Some of the financial services offered on the Debt Consolidation Loan Directory:

• Debt Consolidation Loan (home page) - Shop for personal finance services, such as: life insurance coverage, 401k rollovers, home refinancing companies, auto loans and consolidating debts.
• Debt Management Consultant - Too many monthly debts and loans to make your minimum payments on? Compare a list of  different debt management options and get assistance with controlling your budget.
• Small Personal Loans - Looking for a small personal loan for the consolidation of debt? This type of loan is often unsecured and made available to homeowners and renters.
• Debt Consolidation Companies - Shop for, review and compare a wide variety of debt consolidation related programs online.

A Special Guide for Seniors and Families

Naming Names: Points to Consider Before Giving Friends or Relatives Access to Bank Accounts and Safe Deposit Boxes

Adding a co-owner to a deposit account is very different from giving someone limited access in an emergency. People often want family members or friends to be able to withdraw funds from their bank account if, for example, they become ill or incapacitated. One way to do that is to make an arrangement with the bank to specify in the account records that you are giving someone the right to withdraw money on your behalf. Another way is to grant the other person a "power of attorney," which gives him or her the legal authority to handle transactions and make financial and other decisions for you.

However, some bank customers who only want another person to be their backup in an emergency will go ahead and add that other person as a co-owner of an account, and that could be a mistake. "You need to remember that by establishing a joint account with another person, you are giving him or her equal ownership of the funds," said Kathleen Nagle, a supervisor with the FDIC's Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection. "This other person will have as much right to the money as you do, and you shouldn't take that fact lightly."

FDIC Consumer News is published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDIC Consumer News is produced quarterly by the FDIC Office of Public Affairs in cooperation with other Divisions and Offices. It is intended to present information in a nontechnical way and is not intended to be a legal interpretation of FDIC or other government regulations and policies. Mention of a product, service or company does not constitute an endorsement.

Find current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News at http://www.fdic.gov/consumernews. Refer to this same index to locate the issues that are specially formatted for being reprinted in any quantity.

To receive an e-mail notice about each new issue of FDIC Consumer News posted on the FDIC Web site, with links to stories, follow instructions posted at www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Last updated on 3/23/2006

Make better decisions when shopping for banking, debt consolidation and related financial services. Educate yourself!

The Debt Consolidation Loan Directory has a growing library of free informative and educational financial resources for consumers shopping for many types of financial services related to the management of your finances, such as the consolidation of credit card debt, fraud alerts and life insurance. There is no better way to make decisions regarding the management of your personal finances than to read and understand how they work. Please feel free to visit our consumer information library to learn more.

• Do You Know the Warning Signs of Too Much Debt? - Take control of your spending as soon as you recognize any of the warning signs cited by this article provided by CitiFinancial.
• What Do Banks Do? - A bank is a private, for-profit business that offers a variety of financial services to the public.
• Learning about Bank CDs (Certificates of Deposit) - Learn about the different types of bank CDs and how to choose the type that is right for you.
• Pros and Cons of Internet Banking - Review some of the positive and negative aspects of Internet online banking.

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