US Banks offering Security Tokens in 2012
"Bank of America ""safe-pass"" generates a code that is sent to your phone as a text message. Its an optional feature, this happens during log in, if you enter that code correctly, then you are taken to your more traditional login, which also features the weak (but widely heralded) two-factor authentication which shows a picture you chose and a password field. Some other banks do other things, but yes, your craigslist phone verification is generally more secure." I'm looking for another one right now. Here's what I've found: Los Alamos National Bank (www.lanb.com) has tokens ($5?), but I think they only open accounts for New Mexico residents. I've had one for several years. USAA Savings Bank (usaa.com) has tokens ($5 or free, I don't remember). I'm pretty sure you do NOT need to be a USAA member to open an account. I've had one for a couple of years. Several banks (Frost Bank, American National Bank of Texas, Amegy Bank, and probably many, many more) offer them as part of their Treasury Management accounts, meant for big businesses and charged for accordingly. Happy State Bank (in, where else, Happy, Texas) has a web page saying they have them but their services charges were more than I wanted to pay. ClearSky Bank (an Internet bank started by Chesapeake Bank) claims on their web page to have them but I haven't verified that yet. Still looking... Charles Schwab and HSBC offer security tokens.
"The balance sheet for a bank is the list of assets and liabilities that the bank directly is responsible for.  This would be things like loans the bank issues and accounts with the bank. Banks can make both ""balance sheet"" loans, meaning a loan that says on the balance sheet - one the bank gains the profits from but holds the risks for also.  They can also make ""off balance sheet"" loans, meaning they securitize the loan (sell it off, such as the mortgage backed securities). Most major banks, i.e. Chase, Citibank, etc., could be called ""balance sheet"" banks because at least some portion of their lending comes from their balance sheet.  Not 100% by any means, they participate in the security swaps extensively just like everyone does, but they do at least some normal, boring lending just as you would explain a bank to a five year old.  Bank takes in deposits from account holders, loans that money out to people who want to buy homes or start businesses. However, some (particularly smaller) firms don't work this way - they don't take responsibility for the money or the loans.  They instead ""manage assets"" or some similar term. I think of it like the difference between Wal-Mart and a consignment store.  Wal-Mart buys things from its distributors, and sells them, taking the risk (of the item not selling) and the reward (of the profit from selling) to itself.  On the other hand, a consignment store takes on neither: it takes a flat fee to host your items in its store, but takes no risk (you own the items) nor the majority of the profit. In this case, Mischler Financial Group is not a bank per se - they don't have accounts; they manage funds, instead.  Note the following statement on their Services page for example: Mischler Financial Group holds no risk positions and no unwanted inventory of securities, which preserves the integrity of our capital and assures our clients that we will be able to obtain bids and offers for them regardless of adverse market conditions. They're not taking your money and then making their own investments; they're advising you how to invest your money, or they're helping do it for you, but it's your money going out and your risk (and reward)." I can't address Indian law but US law has no problems with you having savings accounts in India.  Furthermore, there are no tax consequences from paying off the student loan. However there is big problem here--while the US has no rules against foreign bank accounts it has reporting rules that you certainly have violated (if you hadn't violated them you wouldn't be asking the question.) 1)  Those foreign bank accounts must be listed on your tax return. 2)  Those foreign bank accounts must be listed on a PDF that's filed with the (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.  (Yes, it's very stupid they need identical information sent to two different departments.) 2)  The interest you earned on that bank account is income that should have been reported on your return. As for what to do about it--this is the realm where you get professional help.  As for the outcome--since you didn't set out to cheat they have a much less harsh system set up.  Expect to amend your 2012 and 2013 returns (and 2014 if you've already filed it), pay interest and late-payment penalties on the additional tax caused by the interest and pay a penalty of 5% of the highest total value of the accounts. Since the discovery of large amounts of money being hidden from the taxman in Swiss bank accounts Congress has gone 1000# gorilla about it and been pressuring foreign banks to cough up the details on any US-citizen or US-resident depositors. "Eugene Kaspersky warns against danger of cyber war - IT News from V3.co.uk By nortonmed on June 1, 2012 http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2178881/eugene-kaspersky-warns-impending-cyber-threat     Security mogul Eugene Kaspersky has declared cyber warfare as ""the internet's greatest threat.""  Kaspersky believes that cyber warfare has leaped over threats such as cyber crime and privacy issues to become the most dangerous issue facing the web. He spoke at the Australian Cebit convention about the potential damage of cyber super weapons and the future of internet security.  ""Cyber weapons can damage a physical object as badly as a traditional weapon,"" Kaspersky was quoted as saying during his keynote presentation in Sydney.  ""It is a realistic scenario against any country because we all have the same systems. All it takes is the wrong people with the right motives.""  While both the public and private sector have been scrambling in recent years to protect critical infrastructure against cyber attacks, experts have suggested that most hypothetical attacks would likely be limited in scope to a local or regional scale.  Kaspersky argues that the only way to prevent a catastrophic series of attacks in the future would be for countries to come together and sign international pacts against the use of cyber weapons.  ""I'm afraid that there's only one way that they can be protected and that's international agreements against cyber weapons, same as was done with nuclear weapons, chemical weapons and biological weapons,"" Kaspersky said.  Both China and the US showed positive signs for peace when they held cyber security excercises earlier this year in a sign of solidarity.  During his speech Kaspersky pointed to the Stuxnet virus as a barometer for the power of cyber warfare. The highly-sophisticated virus successfullyinfected Iran's nuclear programme and is believed to have caused critical damage to uranium-enrichment equipment" Generally it goes by when they receive the check, not when they cash the check. Though if the check was received prior to midnight on December 31st, but after the bank closes, they would probably let the tax payer decide to count it for the next year. Of course if the check is from person A to person B then the only issue is gift tax, or annual limit calculations.  If it is company to person then income tax could be involved.  The IRS calls this Constructive receipt Income   Under the cash method, include in your gross income all items of   income you actually or constructively receive during your tax year. If   you receive property or services, you must include their fair market   value in income. Example.   On December 30, 2011, Mrs. Sycamore sent you a check for interior   decorating services you provided to her. You received the check on   January 2, 2012. You must include the amount of the check in income   for 2012.  Constructive receipt.   You have constructive receipt of   income when an amount is credited to your account or made available to   you without restriction. You do not need to have possession of it. If   you authorize someone to be your agent and receive income for you, you   are treated as having received it when your agent received it. Example.    Interest is credited to your bank account in December 2012. You do not   withdraw it or enter it into your passbook until 2013. You must   include it in your gross income for 2012.  Delaying receipt of income.    You cannot hold checks or postpone taking possession of similar   property from one tax year to another to avoid paying tax on the   income. You must report the income in the year the property is   received or made available to you without restriction. Example.   Frances Jones, a service contractor, was entitled to receive a $10,000   payment on a contract in December 2012. She was told in December that   her payment was available. At her request, she was not paid until   January 2013. She must include this payment in her 2012 income because   it was constructively received in 2012.  Checks.   Receipt of a valid   check by the end of the tax year is constructive receipt of income in   that year, even if you cannot cash or deposit the check until the   following year. Example. Dr. Redd received a check for $500 on December 31, 2012, from a   patient. She could not deposit the check in her business account until   January 2, 2013. She must include this fee in her income for 2012. In general it is best not to cut it close. If the check is to be counted as an January event it is best to send it in January. If it is to be December event it is best to send it early enough to be able to say with confidence that the check arrived at the destination before the end of the year. Sure they can (most publicly traded banks at least) - and they do it a lot. Many banks have a proprietary trading desk, or Prop desk, where traders are buying and selling shares of publicly traded companies on behalf of the bank, with the bank's own money. This is as opposed to regular trading desks where the banks trade on behalf of their customers. Thank you. Added to my list. This is very very helpful. I knew about the blockchain and the currency. Unfortunately, I'm not a pedant about differentiating between them with capitalising the first letter. I do not, however, understand Ethereum very well at all. So will read up. "I agree with you, but both are bad. What happens with fractional reserve banking is inflation, but this inflation isn't distributed evenly across all the markets, those who the banks lend to are who see the inflation first I.e. the Dow. But nobody gets a loan to buy commodities, so these lag in the inflation. When a recession hits the banks slow their loaning while the commodities play catch-up. During this period it makes more sense to ""invest"" in commodities than in the majority of businesses. So in an effort to make capital ""available"" you've created an entire community of investors investing in an unproductive sector for just as long as you had them hyper-investing in productive sectors. Net zero gain, with a decade of time lost.  I wont ever believe we need frac reserve lending to have a bank, especially when the bank collapses the currency every 30-50 years. If someone's to loan money they should do it with their own money, with approval, or somehow prevent 2-3-10 people from racing to the same reserve." There are some out there making the argument that negative yields on the German Schatz (2-year note) are the result of speculators betting on a break-up of the euro area and its common currency. Specifically that assets held in euros, i.e. German bonds, would be re-denominated into a new Deutschmark that would appreciate in value against other European currencies.