Word: overdraft
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...filed for bankruptcy in the first three months of 1996 alone, the highest quarterly total ever. Experts say an unprecedented 1 million individuals will go belly-up by the end of the year. In the process, they are turning an onerous personal disaster into something on the order of overdraft checking. "Personal bankruptcy," says researcher Robert Johnson at Purdue University's Credit Research Center, "is spreading like a virus...
...with Auntie Nora's pet poodle? Infatuation with my sister's lacey underwear? I fear such perversions must be deeply buried, and that much more psychobabble will be required to dent my native prudery. I get depressed sometimes--when England lose at soccer, or my bank account throttles into overdraft--but these moments hardly constitute a recipe for a session in therapy...
...wily administrator used his inside knowledge of Hill affairs to protect his position. Foley let Russ off with a warning, and asked an outside group of bankers to look at the system. Even though their April 1990 report clearly stated that some members were making "excessive use" of the overdraft provision, the Speaker let matters drift until the current scandal broke, which led to the bank's closing last December and Russ's resignation earlier this month...
...ordinary citizen wrote a bad check, he could pay a penalty of up to $25 or face interest on the overdraft amount. Not so for the members of the U.S. House of Representatives who collectively kited at least 20,000 checks worth $10.8 million at their members-only bank over a three-year period. When the scandal broke last October, congressional leaders tried to shrug it off as a minor administrative snafu and closed the bank. But public outrage over abuse of privilege continued to mount, fueled by allegations of dope dealing at the House Post Office, unpaid bills...
...Republicans alike voted last week to come clean. The identities of all 355 check floaters will not be made public until next month, but the 24 most flagrant offenders will be outed next week. According to the the House ethics committee, these members "repeatedly and routinely" abused the overdraft privilege by writing checks that exceeded the amount of their next month's salary at least eight times within the 39-month period under investigation. One member kited 996 checks totaling $251,000 during that time, a rate of about one a day; another legislator issued 743 bad checks...