Some of the largest banking institutions in America reported profitable quarters this week. JP Morgan announced better-than-expected 3.6 billion and net income for the three months to September and that was up $527 million from a year-earlier. Investment bank Goldman Sachs will announce record profits just a year after a banking crisis that nearly caused a collapse of our financial system.

All was well with the banks, at least for the time being, but what about consumers? Obviously if banks were in trouble a year ago, they were in trouble because borrowers were not repaying loans, and credit reports were being adversely affected. Millions of consumers who want to secure a loan now are forced to seek the help of bad credit lenders.

The good news is money is available for all kinds of borrowers, even those with getting the credit. Banks are in the business of loaning money. Although approval for this is somewhat different than it was 18 months ago, loans are still being made. If you are one of those people who suffered through a financial collapse of your own, and your credit is not what it once was, don’t lose heart. There is one fact that consumers need to understand about loans and lenders.

The most important factor in determining whether or not you get approved for a loan is your ability to pay the loan back, and your willingness to do so. If you once had a good credit report, the only thing the lender is going to want to know is how you will pay for your own again. Remember, no loans made by the banks means no profits to report to shareholders.

While you may indeed have to pay a point or two higher interest for your loan, the cost should not be prohibitive to you securing a loan. Interest rates are still at record lows, and if you are in position and have the financial wherewithal to pay a loan, there will be a better time to do so than now.

This will cover not only the value of having secured credit cards, but how to obtain a secured credit card with little effort. Having some financial woes can put a person in a tough spot especially with so many bills piling up from so many locations. Past mistakes with credit can make it seem like it is impossible to move forward and obtain new credit. This is in most part by lenders feeling the borrower is more of a liability than a person who has learned from mistakes, or someone that has gotten their finances back together again.

This is where secured credit cards come into play. They not only help with the rebuilding of credit, but work must like a regular credit card. What is the difference between a regular credit card and a secured credit card? The most obvious is the fact that you the cardholder will be required to add a deposit against the current credit limit. This is a safety precaution on the part of the lender in case you default on the secured card.

In most cases there is a common ratio of how much you must deposit as opposed to what you are allowed to use for credit. This is usually a 50% to 100% ratio. Which means if you were to deposit $1000, you would probably be able to use $500-1000 of the money deposited. This is a great way to bolster your current credit situation, but also has its downsides as well.

What are the fees involved with having a secured credit card? Most of the time they include application fees, processing fees along with annual fees on the card you obtain. While it may seem that you are losing out on spending the extra money to get a secured credit card, you are really demonstrating your ability to pay your credit card bill on time.

having a secured credit card only has value however if the company you have obtained the card from is reporting to all the major credit bureaus. If not then it will have been a waste of time. So the best way to begin building back credit with a secured credit card is to make sure that the credit bureaus can see your responsible efforts to regain trust. this in turn flows to the lenders since they base most of their decisions on giving you a card off the credit bureaus information.

Just remember after you get a secured credit card that you are on a mission to rebuild what has been lost. Further bad patterns of not paying on time will only hurt the situation more rather than help. There are some situations where a credit card company you are with will allow you to switch your card to a secured account after consistent timely payments.

The simple truth of credit cards, is that if you do not have the money to pay it back already available to you then it is best not to make the purchase with plastic. This is why so many people find themselves in deep credit card debt, and eventually in a situation needing for credit card repair.

In conclusion, be responsible with you secured credit card and you should be back on the right track to a successful new beginning again in the world of credit.

State Farm Bank has been around for quite some time. This bank has three types of Visa credit card offerings for their customers:

• State Farm Bank Platinum Rewards Visa credit card
• State Farm Bank Good Neighbor Visa credit card
• State Farm Bank Student Visa credit card

Popularity of State Farm Bank’s Platinum Rewards Visa credit card is not a secret. As the name suggests, this Visa card offers platinum rewards for consumers. It gives cash rebates to the customer for purchases using this Visa credit card. The procedure is very simple. The cash rebates allow you to make payments for the financial products bought from the State Farm Bank. One could apply the rebates towards insurance, mutual funds, and savings accounts. The partner merchants of the State Farm Bank and Visa also offer you discounts on purchases with Platinum Rewards Visa credit card.
The major benefit that this Visa credit card grants is the introductory fixed annual purchase rate or APR. Currently, the State Farm Bank offers 2.9 % APR balance transfer to the account holders of Platinum Rewards Visa credit card. This APR rate is given to patrons for continuing with balance transfers up to 9 months. The bank allows the balance transfer a minimum of  $10 and maximum of $150 at a time. At present, State Farm Bank charges 3 % of the amount of transaction as a fee on balance transfer. There is a lot to save with the balance transfers made with this Platinum Rewards Visa credit card.
For holding Platinum Rewards Visa credit card from State Farm Bank, you do not have to pay an annual fee. The card comes with safety feature of zero fraud liability protection that adds more security to your online shopping and online balance transfer experience. State Farm Bank is also concerned about the lost and stolen card protection and this feature is given to the customers free of charge. The card could be accessed online at any time of the day using your online account access.
To make shopping a breeze, the Platinum Rewards Visa credit from State Farm Bank offers online discounts. Additional benefits include free auto rental insurance and a protective cover of travel accident insurance. This feature provides the accident coverage of $ 250,000.  Since it is a Visa credit card, you could use the card for shopping or for getting cash in any corner of the world. Visa is the biggest electronic payment service provider;  therefore, several banks all over the world are subscribed to Visa.
The bank’s Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for Purchases is ranging between 11.99 – 18.24% + but this may vary in the future.
This credit card is quite advantageous for clients of State Farm Bank because its rebates could be used to make payments towards the bank’s financial products. However, in general this is much like a regular Visa credit card in that it has extended benefits for its users.

BankUnited in Florida is offering a 2-year special CD rate of 2.75% APY. While BankUnited was taken over by the FDIC back in May, the bank is still up and running. The new BankUnited’s FDIC charter was started on May 21, so there shouldn’t be any worries now about another closure on the bank.

While the 2 year special CD rate is one to potentially catch your eye, there are some shorter terms which you might also be interested in. There is a 12-month CD and a 1.75% APY 8-month CD for those who are looking for a short term gain.

The return on these certificate of deposits may not look as nice as other long term bank deals, so you might consider going for the 2 year at 2.75% APY. The minimum deposit on all these bank deals is $5000 dollars. This is one of the better CD rates in Florida, with branch locations in Coconut Creek, Fort Myers, Hallandale Beach, Plantation, Coral Springs, Naples, Orlando, Tampa, Miami and many other cities across Florida.

For more information on CD rates, Savings account rates, and other deposits from BankUnited, stop by a local branch and speak with a representative.

UPDATE: These rates are not current, you will want to speak with a bank rep for the latest rates on CD’s.

AIG is offering some pretty decent rates on their money market accounts available nationwide. They also have some comparable cd rates which are not as great, but nonetheless competitive. Lets take a look at the money market account currently available.

AIG Bank’s money market account has tiered rates which are nice. If you don’t want a monthly fee tacked on then you will be required to keep your balance above $2,500. Currently the money market rate is 1.76% APY for deposits of $2.5K-$10K.

You will need to start with at least $2,500 minimum deposit to open up the account. Bonuses that come with the investment are a first book of 40 checks which are free. A Visa check card which you can use at local ATM’s. If you use other bank ATM’s there is no charge from AIG but you may receive a charge from the bank you use it at.

As far as AIG CD rates go, it loks like they are a little lower than others. For a short term certificate of deposit you will get a rate of 1.86% APY. For 60 months you will get a CD rate of 3.46% APY. if you are interested in any other rates or savings accounts, you may want to check with an AIG representative.

Champion Bank is offering several CD specials with competitive rates that caught our eye. The first being a 2.75% APY CD with a term of 11 months. Others include 13 month and 18 month terms with the same rate. There is a minimum deposit of $1,000 to qualify to open this deposit, and they are available in both regular and IRA. These rates are good as of 6/3/09.

If a Bank CD is not what you wanted to get then you might consider going for a reward checking account that Champion Bank offers at a rate of 2.25%. This rate is good for balances not exceeding $25,000.

Their main branch is located in St. Louis Missouri. If you are interested in opening other accounts with the bank you may want to see a representative. We will have more information soon on CD rates from other Missouri banks in the near future.