Capital One Bank has stopped offering unsecured, CD-backed and savings-backed loans in the Baton Rouge market, spokesman Steven Thorpe confirms. “It was a difficult decision and one that was made after careful consideration,” Thorpe says. “We will continue to offer a suite of consumer lending products at competitive rates in the market, including mortgage loans, auto loans, equity loans and secured credit cards.” Capital One on Monday quit accepting applications for the three loan products no longer offered by the bank, Thorpe says. Without providing specifics, Capital One regional spokesman Patrick Mendoza says the discontinued loans accounted for “a small part of our business” in the Baton Rouge area. “Leaders at Capital One have determined that the returns on this business are not sufficient to warrant the investment required to grow this business,” he says. “Customers who have these loans will not be impacted by this change whatsoever.” Retired LSU professor of banking and finance Willie Staats says all banks are taking a fresh look at their portfolios in light of increased regulation and the ongoing effects of the Dodd-Frank Act. “Banks are businesses, and all of them are looking for more income and greater efficiencies to offset the added expenses they’re taking on,” he says. “That’s essentially what I’m hearing when I talk to bankers across the country. If a product isn’t offering a decent margin, they’re not going to offer it anymore.” —Steve Sanoski Read the full story here.
Today’s poll question: Have you switched banks over the past year because of increased fees or service changes?
