Peachtree Life Settlements Appointed Originator and Servicer for German Life Settlement Fund

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Peachtree Life Settlements was recently appointed as an approved originator and servicer for a large German life settlement fund. This fund is the most recent in a series of funds marketed and managed in Germany by the fund initiator which is part of a multi-national European banking giant.In announcing the news, Peachtree Life Settlements’ Senior Vice President, Sergio Salani said, "we are pleased to have been selected once again to act in this capacity and are gratified that our prior efforts and relationship has been rewarded in this way. We look forward to working together with the fund."About PeachtreePeach Holdings, Inc., a Florida corporation, is the parent (holding) company of the Peach group of companies, including, among others, Peachtree Settlement Funding, Peachtree Pre-Settlement Funding and Peachtree LBP Finance Company (together, "Peachtree"). Peachtree is a specialty factoring company that purchases high-quality deferred payment obligations. Through its group of affiliated companies, Peachtree caters to people seeking to sell structured legal settlements, annuity payments, lottery prize payments, sweepstakes awards and sports contract payments. In addition, Peachtree provides cash advances to people with pending personal injury claims. Peachtree has purchased over $4 billion of specialty receivables and continues to expand into new areas by bringing institutional financing and professionalism to bear on underserved markets. For further information contact Dori Erann at (866) 730-4418. Peachtree Settlement Funding's corporate website address is www.PeachtreeSettlementFunding.com and Peachtree Life Settlements’ website address is www.life-settlementco.com.

Mobile Banking

Mobile Banking (also known as M-Banking or mBanking) is a term used for performing transactions, payments etc. via a mobile device such as a mobile phone. Mobile Banking is normally accessed via SMS or the Mobile Internet.
Mobile Banking consists of three inter-related applications:Mobile Accounting Mobile Brokerage Mobile Financial Information Services Most services in
Accounting and Brokerage are transaction based. The non-transaction based services of informational nature are however imperative for conducting transactions. For instance, balance inquiries might be needed before committing a money remittance.
The accounting and brokerage services are therefore offered invariably in combination with information services. Information services, on the other hand, may be offered as an independent module.
Mobile Banking Services
Mobile banking can offer the following services:Account InformationMini-statements and Checking account history Term deposits Loans statement Cards statement Mutual Funds / Equity statement Insurance policy Pension planPayments & TransfersDomestic and international fund transfers Micro-payments Mobile re-charge Commercial payments Bill payment
InvestmentsPortfolio Management Services Real-time stock quotes Personalized alerts and notifications on security prices
SupportStatus of origination of Mortgage, Insurance Check book request Exchange data message and email / Complaints
Content ServicesGeneral information such as Weather updates, News Loyalty related offers Location dependent services Based on survey conducted by Forrester, mobile banking will be attractive mainly to the younger, more tech-savvy customer segment.
A third of mobile phone users say that they may consider performing some kind of financial transaction through their mobile phone. But most of the users are interested in performing basic transactions such as querying for account balance and making bill payment.

Banks in the economy

Banks in the economy[edit] Role in the money supplyA bank raises funds by attracting deposits, borrowing money in the inter-bank market, or issuing financial instruments in the money market or a capital market. The bank then lends out most of these funds to borrowers.
However, it would not be prudent for a bank to lend out all of its balance sheet. It must keep a certain proportion of its funds in reserve so that it can repay depositors who withdraw their deposits. Bank reserves are typically kept in the form of a deposit with a central bank. This behaviour is called fractional-reserve banking and it is a central issue of monetary policy. Note that under Basel I (and the new round of Basel II), banks no longer keep deposits with central banks, but must maintain defined capital ratios.[citation needed]
[edit] Size of global banking industryWorldwide assets of the largest 1,000 banks grew 15.5% in 2005 to reach a record $60.5 trillion. This follows a 19.3% increase in the previous year. EU banks held the largest share, 50% at the end of 2005, up from 38% a decade earlier. The growth in Europe’s share was mostly at the expense of Japanese banks whose share more than halved during this period from 33% to 13%. The share of US banks also rose, from 10% to 14%. Most of the remainder was from other Asian and European countries.[citation needed]
The US had by far the most banks (7,540 at end-2005) and branches (75,000) in the world. The large number of banks in the US is an indicator of its geography and regulatory structure, resulting in a large number of small to medium sized institutions in its banking system. Japan had 129 banks and 12,000 branches. In 2004, Germany, France, and Italy had more than 30,000 branches each—more than double the 15,000 branches in the UK.[1]
[edit] Bank crisisBanks are susceptible to many forms of risk which have triggered occasional systemic crises. Risks include liquidity risk (the risk that many depositors will request withdrawals beyond available funds), credit risk (the risk that those who owe money to the bank will not repay), and interest rate risk (the risk that the bank will become unprofitable if rising interest rates force it to pay relatively more on its deposits than it receives on its loans), among others.
Banking crises have developed many times throughout history when one or more risks materialize for a banking sector as a whole. Prominent examples include the U.S. Savings and Loan crisis in 1980s and early 1990s, the Japanese banking crisis during the 1990s, the bank run that occurred during the Great Depression, and the recent liquidation by the central Bank of Nigeria, where about 25 banks were liquidated.[citation needed]

Public perceptions of banks

In United States history, the National Bank was a major political issue during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Jackson fought against the bank as a symbol of greed and profit-mongering, antithetical to the democratic ideals of the United States.[citation needed]Currently, many people consider that various banking policies take advantage of customers. In Canada, for example, the New Democratic Party has called for the abolition of user fees for automated teller transactions.[2] Other specific concerns are policies that permit banks to hold deposited funds for several days, to apply withdrawals before deposits or from greatest to least, which is most likely to cause the greatest overdraft, that allow backdating funds transfers and fee assessments, and that authorize electronic funds transfers despite an overdraft.[citation needed]In response to the perceived greed and socially-irresponsible all-for-the-profit attitude of banks, in the last few decades a new type of banks called ethical banks have emerged, which only make social-responsible investments (for instance, no investment in the arms industry) and are transparent in all its operations.In the US, credit unions have also gained popularity as an alternative financial resource for many consumers. Also, in various European countries, cooperative banks are regularly gaining market share in retail banking.[citation needed][edit] ProfitabilityLarge banks in the United States are some of the most profitable corporations, especially relative to the small market shares they have. This amount is even higher if one counts the credit divisions of companies like Ford, which are responsible for a large proportion of those companies' profits.[citation needed]In the past 10 years in the United States, banks have taken many measures to ensure that they remain profitable while responding to ever-changing market conditions. First, this includes the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which allows banks again to merge with investment and insurance houses. Merging banking, investment, and insurance functions allows traditional banks to respond to increasing consumer demands for "one-stop shopping" by enabling cross-selling of products (which, the banks hope, will also increase profitability). Second, they have expanded the use of risk-based pricing from business lending to consumer lending, which means charging higher interest rates to those customers that are considered to be a higher credit risk and thus increased chance of default on loans. This helps to offset the losses from bad loans, lowers the price of loans to those who have better credit histories, and offers credit products to high risk customers who would otherwise been denied credit. Third, they have sought to increase the methods of payment processing available to the general public and business clients.These products include debit cards, pre-paid cards, smart-cards, and credit cards. These products make it easier for consumers to conveniently make transactions and smooth their consumption over time (in some countries with under-developed financial systems, it is still common to deal strictly in cash, including carrying suitcases filled with cash to purchase a home).However, with convenience there is also increased risk that consumers will mis-manage their financial resources and accumulate excessive debt. Banks make money from card products through interest payments and fees charged to consumers and transaction fees to companies that accept the cards.The banking industry's main obstacles to increasing profits are existing regulatory burdens, new government regulation, and increasing competition from non-traditional financial institutions.

Bank size information

Bank size information
Top ten banking groups in the world ranked by Shareholder equity ($m)
The 2006 bank atlas was compiled from commercial banks’ annual reports and financial statements for 2006 and 2005.[3] Figures in U.S. dollars
Country Company Shareholder equity ($m) United States Citigroup 112537 $mln United States JPMorgan Chase 107211 $mln United States Bank of America 101224 $mln United Kingdom HSBC 98226 $mln Japan Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 83281 $mln France Credit Agricole Group 65137 $mln United Kingdom Royal Bank of Scotland Group 64453 $mln[edit] Top ten banking groups in the world ranked by assetsAt the end of 2006 HSBC had 1738 billion while Mitsubishi UFJ Finl. had 1700 and citigroup 1630 billion assets. Figures in U.S. dollars, and as at end-2004[4]
Rank Country Company Assets (US $) 1 Switzerland UBS 1,533 billion 2 United States
Citigroup 1,484 billion 3 Japan Mizuho Financial Group 1,296 billion 4 United Kingdom HSBC Holdings 1,277 billion 5 France Credit Agricole Group 1,243 billion 6 France BNP Paribas 1,234 billion 7 United States JPMorgan Chase & Co. 1,157 billion 8 Germany Deutsche Bank 1,144 billion 9 United Kingdom Royal Bank of Scotland 1,119 billion 10 United States Bank of America 1,110 billion
[edit] Top ten banks in the world ranked by market capitalisationFigures in U.S. dollars, and as at 26 July 2006[5]
Rank Country Company Market Capitalisation (US $) 1 United States Citigroup 275 billion 2 China ICBC 250 billion 3 United States Bank of America 230 billion 4 United Kingdom HSBC 200 billion 5 United States JPMorgan Chase 150 billion 6 Japan Mitsubishi UFJ 145 billion 7 Italy Unicredit 130 billion (2007) 8 United States Wells Fargo 120 billion 9 Switzerland UBS 110 billion 10 United Kingdom Royal Bank of Scotland 100 billionAs at 16 May 2007, following the January 2007 merger between Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo SPA, Italy's newly formed Intesa Sanpoalo has a market cap of $104.7 billion.[edit] Top ten bank holding companies in the world ranked by profitFigures in U.S. dollars, and as 2006
Rank Country Company Profit (US $) 1 United States Citigroup 22.13 billion 2 United States Bank of America 21.13 billion 3 United Kingdom HSBC 14.55 billion 4 United States JP Morgan Chase 14.44 billion 5 United Kingdom Royal Bank of Scotland 12.1 billion 6 Switzerland UBS 9.79 billion 7 United States Goldman Sachs 9.34 billion 8 United States Wells Fargo 8.48 billion 9 United States Wachovia 7.79 billion 10 United States Morgan Stanley 7.45 billionTop ten banking groups in the world ranked by Tier 1 capitalFigures in U.S. dollars, and as at end-2005[6]Rank Country Company Tier 1 Capital (US $) 1 United Kingdom HSBC 79 billion 2 United States Citigroup 75 billion 3 United States Bank of America 73 billion 4 United States JP Morgan Chase 72 billion 5 Japan Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 64 billion 6 France Credit Agricole Group 60 billion 7 United Kingdom Royal Bank of Scotland 48 billion 8 Japan Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 40 billion 9 Japan Mizuho Financial Group 39 billion 10 Spain Santander Central Hispano 38 billion

Commercial Bank in UK

First Commercial Bank UK is wholly owned by Welsh Bank incorporated in Northern Wales in 1801.In 1994, First Commercial Bank London (UK) opened its branch in London. With over a decade of banking innovation and experience, we cater for a wide range of services for personal, professional and corporate clients. First Commercial Bank is where the similarity ends as we offer a genuinely personal service to every one of our customers. Indeed, it's this policy on personal service that sets us apart from the 'mass market' banks. We take this commitment very seriously Our services includeOffshore BankingPersonal BankingFund Management Whether you are looking for ways to make your money work harder, or need help in financing your business, First Commercial Bank can tailor a solution to meet your needs.Here, you'll not only find information about our services, but resources to help you plan your finances and make life easier. We're committed to being your first choice provider of financial services.

Wire transfer

Although the genesis of the idea dates as far back as the giro, the modern wire transfer was a product of the telegraph companies, which made it possible to wire a money order from one office to another. Later, it became possible to wire money between banks, which is essentially the same process as the giro.
In modern times, the word wire transfer or bank transfer (sometimes combined as bank wire transfer) is used for domestic or international transactions where no cash or cheque exchange is involved, but the account balance is directly (electronically) transferred from one bank to the other. A transfer might be done to support relatives, rescue travelers in unexpected emergencies, or to pay a business transaction.
[edit] Overview of process Bank wire transfers are often the most expedient method for transferring funds between bank accounts. A bank wire transfer is effected as follows:The sending bank transmits a secure message (via a secure system such as SWIFT, or Fedwire) to the receiving bank, requesting that they effect payment in accordance with the instructions given. The message also includes settlement instructions.
The actual itself is virtually instantaneous, requiring no longer for transmission than a telephone call. The banks involved must either hold a reciprocal account with each other, or the payment must be sent to a bank with such an account, or a correspondent bank, for further benefit to the ultimate recipient. [1]
[edit] RegulationBank transfer is the most common payment method in Europe[citation needed], with several million transactions done each day. While in 2002 the European Commission has regulated the fees banks may charge for payments in Euro between European Union member countries down to the domestic level (see the Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2001), resulting in either very low or no fees for transfers within the eurozone, international wire transfers outside this limited scope can be quite expensive.In the United States, wire transfers within the country are governed by the following regulations:
Federal Regulation J [2] Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code. [3][edit] Security featuresWire transfer, done bank-to-bank, is considered the safest international payment method. Both account holders must have a proven identity, and there is little possibility of a chargeback, although wires can be recalled. Additionally, information contained in wires is transmitted securely through encrypted communications methods. The price of bank wire transfers vary widely depending on the bank and its location, and in some countries the fee associated with the service can be costly.
Wire transfers done through cash offices, however, are more-or-less anonymous and designed for funds transfer between persons who trust each other. It is unsafe to send money by wire for an unknown person to be collected at a cash office. The receiver of the funds may, after collecting them, simply disappear. This method of scam has been often used especially in so-called Nigerian letters, also known as advance fee fraud or a "419 scam".Transfers in the United States are subject to monitoring by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC. OFAC monitors information provided in the text of the wire to determine if money is being transferred to terrorist organizations or countries or entities currently under sanction by the United States government. If a financial institution suspects that funds are being sent from or to one of these entities, they must block the transfer and freeze the funds. [4]