Loans Expert

JPMorgan Chase & Co will no longer offer independent U.S. tax preparers financing for tax-refund loans, a company spokesman said.

The move by the second-largest U.S. bank follows recent criticism of such loans by consumer groups concerned that high U.S. unemployment is forcing more people to borrow short-term at high rates.

JPMorgan’s tax-refund financing business is not strategically important, the spokesman said, and the move will not have a material impact on its earnings.

The New York-based bank’s exit from the business could be a boon for companies like H&R Block, which receive financing for refund loans from HSBC Holdings. The move could help H&R Block attract customers away from independent tax preparers next year.

The Obama loan modification plan has recently been modified to help Americans keep their home while helping banks hold down the default rate. The more homes on the market for sale the lower home prices will fall.

So far the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has not yet performed as hoped, but this may change over the next year. Created by the Financial Stability Act of 2009, it was designed to stop the foreclosure of 7 to 8 million struggling homeowners.

More lenders are signing up for this government sponsored program. So far there are more than 110 participants (lenders).

General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre is to announce Wednesday that the automaker will soon pay off $5.8 billion in loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments well ahead of a June 30 deadline, a move it has promised since last year.

Whitacre is to announce the payment at GM’s plant in Kansas City, Kan., and then fly to Washington to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Michigan’s congressional delegation, people familiar with the plans said Monday.