Related Consumer Finance Programs - The following sub-directories of companies offer a wide variety of financial programs to assist you with the management of your finances. Consolidate debt with a consolidation loan or use a debt counseling service or mortgage refinance for help with the consolidation of your charge card debt and other monthly payments.

• Credit Card Debt Consolidation - Learn about the debt consolidation process and review detailed listings for lenders and services offering to help consolidate your debts.
• Personal Loan Companies - Shopping for a personal loan online? Need to consolidate debt, but do not want to put up collateral (such as your home or car) as security? These loans are typically referred to as unsecured or signature loans, because only your signature may be required.
• Debt Consolidation Help - Finding yourself in the common situation of being unable to meet your credit card payments month after month? The negotiation of your bills may be a good solution for getting you back on track with your financial obligations. Compare various programs and see if this option is right for you.

What You Can Learn from Other Consumers' Questions and Concerns

The FDIC receives hundreds of letters, e-mails and calls from consumers every day. FDIC Consumer News wants you to know the most common reasons people contact the FDIC so you can learn from their questions and concerns and take precautions that can save you time, money and headaches. In addition, we want to remind you that, if you need a little help, the FDIC can be a resource.

Here, in no special order, are the top five reasons consumers contact the FDIC.

One

Questions about FDIC insurance coverage. "Most of the calls and letters the FDIC receives from consumers – about 60 percent of them – are from people asking about their insurance coverage," said Kathleen Nagle, chief of the Deposit Insurance Section in the FDIC's Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection. "They want to know what's covered, what isn't, and how much their coverage is."

She added that a surprisingly large number of consumers have misconceptions about deposit insurance. "The biggest concern," Nagle said, "is that some depositors who believe that all their funds are insured may inadvertently have some money over the insurance limits."

For more information, see the article about how to protect yourself with FDIC insurance. Included there is a guide to FDIC resources on deposit insurance, including our toll-free Call Center. "The FDIC consumer line is a great service the FDIC provides," Nagle said. "We encourage anyone with a question about their FDIC insurance to call us."

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 2/1/2007

Make the correct 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 / educational financial resources for consumers shopping for many types of services related to the management of your money, such as consolidating credit card debts, fraud alerts and car 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 resource library for more information.

• Cell Phone Banking - New cell phones are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. This includes adding the capability of handling online banking through your phone. This FDIC article discusses some of the possibilities and precautions you should take when using your phone for banking purposes.
• How to Protect Yourself with FDIC Insurance - Read up on what qualifications are necessary and how to determine if your deposits are covered by FDIC insurance.
• Direct Deposit Safer than Checks? - The US Treasury Department reports that a majority of surveyed consumers mistakenly believe that paper checks are safer than direct deposit.
• Consider the Fees! - Learn what to look for and examine the details of each banking account offer for possible fees, such as: inactivity, minimum balance and ATM withdrawal fees.

DebtConsolidationLoan.com is a service of Infinamic, Inc. All information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Infinamic, Inc. is not responsible for the content and services, that may be provided to you, by following the links from this web site. Use this service at your own discretion.