All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
Face value, or par value, is the dollar value of a bond or note, generally $1,000.
That is the amount the issuer has borrowed, usually the amount you pay to buy the bond at the time it is issued, and the amount you are repaid at maturity, provided the issuer doesn't default.
However, bonds may trade at a discount, which is less than face value, or at a premium, which is more than face value, in the secondary market. That's the bond's market value, and it changes regularly, based on supply and demand.
The death benefit of a life insurance policy, which is the amount the beneficiary receives when the insured person dies, is also known as the policy's face value.
- Browse Related Terms: Accelerated death benefit, Asset, Cash surrender value, Cash value account, Credit Life Insurance (CLI), Death benefit, Decreasing term insurance, Depreciation, Face value, Insurance trust, Life settlement, Lump sum, Pension maximization, Permanent insurance, Straight life, Survivorship life, Universal life insurance, Viatical settlement, Whole life insurance
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
Designed to help consumers check their credit reports for accuracy and detect identity theft early, the FACT Act gives every consumer the right to request a free report from each of the three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - once a year.
To obtain your free reports, you must request them through the Annual Credit Report Request Service (www.annualcreditreport.com or 877-322-8228).
If you request your credit report directly from one of the three credit reporting agencies or through another service, you'll pay a fee.
Most experts recommend staggering your requests for the free reports - for instance, ordering one in January, the second in May, and the third in September - so that you can keep an eye on your credit throughout the year.
It's also a good idea to check your report at least two months before you anticipate applying for a major loan or a job, so you can notify the credit bureau if you find any inaccuracies.
You're also entitled to a free report directly from the credit reporting bureaus if you've recently been denied credit, have been turned down for a job, are on public assistance, or have reason to suspect that you're a victim of credit fraud or identity theft.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual report, authorization, Credit bureau, Credit Report, FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act), Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act,FACTA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fraud Alert
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
The purpose of this Act is to help consumers protect their credit identities and recover from identity theft. One of the key provisions of FACTA is consumers can request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). www.AnnualCreditReport.com provides consumers with the secure means to request a free credit report.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual report, authorization, Credit bureau, Credit Report, FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act), Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act,FACTA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fraud Alert
Also listed in:
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance > Consumer Credit
A federal law supplemented by Maine law, which gives rules and regulations governing debt collectors. Federal Law: 15 U.S.C.§ 1601 et seq.; Maine Law: 32 M.R.S.A § 11001 et seq.
State of Maine, Department of Professional and Financial Regulation - Cite This Source - This Definition- Browse Related Terms: Appraisal, Credit Bureaus, Credit Reports, Credit score, Divorce Decree, Fair Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Home Equity Loan, Liable, MCCC-1, Mortgage Company (Supervised Lender), Supervised Lender
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
A Federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997 that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. The FCRA regulates consumer credit reporting and related industries to ensure that consumer information is reported in an accurate, timely, and complete manner. FCRA was amended to address the sharing of consumer information with affiliates.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual report, authorization, Credit bureau, Credit Report, FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act), Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act,FACTA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fraud Alert
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance > Consumer Credit
A federal law supplemented by Maine law, which gives rules and regulations governing credit bureaus and credit reports.
State of Maine, Department of Professional and Financial Regulation - Cite This Source - This Definition- Browse Related Terms: Appraisal, Credit Bureaus, Credit Reports, Credit score, Divorce Decree, Fair Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Home Equity Loan, Liable, MCCC-1, Mortgage Company (Supervised Lender), Supervised Lender
Also listed in:
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
FDCPA is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure ethical practices in the collection of consumer debts and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- Browse Related Terms: Collection agency, Consumer Credit Counseling Service, creditor, Debt collector, Debtor, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Liability, net worth, Prepayment Clause, Principal
Also listed in:
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate, in any phase of selling or renting real estate, against anyone on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status, or national origin.
However, there are exceptions for religious organizations and private clubs if those organizations are providing rooms for the convenience of their members on a noncommercial basis.
If you feel you are the victim of housing discrimination, you can file a complaint with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or file a suit in federal or state court.
- Browse Related Terms: Agency, Dependent Child, Fair Housing Act, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Minor Child, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Value
Also listed in:
- All > Business > Real Estate
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
Fair market value is the price you would have to pay to buy a particular asset or service on the open market.
The concept of fair market value assumes that both buyer and seller are reasonably well informed of market conditions. It also assumes that neither is under undue pressure to buy or sell, and that neither intends to defraud the other.
Also listed in:
- All > Business > Real Estate
- All > Law > Common Legal Terms
- All > Science > Energy
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
Corporate or municipal bonds that were investment-grade when they were issued but have been downgraded are called fallen angels. Bonds are downgraded by a rating service, such as Moody's Investors Service or Standard & Poor's (S&P).
Downgrading may occur if the issuer's financial situation weakens, or if the rating service anticipates financial problems that could lead to default.
The term fallen angel is sometimes used more generically, to refer to stocks or other securities that are out of favor with investors.
- Browse Related Terms: Bond fund, Bond rating, Currency, Duration, Fallen angel, Gold standard, High-yield bond, Investment grade, Junk bond, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Rating, Rating service, Risk premium
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
Many large mutual fund companies offer a variety of stock, bond, and money market funds with different investment strategies and objectives. Together, these funds make up a family of funds.
If you own one fund in a family, you can usually transfer assets to another fund in the same family without sales charges. The transaction is known as an exchange.
But unless the funds are in a tax-deferred or tax-free retirement or education savings plan, you'll owe capital gains taxes on increases in value of the fund you're selling.
Investing in a family of funds can make diversification and asset allocation easier, provided there are funds within the family that meet your investment criteria. Investing in a family of funds can also simplify recordkeeping.
However, the advantages of consolidating your assets within one fund family are being challenged by the proliferation of fund networks. Fund networks, sometimes called fund supermarkets, make it easy to spread your investments among several fund families.
- Browse Related Terms: Asset allocation, Asset class, Balanced fund, diversification, Family of funds, Financial plan, Fund of funds (FOF), Lifecycle fund, Modern portfolio theory, Nonsystematic risk, Overweighted, portfolio, subclass, Synthetic investment, Target date fund, Target risk fund, Underweighted, White knight
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
Fannie Mae has a dual role in the US mortgage market.
Specifically, the corporation buys mortgages that meet its standards from mortgage lenders around the country. It then packages those loans as debt securities, which it offers for sale, providing the investment marketplace with interest-paying bonds.
The money Fannie Mae raises by selling these bonds pays for purchasing more mortgages. Lenders use the money they realize from selling mortgages to Fannie Mae to make additional loans, making it possible for more potential homeowners to borrow at affordable rates.
Because lenders want to ensure their mortgage loans are eligible for purchase, most adopt Fannie Mae guidelines in evaluating mortgage applicants.
Fannie Mae is described as a quasi-government agency because of its special relationship with the federal government. It's also a shareholder-owned corporation whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
- Browse Related Terms: Agency bond, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Government bond, Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Quasi-public corporation, Sallie Mae, Scripophily
Also listed in:
- All > Business > Real Estate
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
A fast market is one with heavy trading and rapidly changing prices in some but not necessarily all of the securities listed on an exchange or market.
In this volatile environment, which might be triggered by events such as an initial public offering (IPO) that attracts an unusually high level of attention or an unexpectedly negative earnings report, the rush of business may substantially delay execution times.
The probable result is that you end up paying much more or selling for much less than you anticipated if you gave a market or stop order.
While choosing not to trade in a fast market is one way to reduce your risk, you might also protect yourself while seeking potential profit by giving your broker limit or stop-limit orders. That way, you have the possibility of buying or selling within a price range that's acceptable to you, but are less exposed to the frenzy of the marketplace.
The term fast market is also used to describe a marketplace - typically an electronic one - where trades are executed rapidly.
- Browse Related Terms: Fast market, Market timing, Market value, Overbought, Penny stock, Slow market, Soft market, Suspended trading, Thin market, Thinly traded
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
Common abbreviation for Financial Disclosure Management, the online program to electronically file and manage financial disclosure reports.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual Post-Employment Certification and Notification, Category of Amount, Excepted Trust, FDM, Flags, Relative, SF 278 of Record, trust, Vested Interest
Also listed in:
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
A credit union chartered, examined, and supervised by the federal government through NCUA.
- Browse Related Terms: Charter Number, European Central Bank (ECB), Federal Credit Union, Federal Credit Union Act, Insured Shares, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Over Limit, State Banking Department (also State Supervisory Authority), State Chartered Credit Union
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
Federal law enacted in June 1934 that allowed the organization of federal credit unions and established methods for their chartering, supervision, and examination.
- Browse Related Terms: Charter Number, European Central Bank (ECB), Federal Credit Union, Federal Credit Union Act, Insured Shares, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Over Limit, State Banking Department (also State Supervisory Authority), State Chartered Credit Union
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corportion (FDIC) insures deposits in banks and thrift institutions, assuring bank customers that their savings and checking accounts are safe.
Currently, the coverage limits are $100,000 per depositor per bank for individual, joint, and trust accounts, and $250,000 for self-directed retirement accounts. Business accounts are also insured up to $100,000.
You qualify for more than $100,000 coverage at a single bank, provided your assets are in these different types of accounts.
For example, you are insured for up to a total of $100,000 in all accounts registered in your own name and for another $100,000 representing your share of jointly held accounts. In addition, your individual retirement account (IRA) is insured up to $250,000 if the money is invested in bank products, such as certificates of deposit (CDs).
However, if you purchase mutual funds, annuities, or other investment products through your bank, those assets are not insured by the FDIC even if they carry the bank name.
The FDIC, which is an independent agency of the federal government, also regulates more than 5,000 state chartered banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System.
A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and State banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System.
- Browse Related Terms: Check hold, Checking account, Commercial bank, Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal funds, Federal Reserve Fedwire, Federal Reserve System, Financial institution, Loose credit, Mutual company, National Bank, Nonbank banks, Open-market operations, Regulation D, Reserve requirement
Also listed in:
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
Federal agency responsible for the emergency evaluation and response to all disasters, natural and man-made. FEMA oversees the administration of flood insurance programs and the designation of certain areas as flood prone.
Also listed in:
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance > Mortgage
also known as the Council. The Council is a formal interagency body empowered to prescribe uniform principles, standards, and report forms for the federal examination of financial institutions by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRS), , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision*(OTS), and to make recommendations to promote uniformity in the supervision of financial institutions. In 2006, the State Liaison Committee (SLC) was added to the Council as a voting member. The SLC includes representatives from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), the American Council of State Savings Supervisors (ACSSS), and the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS).
The FFIEC was given additional statutory responsibilities by section 340 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to facilitate public access to data that depository institutions must disclose under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (HMDA) and the aggregate of annual HMDA data, by census tract, for each metropolitan statistical area (MSA).
In 1988 and 1989, coverage was expanded to include nondepository institutions in the collection and reporting of HMDA. Independent mortgage companies (nondepository institutions) that are regulated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) were required to collect and report HMDA if they met the reporting criteria. (Even though data are collected from the independent mortgage companies, HUD is not a member agency of the Council).
* According to the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the Dodd-Frank Act) the OTS closed as of July 21, 2011. While most of its functions were transferred to the OCC, certain other authorities of the OTS were transferred to the FDIC and the FRS. Correspondingly, in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Act, the Director of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau joins the membership of the Council.
- Browse Related Terms: Agency Code, Branch Office, Capitalization, Depository Institution, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), Federal Home Loan Bank Act of 1932, Federal Home Loan Bank Board (“FHLBank Board”), Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC), FHA Approved Lenders, Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), Nondepository Institution, Respondent or Reporter ID (RID), Thrift
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance
When banks have more cash than they're required to in their reserve accounts, they can deposit the money in a Federal Reserve bank or lend it to another bank overnight.
That money is called federal funds, and the interest rate at which the banks lend to each other is called the federal funds rate.
The term also describes money the Federal Reserve uses to buy government securities when it wants to take money out of circulation. It might do this to tighten the money supply in the hope of forestalling an increase in inflation.
- Browse Related Terms: Check hold, Checking account, Commercial bank, Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal funds, Federal Reserve Fedwire, Federal Reserve System, Financial institution, Loose credit, Mutual company, National Bank, Nonbank banks, Open-market operations, Regulation D, Reserve requirement
All > Business > Finance > Personal Finance > Mortgage
This Act established the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (“FHLBank Board”), which charters and supervises Federal Savings and Loans Institutions (“S&Ls”). Additionally, the Act established the Federal Home Loan Banks (“FHLBanks”) and gave the FHLBank Board authority to regulate and supervise S&Ls. The FHLBanks were given the authority to lend to S&Ls to finance home mortgages.
- Browse Related Terms: Agency Code, Branch Office, Capitalization, Depository Institution, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), Federal Home Loan Bank Act of 1932, Federal Home Loan Bank Board (“FHLBank Board”), Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC), FHA Approved Lenders, Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), Nondepository Institution, Respondent or Reporter ID (RID), Thrift