After today’s .25% rate increase in the target range for the Fed Funds Rate, banks increased their Prime Rates with a corresponding increase from 5.25% to 5.50%. These changes are effective for most banks tomorrow, December 20, 2018.
In addition to interest rate increases for commercial loans and credit cards, expect rate increases in many consumer loans which are based upon the Prime Rate – for instance home equity loans, car loans, and personal loans.
A reminder from the California Department of Real Estate was recently sent out going into year-end closings. See below for the “Do’s” and “Dont’s” to prevent fraud in transferring funds for real estate transactions.
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Real estate transactions in today’s world often involve the wiring or electronic funds transfer (EFT) of money to complete a deal. Previous consumer alerts have referenced or covered wire fraud in timeshare transactions and fraud against seniors.
Wire transfers and EFT’s in real estate purchase transactions have become the targets of criminals who interject themselves into a real estate transaction by posing as a party in the transaction. In these cases, the criminal often takes on the identity of a title or escrow company or real estate agent in the transaction and provides legitimate-looking instructions directing the buyer where to wire or transfer funds. These instructions result in the wiring or transfer of funds to the criminal’s bank account, often overseas, and the immediate loss of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of dollars to the victim.
These are sophisticated, professional-looking attacks on your real estate transactions, and you need to be on the lookout. Cyber criminals may convincingly take on the identity of legitimate parties to your transaction, using authentic-looking logos and personal details in communications, in order to make you feel comfortable. It is best to be safe in how you respond, and to assume that your transaction is being targeted.
What can you and your clients do to avoid such criminal activity?
1. Whenever possible, use alternatives to wire transfers or EFT’s, such as cashier’s checks, and get a receipt. For smaller transactions, make the payment in person by check or credit card and get a receipt, as these payment sources provide you with proof […]
After today’s .25% rate increase in the target range for the Fed Funds Rate, banks increased their Prime Rates with a corresponding increase from 5.00% to 5.25%. These changes are effective for most banks tomorrow, September 27, 2018. The last time the Prime Rate was at this level was over 10 years ago.
After today’s .25% rate increase in the target range for the Fed Funds Rate, banks are expected to increase their Prime Rates with a corresponding increase from 5.00% to 5.25%. These changes are expected to be effective for most banks tomorrow, September 27, 2018. The last time the Prime Rate was at this level was over 10 years ago.
After today’s .25% rate increase in the target range for the Fed Funds Rate, banks are increasing their Prime Rates with a corresponding increase from 4.75% to 5.00%. These changes will be effective for most banks tomorrow, June 14, 2018. The last time the Prime Rate was at this level was in 2008.
