Tagged: Banking

Consumer advocates call them "debt" traps. The banks that offer them call them direct-deposit advances and describe them as available funds for short-term emergencies.

But the cash advances have many of the negative characteristics of payday loans. And on Thursday, U.S. bank regulators took a step toward protecting consumers from the risks they pose. The regulators proposed standards for "deposit-advance products."

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has launched a new national program to retain mineral rights on lands it has taken back as a result of foreclosures and bank failures.