loans

Washington should support economic growth and reduce student loan debt

A South Dakota-based payday lender and its California partner are to pay about $2 million under the terms of a settlement designed to address "abusive" lending and collection activities, the Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation said Monday.

The Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners unanimously gave its final approval Tuesday to the town's $15,967,773 budget for the 2015 fiscal year which begins July 1.

Aberdeen's administration is proposing a $14.1 million budget for fiscal year 2015, a 16 percent drop from fiscal year 2014.

The Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners reviewed a general fund budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year on Monday that contains the first merit increases for town employees in several years.

Operations at NBRS Financial Bank have been fairly normal since the Federal Reserve Board of Governors issued an Prompt Corrective Action Directive to the community bank serving Harford and Cecil counties on April 7, NBRS President Hugh J. Garchinsky said Tuesday.

The city-owned Hilton Baltimore spent nearly all of the $2.8 million in hotel occupancy taxes the city set aside last year to help the struggling convention center hotel make its debt payments, officials said.

The Lego Legends team from Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School has been chosen to attend the State Championship FIRST Lego League competition on Saturday, March 1.

Gansler supports commuter discount on ICC

Nelson, whose contract is up in May, was brought in May 2009 on a two-year contract. In 2011, he was granted an extension through May 2014.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's last budget proposal leaves some hard questions for his successor but on the whole leaves the state in good shape.

The 2013 State of Housing in Black America report found that African-American homeownership dropped from 48 percent in 2007 to 43 percent today and foreclosure rates were higher among African Americans and Latinos. NAREB President Donnell Spivey said he is concerned that the recession has made many people in the African American community wary of homeownership, traditionally a safe investment and a route to the middle class.

Maryland will receive about $86 million for principal reduction, the sixth-highest amount, or 4.3 percent of the relief available, according to Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler. There are also 2,461 loans eligible for cash payments, with disbursements expected to be more than $1,000 each.

There is too much uncertainty about Maryland's finances to endorse even a small increase in the borrowing limit next year.

Requiring pro bono service as a prerequisite to bar admittance would unduly burden recent law graduates.

In the Internet era, regulators need new tools to thwart unscrupulous payday lenders

The president's proposal to unwind Fannie May and Freddie Mac, similar to a bipartisan bill in the Senate, points the way toward meaningful reform in housing policy that doesn't eliminate the government's role in making homeownership possible for the middle class.

Congress must act quickly to avoid a sudden hike in borrowing costs for college

Congress must act soon to roll back interest rates on college loans

Financial aid directors at Maryland colleges are hoping that members of Congress will return from their July 4th recess and reverse the doubling of the interest rate on new loans for financially needy students.

Joshua M. Lewis has been promoted to retail loan center branch manager, a new position at Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union.

Susan R. Stover has been promoted to assistant vice president, loan centers/sales, a new position at Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union

CFPB order U.S. Bank and its partner to return $6.5 mililon to members of military

Marylanders are among the biggest complainers to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

State regulators have ordered a South Dakota-based payday lender to stop making consumer loans in Maryland after finding the company charged excessive interest rates.

U.S. should stop underwriting student loans that serve to raise tuition rates

The state-owned Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay hotel is continuing to mine a reserve fund to meet semiannual debt payments, including a draw of more than $2 million earlier this month.

Congress must act soon to keep interest rates on college loans from doubling July 1

Harbor Bank, a minority-owned commercial bank with nearly $251 million in assets, comes out from under heightened federal scrutiny.

Though the economic recovery has led to some hiring improvements, it's a tough time to be a new college graduate.

A bankruptcy filing by Synagro Technologies Inc. on Wednesday means growth and new jobs for the Baltimore area as the waste recycler consolidates, making its sole headquarters in White Marsh.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. is continuing a push into new markets across the U.S. with an announcement Thursday that it plans to acquire Fisher Communications Inc. in a $373.3 million deal.

Columnist's name-calling is no substitute for reasoned argument

Sandy Spring Bancorp CEO Daniel J. Schrider discusses the state of Maryland banking and more.

Just before the day to start filing applications, Mayor Wayne Dougherty announced he would be running for mayor once again.

a new microloan program that will provide up to $35,000 to help bolster these producers during their start-up years

The city will be forced to dip into its general fund for $1 million to help the city-owned Hilton Baltimore make debt payments this year, city officials said Wednesday.

Harford County officials raised nearly $115 million through two bond sales Tuesday to finance existing and new capital projects and to pay off previous bond issues.

Baltimore water officials have been dogged in the last year by a series of extremely public problems. But behind the scenes, they have also been making progress on the city's aged and long-deteriorating water system.

A Baltimore County police union is suing the county retirement system's board of trustees over a $25 million loan the county took from the employee retirement system to upgrade recycling facilities, alleging a breach of duty.

With the aid of a town small business loan, a new cookie bakery and store will be opening up on Bel Air's Main Street in the next few months.

Universities need to do more to control expenses, help students

Consumer advocates welcomed a federal effort aiming to prevent predatory mortgage lending at a town hall in Baltimore on Thursday, but expressed worries that new rules would not halt discrimination.

The Laurel City Council is proposing to revise the tax break given to the developers of the Laurel Mall, Greenberg Gibbons Company, to be used for improving public infrastructure around the new development.