Related Consumer Finance Programs - The following lists of companies and financial service providers offer services to assist you with handling your debts. Combine debt with a consolidation loan or use a credit counseling or debt relief program for help with lowering your payments and getting your credit card bills and other obligations under control.

• Personal Loan Consolidation - Need a smaller loan? Personal loans are most often unsecured. That means you do not have to secure them with personal assets in order to do a debt consolidation. This type of financing is typically based upon your credit history and your ability to make your payments.
• Debt Settlement - Too much debt? List of companies providing this alternative to bankruptcy that provides for debt negotiation and arbitration services for those that need to eliminate debt.
• Debt Consolidation Service - Learn more on how consolidating your credit card debts can work for you and potential pitfalls that you need to avoid. Also, review a list services that offer to help people lower their bills into fewer payments or even one payment.

Banks Are Required to Prepare for Disaster

Federal and state banking regulators require financial institutions to develop and test "disaster recovery" and "business continuity plans." Each plan must spell out how the bank will recover data, ensure the availability of cash, continue customer service, and otherwise function efficiently after a wide-ranging disaster — one in which personnel are unavailable, key facilities are closed, and power and phones are out for an extended period.

According to Michael Jackson, an Associate Director of the FDIC's Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the recent devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita reminded the financial industry and its regulators "that you must be ready for a disaster of any magnitude or duration — you cannot plan for something small or brief."

"Banking institutions play a vital role in supporting the economy, businesses and individual families after a disaster," added Kathryn Weatherby, an Examination Specialist for the FDIC. "It's in everyone's best interest that banks bounce back quickly and that disruptions are minimized."

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 2/02/2006

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