Bank finance articles and tips

Yes it's true that financial institutions and lenders have tightened their belts a bit in the past few years since the economy has gone south. It may seem as though it is harder to obtain credit than in the past, but rest assured, it is still very possible to obtain credit cards for bad credit if you have gone through a rough spell. If you have not been able to get a credit card by going the traditional route, you still have 3 options you can try to procure a card....

New bankruptcy filers are often faced with bankruptcy terms they don't understand. Below are explanations of terms that bankruptcy debtors should know:

Means Test

The means test is an income test that bankruptcy debtors must take to determine how much disposable income they have to pay their debts. The means test was instituted in 2005 when the bankruptcy system was reformed because legislators and creditors wanted more debtors to forgo Chapter 7 bankruptcy and file Chapter 13 bankruptcy instead. The result is that bankruptcy debtors must now look at the past six months of income to determine whether or not they qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Using their state's median income as a baseline and deducting their household expenses as allowed, debtors will either fail or pass the means test. If they pass the means test they are allowed to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy....

Finding and being approved for personal loans for bad credit is not an easy task. The risk of lending money to people who have had financial difficulties in the past is one that many loan companies do not want to take. However, with patience, it is possible to find lenders who are willing to take a chance on people with bad credit.

Review your finances. Before attempting to borrow money it is important to know exactly how much you need to borrow and how much you are able to pay back monthly without getting into more financial difficulty.

Maintain steady employment. An applicant with a stable work history is generally more attractive to a lender than one that does not. Also, the higher your income the better the your chances are for being approved for a loan.

After being considered an esoteric form of investment for several years, the charitable lead trust is coming back into fashion as much for its financial advantages as for its altruistic benefits.

Charitable Lead Trusts have for years been considered a key means of giving money to charity with the possibility of leaving the remainder for relatives to inherit without paying estate taxes. They have been an unpopular option in the past simply for the fact that they are, in essence, not simple; their inherent complexity has turned many people toward other alternatives.

Over the past year, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have worked collaboratively to revise the standards businesses use to report revenue recognition. The Boards wish to align current US revenue recognition standards as closely as possible with IFRS standards so that if the two standards converge it will be a smooth transition. The goal is simple: one world-wide standard.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which governs U.S. financial reporting requirements, will determine what is required for U.S. companies. In preparation for the SEC's upcoming decision, the two boards are combining their revenue recognition standards so outcomes will be essentially the same no matter which reporting standards (IFRS or US GAAP) the SEC chooses.