, unless you're talking about an IRA. Then you're protected up to $250,000.

The financial world is swimming around in an alphabet soup that's really been harming a lot of people. Banks got into making weirdo exotic loans just so they could bundle and resell them as CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) and SIVs (structured investment vehicles). This is part of what fueled the bubble and meltdown in the housing sector. The banks were packaging dynamite and it blew up on them as people started defaulting on their loans. While the monster mega-banks were hit hardest, it was something of a shock when E*TRADE fell on hard times. Bankruptcy rumors recently drove the company's stock down 60 percent. The price made a slight rebound when news of a buyout or takeover broke. Barron's now reports that almost 60,000 people have more than $100,000 each in E*TRADE. The obvious danger is that those folks are above FDIC limits. But there's no need to do a run on the bank, Clark says; just lessen your exposure to below $100,000 so you won't get burned if E*TRADE goes under. We'll keep you updated on this story. On a similar note, Bank of America has had to cough up $600 million to avoid "breaking the buck" in money-market funds. The problem arose when BoA started to take the cash from money-market funds and get into dangerous weirdo exotic loans. Make no mistake, though -- BoA did the right thing by putting out the $600 million to ensure that no one lost on the usually stable money-market funds.

Richard Branson has a reputation for developing business ventures that give some very unfriendly industries a customer-service makeover. Two of his products in the U.S. market are the elegant discount-fare airline Virgin America and the pre-paid cell phone company Virgin Mobile USA. Now Branson wants to turn his attention to the banking field. While he doesn't yet own a bank, Branson is launching something called Virgin Money in Europe and the United States. VirginMoneyUS.com is designed to help you make loans to friends and family members. The company handles all the paperwork, including sending notices about payments and collecting on debts in the event of default. Whether you use Virgin Money or not, the important thing to remember when you lend to family or friends is that you must do an arm's length transaction. That means you have to charge the market rate of interest to avoid getting into trouble with the IRS. You can always forgive interest of up to $12,000 per year under gift rules, but your loan must be structured as the real thing.

Clark knows that he picks on banks quite often in an unfair way. He actually realizes that banks vary in size, quality and the level of customer interaction. Some banks don't even have teller windows. You instead make a deposit at a desk where you sit down for a moment -- talk about a warm and fuzzy experience! On the other hand, many banks have gone the electronic route. You can just scan in a check at home rather than running across town to deposit it. With all the push toward e-banking, physical branches are becoming less and less important. But the irony is that banks are opening them like crazy. Having a physical presence in a neighborhood is psychologically important to customers even if they rarely go inside.

The Washington Post reports that Chicago and other cities are putting strict requirements in place for banks that want to open more branches. Near Clark's house, there are four banks with their branches all facing each other. They suck the life out of neighborhood and make it feel scary and lifeless on the weekends. Branches also take up valuable retail space, especially if they're located on a corner. More and more people in urban and suburban neighborhoods want lifestyle centers that have day-and-night activity every day of week. So it's a shame there's no way to make branches multi-purpose and allow them to be something else when they're not open. Clark thinks we need the wisdom of architects who know how to re-purpose buildings. Many gas stations that are no longer in business have been converted to other uses. There's also a pizza parlor near Clark's house that serves a cheap slice where it used to just offer cheap octane!

There are some people out there in the finance world who are so brilliant that the banks would like to take a hit out on them! Chris Larsen, the founder of E-Loan, was one of the first people to make it possible for folks to know their credit scores. The banks didn't want this information to get out because they liked being able to con you into paying higher rates on loans when you were ignorant of your score. But today it's commonplace for credit bureaus and banks to make money selling your score to you.

Now Larsen is behind another new online development in finance called Prosper.com. As a peer-to-peer lending portal, Prosper.com allows both borrowers and individual people as lenders to connect and set their own rates without bank interference. Prosper.com is now approaching $100 million in transactions and has grown so strong that it has competitors. Barron's recently reported on a new one called LendingClub.com. One of the original problems with Prosper.com was a fairly high rate of borrower default. Today it's down to around 3 percent. LendingClub.com aims to limit the chance of default by only allowing you to get in the game as a borrower if you have a minimum credit score of 640. Most social lending sites also limit lender liability by allowing multiple lenders to supply small portions of the money being requested by one borrower. That way no one lender is in the hole if payments aren't being made. There are opportunities for both borrowers and lenders in these new sites. Check them both out and see which one may work for you. Now the banks have yet another reason not to like Larsen. He's figured out a new way to cut them out of the deal!

Several recent bank failures have shown the hazards of having more than $100,000 in any one account. The FDIC insures regular deposits up to $100,000, and retirement accounts up to $250,000. Unfortunately for some, $109 million was uninsured when NetBank folded. Another failure in the Dayton, Ohio, area revealed that one in every six dollars at that bank was uninsured, according to a report in The San Francisco Chronicle. There may be more bank failures to come, so don't leave yourself exposed by having more than $90,000 (to be safe) in any one bank. Use CDARS.com (Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service) if you have a huge amount of money you want to stash. With CDARS, you can put in up to 50 million and it will be spread around to multiple financial institutions so no one account exceeds the protection limit.

On a related note, the interest rates on CDs and savings are in turmoil. The advertised rate you see in magazines and newspaper may not exist anymore. For example, Emigrant Direct was paying 5.05% and now they're down to 4.75%. Credit unions are still paying good rates, and the mortgage lender banking arms have some of the best rates. Countrywide's banking arm is now paying 5.5% on a one-year CD, while their money market account is at 4.5%. So there are still some good deals out there, but some of the best have reduced their rates. Whatever you do, don't go to a mega-bank with their pathetic rates.

Sometimes it seems like young people have a huge bull's eye on their backs for the banks. People who are between the ages of 18 and 24 are being killed with bank overdraft fees. The latest stats say they're paying more than one billion dollars in overdraft fees every year. Clark recently heard from someone who has a teen that overdrew a debit account by $15 and that generated $80 in fees. As a parent, it's getting more and more difficult to teach the young about money. But it must be done. When Clark was in school, you paid for things with cash. Today there's no equivalent in a credit-crazy world. While cash is finite, plastic is infinite. A parent's most important lesson to a son or daughter should involve a pen and a check register -- showing them how to take debit transactions seriously. Banks are only too happy to approve transactions that will result in overdrawn accounts and high fees.

There's a bill in Congress that's trying to make it so that a bank must contact you for approval before they overdraw your account. The banks, predictably, are incensed about this because they may lose profit. Clark loves it when people have more info to make smart (or dumb) choices. What happened to ethics and morality in the banking world? Why do bankers get up in the morning and try to figure out how to rip off fellow Americans? If a bank approves an overdrawn transaction that generates fees, how is that moral or ethical?? It's not. The bill will probably be killed because the bankers are so strong giving dirty money to politicians. So teach your children well and you'll save them from losing money in the school of hard knocks.

Did you know that about two-thirds of all loans are not done by the lenders themselves? They're done instead by mortgage brokers. Mortgage brokers don't have the cash, but they're like the retailer who sells you a loan. Meanwhile, there's a new report out that says about half of all sub-prime mortgage holders could have qualified for good loans at good rates. So what happened? Some mortgage broker conned them into it a sub-prime loan. Washington Mutual has issued a new policy that requires brokers to tell people the truth about whether their interest rates will change, if they'll face a prepayment penalty and if the broker will receive kickbacks (aka bribes) from the deal. Whenever Clark talks to people who are in weirdo exotic mortgages, he always asks them if they knew beforehand that they'd have a prepayment penalty. You have to be sure that this is disclosed to you before the closing. WaMu is also going to call each borrower before the closing and verify that they aren't being ripped off by the broker.

The best way to protect yourself is to shop around for a mortgage. This is a huge field where many people are ethical, but there are some who engage in criminal behavior. Clark thinks two steps should be taken to help out: First, prepayment penalties should be banned. If you find out before closing that you'll be subjected to one, walk away from the negotiating table. That's what Clark did once when he was almost about to be hit with such a penalty. Second, the Department of Housing and Urban Development needs to develop a clear disclosure form to explain in plain English the details of a mortgage. Until they do it, there's a disclosure form that Clark really likes developed by The American Enterprise Institute.

The recent collapse of online bank NetBank has left a lot of people jittery. After all, it is the biggest bank failure since the early '90s. While the cost to taxpayers is unclear, the FDIC should cover everything. Many people wonder exactly what happens after a bank collapses. When the federal regulators walk in, they try to package the bank's assets and get them in somebody else's hands. That's what happened in this case when the feds sold many of NetBank's assets to ING Direct, which has most of the collapsed company's customer base and money. The transition from NetBank to ING has generally been smooth for customers. Be sure to check your ING statement to verify that all your money came along with you if your money made the jump. Those who were most at risk of losing money were people with more than $100,000 in NetBank accounts. It's always better to be safe and only invest $90,000 in any bank. That way your principal and interest are always protected. And if you're just generally scared of seeing a repeat of this collapse, go to BankRate.com and shop CD rates to see the relative health of a bank. But keep in mind that the best deals in savings are still being offered by the banking arms of mortgage lenders.

Clark is usually no friend of Bank of America. Need we remind you of the Matthew Shinnick debacle -- when BoA had the San Francisco man imprisoned on false check fraud charges and then didn't pay his legal fees or even apologize? But today Clark refuses to join the chorus of boos rising across the country as people take BoA to task for their new rip-off ATM fees. The mega-bank is now charging non-customers who use one of their ATMs a fee of three dollars. Clark thinks that if BoA wants to rip you off, it is their right; that's how the free market functions. If they want to raise the charge to five or 10 bucks, Clark thinks that's fine too. The last time he paid an ATM fee was on June 16, 1996, in Moab, Utah. The merchants in that town didn't take credit cards, so Clark went to each bank in the area and found the cheapest ATM fee -- one dollar. He jokes that he then had to skip a meal to make up for paying the fee!

Clark remembers the days when ATMs first came out and surcharges were 25 cents. Now he hears they're as much as five dollars in casinos. But you can easily avoid rip-off charges if you only use ATMs that belong to your bank or credit union. Publix has its own ATMs that many people use for free because the regional supermarket chain has partnered with hundreds of financial institutions. So nobody on Capitol Hill should be talking about imposing price controls on ATM charges, according to Clark. If you choose to use an unauthorized cash machine, you must pay the price. Finally, Clark thinks the timing of BoA's new move is very interesting. Banks tend to raise their fees twice a year -- in August and December. They do this just in time for summer vacation and the holidays. Those are the two times of year when people usually don't watch their accounts too closely. So this latest BoA surcharge is a just little August surprise from the company!

People have about a trillion dollars sitting in lousy checking accounts at banks. They're being hit with a lot of arbitrary fees for transactions and they're not getting a lot in return. The typical bank pays about .1 percent interest on such accounts -- that's one tenth of one percent. Bank of America, meanwhile, pays about .05 percent -- one twentieth of one percent interest! So Clark had been advising people to seek out a checking account from the online banks that pay higher returns. But if you don't like putting your money in cyberspace, Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab are now offering great checking account options too. Fidelity pays three-and-a-half percent on its mySmart Cash Account, while Schwab offers four-and-a-quarter on its checking account. You don't have to be an existing customer of either firm to participate. These options are FDIC insured and offer no fees, no minimum balance requirements and no ATM fees. Meanwhile, Clark's beloved credit unions are in this respect much like the conventional banks; they also offer puny interest rates. His credit union does, however, have one free checking option that you must ask for -- and it pays four percent interest. The bottom line is that you should consider switching your checking account if you're not happy with how your bank handles it.

Finally, Clark wants to clarify a point he made a few weeks ago when he was explaining money-market mutual funds. Some people thought Clark was saying that all money market accounts are risky. That's not the case. Find out what kind you've got. If it's legitimate and follows the "don't break the buck" principle -- offering a fixed share price of a dollar per share -- it should be a safe option.

Some bank accounts charge you a fee just to check your account. A call years ago spoke of getting hit with an overdraft fee, even though they knew they had a good balance; was this a clerical error? No, it's a new strategy in banking that tricks people into overdrafting their accounts so that the bank can charge them. Banks used to reject transactions that they knew would cause an overdraft. Not anymore. Many banks now purposely approve transactions that they know will overdraw your account. According to Congressional hearings, banks made $17.5 billion dollars due to this! Even worse, many banks use software programs to see what will cause the most bounced checks, or give you false balance reports at ATMs so that you you'll overdraw! Clark thinks a bank should at the very least inform you that they're going to try to rip you off by approving transactions that will cause overdraft fees. You now need to take additional steps to monitor your account as closely as possible to avoid getting ripped off.

This was a year of embarrassment for colleges who were in cahoots with unethical banks and other lenders. First there was the whole student loan scandal. Now The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that there are some dubious practices taking place on campuses related to student credit cards. Many schools get kickbacks for allowing there to be an "official bank" on campus. Such financial institutions offer outrageous terms and conditions on their credit and debit cards for students. The universities do this to get money under the table money from the banks. These arrangements are technically "partnerships," according to the schools. But the fees on the cards are almost double those available in the general marketplace. Clark believes a full investigation is necessary. As he says, if university officials have been getting bribes, they should go to prison. This is yet another thing for parents to worry about when packing their kids up for college at the end of the summer. Clark says to shop around on campus for a bank or credit union that's available to faculty, staff and students -- instead of just going to the preferred campus lender where the university sells out its students. What is going on in the banking world that offering bribes and kickbacks are becoming so routine??

A new report from the American Bankers Association finds delinquencies are up for seven of the eight types of consumer loans tracked by the ABA. Consumers are feeling stretched at a time when the economy is considered to be healthy. There was also a recent stunner of a story in the New York Times that explained that foreclosures are up big time all around the country. Cities like New Orleans and Detroit have been hit hard because of Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the auto industry, respectively. But Clark’s hometown of Atlanta is also facing a crisis because of option payment loans where the loan balance actually rises over time. So instead of paying down your home debt, the balance keeps going up. It’s comparable to a homeowner paying like a renter. You don’t develop equity and you have to shell out big bucks for all the routine upkeep of a home.

Clark says he needs to get better about talking in "shorthand" -- using specific industry terms without fully explaining them for the average listener. He sometimes forgets that most people just aren't as familiar with these words. This is especially true on the topic of investing. One example is the term "asset allocation"-- less than one in five people knows that it means to "diversify" your funds, or, not put all your eggs into one basket. Clark wants to define these things more clearly for listeners in the future. "Bonds" are another topic not fully understood. Here's how they work: A company or organization needs money and issues some bonds. People buy the bonds, get the interest promised, and ideally, hold onto them for the life of the term in order to get the purchase price back at the end. But let's say you have a bond that promises 5% interest, and now interest rates are at 6%. The issuing company would have to discount the initial price of the bond to get people to buy them. On the other hand, if a bond is paying higher interest than the current interest rate, it's worth more, and will therefore cost more to buy. So, as interest rates go up, the value of bonds go down, and vice versa. Another misunderstood topic is Roth IRAs, which are investments that allow you to save money tax-free. But if all these terms bore and confuse you, read Clark's online investment guide. He lists what he feels are the best companies and services that can help make retirement investing much, much easier for you.

How can you earn the most on your money that are sitting in a “parking space” such as CDs, savings accounts, and money market accounts? Those places aren’t designed to get you a great return, averaging less than 0.5% interest on your savings. While you’ve always had the option of credit unions and local banks for better deals on savings, there’s now an even better choice: a “Direct” -- an online bank which has no branches, and can therefore offer you better rates. ING Direct (ingdirect.com) was the first bank to do this, and they’ve been phenomenally innovative, with checking accounts offering over 4.5% in interest, no-fee savings accounts and more. They spawned an entire league of competitors who are offering even greater rates on savings accounts now. We’ve gotten almost no complaints over the years on these Direct banks, compared to regular banks, so the customer service is fantastic. The newest player in the game is wtdirect.com, who are geared only to people with big bucks. You’ll need $10,000 to earn any meaningful interest, but they’re paying 5.26%, which is a good deal, and not a teaser rate. They limit the number of withdrawals to 6 per month, so this one is geared for those who mainly want to “park” their cash. Fnbodirect.com has a 6% teaser rate through September, and the national average is about 5.05%. However there are some economic trends that may push the rates even higher- inflation may step up, which will push up interest rates, and in turn, rates on savings. If you want to keep some of your business at a monster mega bank, you can electronically link your high-interest savings account to your crummy mega-bank checking account, and in just two days be able to transfer money back and forth between the two accounts.

Over the past two years, online bank accounts have become the new phenomenon in the banking world. It’s the modern banking equivalent of what credit unions have offered for years. And the latest deal is unbelievable! FNBO Direct is now offering a 6 percent yield on FDIC-insured savings accounts. FNBO is the First National Bank of Omaha but it's the online only bank, and the deal is good through September 28. After that, the bank can change the rate to whatever it wants. Clark suggets you sign up sooner rather than later. It's the highest yield amount on a savings account as of today. Just remember that the deal is not offered at traditional FNBO banks. Don’t miss out!

Charles Schwab is trying to compete in today’s tough banking business by introducing a new checking account that earns 4.25 percent. There are no fees, no minimums and essentially no rules with this account, which is not the case with other financial houses. The only thing that seems slightly annoying to Clark is that you can’t deposit money into your Schwab checking account when you go into a Schwab office. He’s not sure why that is, but you may want to contact Schwab to learn more. Citibank is also trying to get ahead of the curve because its competitors – the “Direct” banks – are getting all of the market share. These include ING Direct, HSBC Direct and Emigrant Direct. They have been attracting billions of dollars in deposits because their interest rates are so much higher. As a result, Citibank is now offering an online-only 4.5 percent savings account. You can’t get it at a Citibank branch. You can only get it online at direct.citibank.com. If you have money sitting in low-interest savings accounts, move it!

Have you heard of online-only checking accounts? ING Direct will soon offer one called the "Electric Orange" account. It will earn 3 percent interest, compared to the normal 1 to 1.5 percent most banks offer. The only caveat is that right now it's only open to existing ING members. ING is apparently still working out the bugs and wants to test out the new checking system on current members. HSBC and eLoan will soon offer online checking accounts too with much better interest rates than traditional banks. We'll keep you posted!

For a limited time, HSBC – Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation – is offering 6 percent on savings accounts. The offer is good through the end of April at the online-only bank, and Clark says you should jump on the chance. To find more, visit hsbcdirect.com. If you have an existing account, you will not earn this rate. You will get 5.05 percent, which is still pretty good. But any money you add to that account will earn the higher rate. So, get cracking!

Over the years, Clark has gotten tons of calls from people who made deposits at a bank or ATM, only to be told the deposit was never made. How can we prove we made a deposit when no one is on our side? Well, a few years ago Fidelity Bank came up with a way to verify that you made a deposit. The bank allows you to make deposits using a machine that takes a picture of you as you deposit the money. Then, it spits out a receipt with that picture when you’re finished. The proof is in the picture! Now, Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest bank is copying what Fidelity does, and Clark is psyched. He hopes that more banks follow suit. It will make things a lot easier for customers and banks.

Last year, tens of thousands of people responded when Clark relayed the story of Matthew Shinnick, the San Francisco man who was arrested and jailed after trying to cash a check he was told was good at a Bank of America branch. Now another mega bank is at it again in the San Francisco area; this time it’s Wells Fargo. Clark spoke today with David Lazarus, the San Francisco Chronicle columnist who broke Shinnick’s story. Lazarus also helped exposed the story of Steve Chesser, a mentally-ill California man who unknowingly cashed bogus lottery checks and spent eight weeks in jail before someone took action. For the full story, click here. Lazarus was appalled and wrote the story exposing Chesser’s plight. He was released a day later. But clearly something is wrong with the way monster mega banks treat their customers.

All around the country, banks have been steadily losing market share. Today, banks have only about 20 percent of the personal assets out there. That’s because banks are good for checking accounts, and that’s about it. So, the banks have been pushing investment products as a way to make money. In fact, banks are setting up “investment areas” inside their branches where commissioned salespeople try to sell investments. When customers come in, tellers direct them to these areas to open investments. The bank then creates a fee income by selling high-commissioned products that are not so good for your wallet. In addition, the products are not insured by the FDIC. You may think that because you’re buying an investment in a bank, the investment is secure. But it’s not. Not to mention the fact that you could lose money on the investment. If you’re going to do business with a bank, just keep it to a checking account. And remember that hometown, community banks offer better fees and better customer service than any of the mega banks out there.

Clark has great news for you if you need to borrow money. Online banks offer great interest rates for people trying to save. But what about those who need to borrow? Well, the same great offers are available to them. ING Direct, for example, has been offering mortgages that are below the market norm and have almost no closing costs. Emigrant Direct is also offering a similar deal, and offerings will steadily increase. ING is also testing online checking accounts that don’t have checks. Everything you do will be electronic. So, look for these deals soon!

Online banks have taken a lot of market share in the past year and a half because of their simple savings accounts. ING Direct was the first big bank, Emigrant Direct was next, and HSBC is the third in the trio. With no branches or overhead, they can pay a lot higher rates than normal banks. However, giant monster mega banks still win out in the checking world because it’s so convenient with all those branches. And here comes technology to narrow this gap. Community Banking Systems (CBS) is coming out with a solution called “ePosit,” which allows members to deposit checks from their homes. Members simply scan their checks and then send the e-mail of the check for deposit. It eliminates the need to go to a bank branch to deposit checks, as so many people do at the monster mega banks. Clark doesn’t know how soon it will be available, but it’s in the works. And he’ll be one of the first in line.

You’ve probably seen charges on your checking account for items you never ordered and certainly don’t want. It’s happening because of a little-known piece of legislation that Congress passed eight years ago. It allows banks to “go into business with” any company and sell your financial information, and it’s made a lot of people rich at your expense. Sometimes these are legitimate organizations, but most of the time these are crooks. Banks are putting charges through every month for these “services,” and people don’t notice. The sad part is that, in the banking world, any money taken from you is gone after 60 days. In other words, if your bank is doing a deal with a sleazy company and your account is charged month after month, you can’t get any of it back after two months. One of these groups has 2,218 unresolved complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Another customer service organization, Ripoff Report, has close to 5,000 complaints against a company known as WLI Reservation Rewards. That’s a lot of complaints. You need to read through your credit card and bank statements every month. When is the last time you did that? You may be losing tons of money each year without your knowledge.

Clark has been pretty unhappy with several banks that have entered into alliances with “marketing companies” that supposedly offer some kind of service. One of these companies is called “Member Works,” which has changed its name to Vertrue. Clark has heard complaints about this company over the years, and now the state of Iowa is going after it for signing people up for services and then deducting the amount from your account. The companies can do this because they are in a relationship with your credit card or bank. One man was having a fee deducted from his account for 16 months without his knowledge. You must check your bank and credit card statements with a fine tooth comb each month. And be wary of trial memberships and free memberships.

Clark has been a member of four different credit unions over the years. He first learned about them in the early ‘70s when he was a civilian employee in the Air Force and heard from an officer about the great loan rates they offer. What many people don’t know is that members of credit unions are part owners, so everyone involved wants the credit union to run smoothly. And, according to the Personal Journal, the deals at credit unions are getting even better. The average car loan is usually two percentage points better than a bank loans. If you get an 8 percent loan at a bank, the credit union will offer you 7 or even 6 percent. Credit card rates are about six percentage points better and there will almost never be an annual fee. Personal loans and home equity loans also have much better rates. Credit unions are geographically inconvenient, but members are willing to deal with that because of the personal attention and quality of the products. Yet, only 40 to 45 percent of adults are members. If you're not, find one at cuna.org.

Sometimes Clark gets calls on the show that even he can’t believe. One came in the other day from a woman who said she tried to make a second payment on her Chase credit card before the cycle ended. Chase wouldn't let her, she said. Clark had trouble believing a company would be that arrogant, so the team contacted Chase. Well, it’s true. A response from Chase said that the company “limits the number of payments in a cycle.” When asked why, Chase said it’s done “for security purposes,” and because of that the company would not say anything further. Clark isn’t going to let this one lie. What kind of company answers questions like that? We will let you know more as we delve further.

The nation’s banking industry is going through a radical transformation. Basically, we’re now mimicking other countries where gigantic banks monopolize the entire industry. Right now, Wachovia – the nation’s fourth largest bank - is in the process of taking over several smaller banks. So, the company is starting to compete with Bank of America, Citibank and J.P Morgan Chase, the other three mega banks. Together, all four will ultimately handle 35 to 40 percent of banking in our country. The relieving news is that there are still a bunch of small credit unions and banks that will continue to provide much better rates and service overall. The only advantage to these large banks is the convenience they offer because there are so many of them. In addition, if one of these huge banks gets into trouble by lending money they shouldn’t, the FDIC must step in and save it. That means, customers will be on the hook for bailing them out. It’s called the “Too Big To Fail” rule. Clark thinks that banks should lose FDIC protection when they get to be too big. Make the right call for you, but Clark wants you to consider the smaller fish in the pond

Clark talked with a caller recently about the ATM skimmers all over the world that are ripping you off. The man was in Italy on vacation when someone in France found out his card number and secret code from a skimmer and emptied out his checking account. It’s going on every minute and there is a huge heist going on now that banks are apparently trying to keep secret, according to the Orlando Sentinel. A computer hack that happened a month ago is responsible for compromising millions of customer accounts and secret codes. Instead of telling customers the truth about what has happened, banks are just sending people new cards, the paper reports. So, if you get a new card the mail all of a sudden without ordering one, the debit fraud debacle could by why. It means you must monitor your accounts very closely. If you bank online, watch your balances very carefully. It’s happened to multiple banks around the country, so be aware.

Clark talks a lot on the show about how banks treat customers like dirt. He often recommends trying a credit union or smaller bank instead. But there is another option he often overlooks. If you have a healthy chunk of change, you can do your banking with a stock brokerage company. Merrill Lynch, the nation’s largest brokerage firm, started this in the late 70s and called it a “CMA” or cash management account. It was the company’s version of being your bank, and it has become very popular. People are treated very well and get much higher rates on accounts. You can also borrow against your account at much lower rates than what you’d normally get. This “margin loan borrowing” can be risk, though. So, you never want to borrow more than 25 percent of your account. But if you’re frustrated with your bank and need the convenience of a big firm, consider this. Banks hold only about 12 percent of our assets these days. Most of our money is with brokerage houses and mutual fund services because they offer such better service.

Bank of America is the world’s largest bank, so Clark talks about the company quite a bit. Sometimes it’s good news and sometimes it’s not. This is one of those times. BOA has created a new computer program to do the most financial damage to you if you bounce checks. The program automatically combines the largest checks you’ve written so that you incur the most bounced check charges. They’ve also boosted the bounced check charge to $35. Do you know how much it actually costs to process a bounced check? About 40 cents. The Boston Globe acquired a copy of BOA’s internal documents, including instructions on how customer service reps are supposed to handle complaints. It’s possible to simply ask and have bounced check charges removed. Customer service people have the ability to do that. But they may not. So, you need to be sure you’re watching your checking account. If you don’t think you have enough money in your account, don’t write a check. Also, don’t trust the balance you see when you check your balance at ATM machine. The banks inflate the amount to try and generate fees and the government says nothing is wrong with it. Another option is to dump your bank and go to a credit union.

What should you do if your bank offers to auto draft your account for your mortgage or some other payment? Don’t do it! Clark has said that for years because the risk of companies drafting your account when you’re no longer a customer is huge. Mortgage companies especially are known for this, according to the Wall Street Journal. So, what’s the alternative? Set up automatic bill pay from your end. Through your online bank account, you schedule payments. Then, you have no worries about companies stealing form you on the other end. Health clubs are also known for doing this. And it’s super hard to get your money back in those circumstances. If you must have a company deduct from your account, remember these three rules. First, if someone is going to draft from you, make sure it’s from a credit card and not a debit card. When you cancel, make sure it’s done in writing so there is no question it was properly done. And lastly, violate No. 1 if you’re offered a discount or some kind of incentive to do so. And if you do a debit withdrawal, watch your account like a hawk. If there is an improper debit from your account, you won’t ever see that money again.

In the past couple of days, several papers have written stories about all of the tactics banks are using to recruit new customers. Offers range from DVD players to $200 cash back. So, how will those banks treat you once you’re a customer? Well, with Washington Mutual’s new “free checking” account, it looks like you’re treated like royalty. You are not charged any extra fees to use another bank’s ATM machine and you get a lifetime supply of free checks. Usually, it costs a lot to get checks from banks, so this is a great deal. If you’re tired of being treated poorly by your bank, it may be time to move on to a better deal. Check out the offers around you.

Citibank, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, is rewarding its loyal customers by sending them a check for $3. It looks like any other check. But if you cash it, you are automatically enrolled in a credit protection service that automatically renews if you don’t cancel it. If Citibank really valued its customers, the company would warn them about ripoffs like this. But Citibank is not the only company engaging in this dodgy practice. You will not receive random checks in the mail just for the heck of it. There is a ripoff involved, so beware. And Clark hopes banks like Citibank realize what a disservice they are doing for their customers.

Changing banks has gotten even more difficult these days, and people are reluctant to make the move for that reason. But the truth is that there are more reasons than ever to fire your bank if you’re being treated poorly. First of all, there is more competition out there and banks are offering more attractive incentives. Some banks have started giving away free toasters and other goodies to switch. others are offering software that moves information from your old bank to your new one, according to the Washington Post. So, take steps to move on if you think your bank doesn’t care about you. Consider moving to a credit union first, if you aren’t with one already. Credit unions usually offer a point and a half lower on car loans, for example. Another option is an online only bank. There are no fees and the bank absorbs the ATM fee when you must use one. So think about your options!

Bank of America has purposely lowered interest rates on its savings and CDs. The company specifically wants to alienate some people so they will leave the bank. Why would a company do that? BOA is trying to merge with another bank right now. Federal law states that no bank is allowed to have more than 10 percent of people’s bank deposit assets. Right now, BOA has more than that. So, in order to get approval for the merger, the company is trying to drop people. If you buy a CD at banks with the best rates, you can get 4.8 percent. BOA is offering about 1.4 percent. They’re trying to get people with bigger bucks to leave. Clark doesn’t get it. But if you have CDs at Bank of America, just be aware that this is going on. They clearly want you to go away, so do it! Put your money in a bank where you’ll earn more.

---

On the other hand, Charles Schwab has just announced that people who have smaller amounts with the company will get a much smaller interest rate. If you don’t have a lot of money invested with them, the company basically wants you to either leave them or invest more.

You probably know that Clark is not a fan of debit cards. He carries an ATM card and a couple credit cards, and that’s it. Other consumers are getting wise to the risks of debit cards and they’re not applying for them as often. Banks realize this and have started offering you money or prizes if you get a debit. The Dow Jones News Wires report that by the end of the year the 10 largest financial houses are all going to offer some kind of prize if you carry and use their debit cards. Clark likes to refer to them as fake Visa or Master Cards. These cards are potentially dangerous because you have no dispute rights or chargeback rights when you make a purchase or when someone steals your information. There are a few exceptions to that rule. If you are not able to control yourself when you have a credit card, or you typically write checks, it’s a good idea. There is even more risk to you using checks. Also, giving a teenager a debit card is better than giving him or her a credit card. Teens tend to rack up charges on credit cards because they don’t usually pay the bill. A debit card or stored value card allows you to set a limit on what they spend.

People are getting more worried about lax security in the banking world. More than 40 percent are doing fewer online transactions and more than 50 percent are concerned about their financial information being compromised online, according to USA Today. And about 80 percent of people are now afraid of ID theft occurring online. Add to that the fact that only one of the eight largest banks has moved to cooperate with federal guidelines to use better online authentication. Only Bank of America has adopted real security measures, while 99 percent of banks only require a user name and password. It’s in excusable and unacceptable, and it’s happening at J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, US Bancorp and Wells Fargo. People can easily access your account and steal your identity with just the user name and password setup. In Europe, there is very little account takeover because they are required to have very tight security features. There are many ways to do this in the U.S., and it would save banks a lot of money in the long run. Instead, banks are undermining people’s faith in our financial institutions. It would behoove everyone if banks would wake up and set up more secure service.

Bank of America, one of the nation’s largest banks, has come up with an incredibly creative idea and Clark wants to commend the company. Clark has often trashed BOA, so when its execs think of something smart he wants to praise them. The new program is called “Keep the Change.” When you go into a store and purchase something with your debit card, the bank will round it up to the nearest dollar and put the remainder into a savings account. In addition, the bank will add an additional five percent to that amount. So, if you make a purchase for $3.12, the bank will round it up to $4 and put the 88 cents into a savings account for you. Those 88 cents then automatically becomes 92 cents because of the 5 percent addition. Your purchases can be matched up to $250 a year, which means you would have to use your debit card about 500 times in a year. That’s not likely, but it’s a great incentive to save money regardless. People are not saving nearly enough these days, so BOA has the foresight to help customers with that.

---

Now, just as the banks give, they also taketh away. The FDIC reports that banks collected $38 billion in service charges on accounts. That is more than double what it was a few years ago. If you make one late payment on a typical credit card, you’ll be charged a $39 fee. If you make two late payments, your interest rate will shoot up. Another bank move that you should be aware of is something called a “courtesy overdraft.” That happens when a bank covers a bounced check for you but then charges you massive fees for doing so. Banks want people to bounce checks so they actually use software to find out what will cause someone to bounce the most checks. The scary part is that it’s absolutely legal. But you have the ability to avoid paying these fees. Pay your bills on time and don’t buy something when you think the money is not in your account. Clark doesn’t want you to ever pay bank fees that you don’t have to.

Clark has change jars all over his house. At the end of the day, he dumps the change from his pockets into the jar. It’s a great way to save money, and it teaches his kids an invaluable lesson. The problem is that some big banks are now charging to accept change or count change. It’s just another example of the arrogance of banks out there. Some credit unions don’t charge, but they are hard to find. The good news is that Coinstar has entered alliances with four retailers that will count your change for free and give you 100 percent of it back. The only caveat is that you get a gift card in exchange to use at those retailer stores. Now, Clark is usually against gift cards. But in this deal, you’re making money. Amazon, Starbucks, Pier 1 and Hollywood Video are a few of the retailers involved. Find out more at coinstar.com.

ATM fees are up to an all-time high right now, according to Bankrate.com. If you use an institution other than your own, you get hit with a double fee- first from the bank you’re using and also from your own bank. The average fee right now is $2.75. We as consumers are wasting $4 billion on ATM fees. Just a few years ago it was $2 billion. We have power here to choose if we want to spend this money. For instance, with a credit union account, you can usually use another bank’s ATM for free. Credit unions will actually pay you back if you use another bank’s machine and are charged a fee. People use other machines and pay the extra cash without even thinking about it. It’s $2.75, which doesn’t seem like a lot. But that is almost the cost of a lunch. When ATMs first came onto the scene in the 70s, you got freebies for using them. Now, instead of bribing us, they’re billing us. Get smart and use a credit union or use only your own bank’s ATM machines.

People responded excitedly when Clark talked in the spring about locking in student loan rates. Graduates could lock in their student loan rates at about 2.75 percent, and those who’d been out of school a while could consolidate at about 3.3 percent. So many people took advantage of this deal, which expired July 1, that the lenders that were supposed to rework the loans couldn’t handle it. In other words, student loan lenders have been unable to consolidate all of the loans and they’re not hurrying to do so either. As a result, some companies are billing those former students at the current rates instead of the consolidated rates they were supposed to have after July 1. All the lenders have to do is ask the Department of Education for a waiver, according to the Dow Jones News Wires. The DOE is granting permission to give the cheap rate to anyone who submitted the application prior to June 30, but lenders don’t seem to care. And they’re not too focused on making sure people get switched over soon. You should not be stuck with a higher rate just because the bank hasn’t gotten around to giving you the correct rate.

Wells Fargo Bank is asking its customers to pay $13 a month to be able to view their own credit history. Clark thinks this is ridiculous because Wells Fargo is one of the organizations that allowed customer information to become compromised and available to crooks. Wells Fargo should not charge its customers to make up for its own carelessness! Do something about it and walk if you are a customer.

Rates on savings accounts are at an all time low around the country. The best rate in the country is at emigrantdirect.com, an online bank that is offering 3.5 percent rate. Clark wants you to transfer the money from your bank to emigrantdirect as soon as you can. Most mega banks are only offering about a half a percent these days, yet people aren't at all motivated to move their money. Clark thinks this will be the beginning of a new trend of higher interest rates. Let's hope so!

Every once in a while, Clark reads something that makes him crazy. Would you believe that men and women in the military are coming home to find their homes foreclosed on and their cars repossessed – all in violation of federal law. Soldiers and sailors suffer severe financial hardship when they are called to duty for extreme periods of time and can’t make regular wages. In response, banks have been foreclosing on their homes and getting judgments against them. Military folks are coming home and finding their possessions gone. The law does not permit this! Military personnel cannot have their home or car taken, or have judgments made against them, while serving the country. And that’s just the start of it. Clark thinks the banks need to be punished, and one great way would be to stick the executives in the middle of a war zone. Congress needs to step in and remind the banks. In the meantime, do what you can. If you work for a bank, you may not know this is going on. But you can help our servicemen and women by reporting the bank’s actions.

Have you heard of "Check 21?" There was a lot of publicity about Check 21 on the day it became a law and in the weeks leading up to that day. But Clark has heard only one Check 21-related issue since then. Check 21 is a law designed to help streamline the current check-writing system that we know. It was created in the fall of 2001 after the terrorist attacks, when the nation’s air fleet was grounded for weeks. Checks did not get where they needed to go and it caused a huge financial uproar. Now, when you write a check, a photocopy of that check is made and sent via computer to the bank and the money is withdrawn. Essentially, the money is deducted from your account within hours and sometimes minutes. The only operational problem has been that bank accounts are “double drafted.” But there are other problems with the law itself and Clark wants you to know about them. The law is not fair in that customers’ money is nearly automatically debited, yet banks can hold on to a deposit for your account for 11 days. It can cause checks to bounce and hurt your credit. The good news is that Congress has drafted another bill that allows for a quicker deposit of your funds and eliminates bounce check charges when you have money “in deposit.” The bill, known as the Maloney bill, also requires banks to add in your deposited funds first, before deducting for checks written. Banks won’t behave on their own, but at least Congress is doing something about it.

Clark has always believed companies that treat their employees well also treat their customers well and do better over time. Now, he has actual proof. Each quarter, the University of Michigan releases research on industries and companies in those industries, detailing how consumers feel about them. Whenever a company’s customer satisfaction rating goes down in the Michigan survey, the company suffers down the road. It usually happens about two years after the statistics are released or after two companies merge. The supermarket industry, for example, has been in the survey for 10 years. And for 10 years, it has been named the best. That company is Publix. As a result, Publix is spreading from Florida and the Southeast to all over the nation. On the other hand, supermarkets that ranked at the bottom of the list are now all in financial trouble. In the retail biz, Costco and Kohl’s tied for first place. Wachovia ranked very high among the giant banks out there, while other mega banks did very poorly. If you want the best service, go to a credit union or smaller bank, according to the survey. But the industry with the lowest score of any on this survey was health care insurance. We simply loathe this industry, and something must change. For all of the results, click here.

Bank of America has reached a point where it has run out of account numbers for checking accounts. Instead of upgrading their systems with software, the banks have decided to take former customers account numbers and give the numbers to new customers. This creates a duplicate person on your old account number, which can mean big trouble. One guy had an old checkbook and decided to write checks to see if they would go through. They cleared perfectly, but the money was being withdrawn from a new customer’s checking account. When Bank of America found out, they bounced the checks and then the stores put the account number on a black list. So the new customer’s account number is on a black list, only because Bank of America tried to take the easy way out of its number problems. Bank of America says this is standard industry practice, but Clark thinks is just appalling.

Across the nation, the interest rate for a simple savings account is around a half a percent. But some Internet only banks are offering much higher rates. ING Direct is offering 2.3% on savings accounts, and Emigrantdirect.com is offering 3% for a simple savings account. Better yet, there are no fees or games invovled. Your account will also be insured up to $100,000 by the FDIC. This is great for a rainy day account!

In the past, a lot of mega-banks would treat customers badly when they would open account. But in order to preserve market share the mega-banks are coming up with procedures for customers to open accounts almost immediately. This is occurring out of fear because the banks are losing market share. Several banks nationwide that are implementing these easier accounts are Bank of America, Citibank, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo. These banks are allowing customers to go to their websites, set up accounts after an identity confirmation, and immediately have an operable account. Clark thinks this is great. For a great bank with good savings, try emigrantdirect.ccom.

Clark has a special warning for people who carry fake Visa cards. There has been a breach of security at one of the big national merchants. No one is saying which merchant it is, but an employee has evidently obtained the records of an untold number of customers. That person is using people’s debit card numbers across the country without their knowledge. So, when people try to use their cards, they are being turned away. We need full disclosure by the banking industry about this and anytime it happens. We need to know how many people are affected and what institution is involved. So, for the next seven days, if you carry a fake Visa card, check your account for unauthorized debits. Criminals are striking fast before people realize what’s going on. Why is this so important? If someone gets a hold of your fake Visa numbers and charges up your account, that money is gone. You have to fight to get that money back, and banks decide on an individual basis. Also,Visa offers no protection for you if it causes checks to bounce. It’s a disgrace, but right now, banks are free to decide whether they want to help you out or not.

---

In other banking news, you may have heard Clark talk about the computers – and personal information – stolen from Wells Fargo recently. To give you an update, Wells Fargo still will not disclose how many people were affected. But, if you got a letter and the offer of free credit monitoring for a year, the company is not going to automatically charge you after 12 months. So, don’t worry. Use the free monitoring for a year with no obligation. Both banks should come clean about what's really going on though.

You are going to hear a lot of fuss about “Check 21” over the next 36 hours. It’s a new law that sprung out of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Most checks move around the country by airplane, as you may know. When the attacks occurred, air travel in the country was grounded and merchants did not get their checks. There was a liquidity crisis that caused banks to brainstorm about the way checks move around the country. They came up with “Check 21.” Traditionally, you write a check and it takes a few days clear. Today, when you write a check to a merchant, a digital image will be made of that check and then it will be destroyed. The money in the check will clear in a couple of hours. So, if you are in the 30 to 40 percent of people who get their canceled checks in the mail, you’ll soon see a mix of real checks and substitute checks. This will count like a regular check. A digital image will not. But it will take a while for all of this to affect you, maybe two or three years. The concern of Consumer’s Union is that, during the transition phase, your account will be debited twice for the same item. A more important change that screams “anti-consumer” is the fact that Congress reduced the amount of time you have to dispute a charge on your checking account from 60 days to 40 days. So, when you checking account statement comes in, you want to check it within 48 hours for twice-debited items and other mistakes. If you don’t dispute these items within 40 days, you lose your money forever. Secondly, remember that when you write a check, the money will be debited within minutes or hours. Checks that you deposit, however, will still be held for five days. It’s not fair, but it’s the way it goes.

A real hot button with Clark has been e-mail messages and privacy. There was a very controversial court ruling that determined that our e-mail messages are not private. Basically, the decision determined that whoever owns the server that delivers or captures your e-mail messages can read your mail. E-mail is subject to less privacy than any other form of correspondence. For example, if someone opens a letter in your mailbox, it’s a violation of federal law. And, if someone wants to listen to your phone calls, a wire tap order is required. But e-mail is completely accessible legally to anyone or any company where the e-mail stops along the way. Hopefully, Congress will change this. But in the meantime, remember to never send or receive e-mail at work that could be embarrassing to you or could cost you your job. Your employer is free to read your e-mail whenever he or she wants because the computer at work belongs to the company. And never, ever look at adult content sites at work. Be smart about this stuff and you won’t have anything to worry about.

---

In other privacy news, California has joined North Dakota in the fight against the banking industry’s pitiful privacy practices. In those two states, banks have to get written permission to share your information. In the other 48 states, the banking industry is free to share your information with anyone who pays them for it. Also remember to check your credit card statements and bank statements line-by-line because you never know who has a hold of your information and is charging you phony fees.