The kind of financial instrument we use depends on our situation, some will need a greater amount of money because they are property owners, some will need less because they live in an apartment, others have an extra car which needs maintenance, etc. So for most of these situations we usually turn to banks to lend us a hand through personal loans, credit cards or lines of credit, etc.

But what happens when the banks won't lend us the funds we desperately need?. At this point we are desperate for a solution and the fact is that there are many of them. We will proceed to list some of them as follows:

Payday Loans: This particular instrument has bailed out of trouble so many people that businesses have based their services around this concept. Payday loans are, as the name implies, loans which are given after the applicant has provided certain information such as the name and phone number of the company were he/she is employed, a checking account number (to deposit the funds), some may ask for social security, etc. This type of loan is expected to be paid within 10-15 days when the next paycheck is received. Some may extend this period to 20 days or even a month. Payday Advance Loans are normally used to cover daily expenses and payments which need to be taken care of immediately.

Settlement Loans: People who have had accidents while working, etc. often incur in significant and unexpected expenses throughout the litigation process. In order for the plaintiff to remain financially solvent he/she may use a settlement loan to cover medical bills, court fees, rent, private investigators, lost wages, etc. This instrument is often provided by underwriters and insurance companies.

Annuity Cash-outs: Annuities work very similarly to Certificate of Deposit Accounts (CDs) in other words, funds are first paid to a financial institution such as a bank or an insurance company so that the money invested may grow at either fixed or variable rates which are usually tax-deferred during the accrual process. This instrument can also be cashed out to cover expenses.

As you see these options are available to everyone depending on the situation. The bottom line is to realize that there always are options regardless of the bank's willingness to lend the funds.

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To jump to a detailed overview of the research visit:

http://www.changesciences.com/reports

The leading site (Chase) is more than 1.1 times easier to use, more informative and more persuasive than the poorest performer overall (CitiBusiness), and more than 36% better than average.

Over the last 8 months, over 90% of the sites reviewed have made substantive site design changes, most with little effect. "Sad to say but most site changes in this vertical fall into two categories: the top performers making their sites even better, and everyone else making cosmetic changes that have little effect on performance," said Steve Ellis, a Change Sciences partner.

Chase is the only site to have made significant changes that have radically affected its performance (going from an 11th place ranking to the first position).

Not one site has added the ability to open a small business account online since April of 2006. 35% of the 31 sites support this key user goal.

The three top performers overall are:

1. Chase

2. Wells Fargo

3. Bank of America

Other sites evaluated in the research include: BB&T, CitiBusiness, Citizens Bank, Comerica, Commerce Bancshares, Compass Bank, Fifth Third Bank, First Citizens Bank, First Horizon, FirstMerit, HSBC, Huntington, KeyBank, M&T Bank, Marshall & Ilsley, National City, PNC, RBC Centura, Regions, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust, TD Banknorth, US Bank, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, and Zions Bank.

To download the complete overview of the research, including extensive data highlights, sample charts, a report table of contents and methodology visit:

http://www.changesciences.com/reports

About Change Sciences Group:

Change Sciences was founded in January 2000 to help companies optimize online business by basing decisions on how people use technology while they live, work, and play.

Contact:

Rhonda Mills

Change Sciences Group, Inc.

888-864-1160 x731

As the market for mortgages has become more competitive, finding the best product has become a time-consuming and confusing process. The research reveals that consumers have responded by turning to mortgage brokers. 57% of people preferred a broker because they could get a comparison of different mortgages without spending time doing research.

Mortgage brokers were also seen as more focused on consumer needs. Worryingly for banks, just 15% of respondents said that banks understood their mortgage needs, whilst more than twice that number - 33% - felt this way about mortgage brokers.

According to Barbara Kallis, Research Director at Global Reviews, much of this sentiment can be traced to the type of interaction that many brokers provide.

"When a customer visits a mortgage broker they feel a sense of understanding - the right questions are often asked by the broker, who then makes a specific recommendation. Our research has found this needs-based experience is often missing in bank branches," she said.

The news isn't all bad for banks, though, with banking relationships still playing a vital role. Approximately two thirds of respondents said they took out a mortgage with their bank because of an existing relationship.

On the question of how to get the lowest mortgage rate, consumers have mixed opinions. 25% of people went to brokers to "get a better deal" by avoiding the banks, whilst 25% went to banks to deal directly in order to get a lower rate.

The internet has now become a vital part of researching and selecting a mortgage. 65% of people with a mortgage had visited a website to conduct research, with the vast majority visiting a bank's site at some point in the process. In contrast, just 37% of people visited a mortgage broker website. Applying in person at a branch is still the most popular way of taking out a mortgage - and the most preferred.

About Global Reviews

Global Reviews helps clients improve their business performance by measuring and improving customer experience. With offices in Australia and the UK, financial services clients include: NAB, ANZ, HSBC, Citibank, Westpac, Wizard, GE, ING Direct, Aussie, Lloyds, Suncorp, and others. Global Reviews Benchmarks customer experience across key communication channels including online, contact centre and branch network. More information can be obtained from www.globalreviews.com

This research, the "Mortgages Industry Monitor 2007", was conducted online by Global Reviews and involved surveying over 1,000 Australians.

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The old bankruptcy law was weighted towards giving the debtor a break and helping him to regain his financial footing by allowing him to discharge some of his debts. The new law, however, is weighted much more towards giving the creditors a break and is meant to discourage bankruptcy filings by making them tougher to get. It is also meant to make sure that you will not be able to write off some of your debts at all.

This year, over one and a half million Americans will file for bankruptcy. Deciding to file for bankruptcy has never been an easy decision but the changes in the law make it more important than ever that you first look for viable alternatives before you file for bankruptcy.

Negotiated settlements

The best alternative to filing for bankruptcy is to work out some kind of negotiated settlement with your creditors. This is a very flexible alternative and can take many forms. Creditors do not like doing this but they recognize that it's much better than taking you to court and possibly risk getting nothing at all.

The most popular type is where the creditor will agree to write off a significant part of what you owe in return for a lump sum payment of a much smaller amount. Why would a creditor do this? In many cases it's simple economics. Lenders already have overhead built into the loan. They have already recouped all or most of their expenses through what you've already paid. The agreed upon lump sum will be designed to make up for the rest.

Another popular type of negotiated settlement is one where the debt is not reduced but merely delayed. This is great if, for example, you've had a hard time finding a job with enough income to support you but you are expecting job market conditions to change in the near future. In this case, you may be able to convince the creditor to let you "skip" a few month's payments until you get back on your feet.

If you meet certain conditions, many credit card companies will be willing to do this by what's referred to as "re-aging". In essence, they will bring your account up to date so you are no longer in arrears. The amount you owe may or may not be changed, depending on their policies. In some cases, it remains the same but the loan is simply extended. For example, if your last payment was due on March 2, 2009 and you receive a three month re-age, your last payment would be changed to come due on June 2, 2009.

Debt Consolidation

If you listen to television or radio commercials, debt consolidation is often offered as a panacea for bankruptcy. But debt consolidation does not typically reduce the amount you owe, it simply consolidates your debts into one payment. In addition, many debt consolidation services come with non-refundable upfront fees and other unnecessary "debt educational services" which rather than decreasing your debt load, increase it.

Unfortunately, because of the new bankruptcy law, you have fewer viable options than before. And it's more imperative than ever to seriously seek other solutions before filing bankruptcy.

David Hoyer is a freelance writer who writes articles about bankruptcy student loans and other bankruptcy related issues. Visit his site at http://www.bankruptcyfocus.com .

The average person hates to admit they are having financial troubles. Much of it is a pride thing, but for the sake of keeping their pride intact, they continue to make unfortunate financial decisions. They start taking out cash advances on their credit cards or paying much of their debt with credit cards, until those credit cards have reached their credit limit. Since their financial situation has not yet become apparent to the credit bureaus, they are able to get approved for some additional credit cards, and in short order, they too become maxed out.

It is only a matter of time before this financial house of cards starts to tumble, and when it starts going downhill, it will pick up speed faster than a snowball on a mountainside. More debt like personal loans are not an option, and at this point are rarely available even it that was a viable option, which at this point it is not.

Many people in this situation start to seriously consider bankruptcy, but with the new bankruptcy laws, they don't realize that they may not even get approved to file bankruptcy. Yes, you need APPROVAL to file bankruptcy, it is not something you can do on a whim. Check out http://www.bankruptcy-data.com for more details about filing bankruptcy.

The most viable option for people in this situation is debt consolidation. A debt consolidation loan can take care of your debts but it is not filing bankruptcy. What happens is that you turn your financial obligations over to a debt consolidation company, and they pay your debts for you via a debt consolidation loan. This is not a loan where you get cash in hand, but rather it is a loan on paper and instead of making umpteen payments each month to each of your creditors, you make only ONE payment each month to the debt consolidation company.

At first glance it may not appear that this would help you but it does. One thing it does is lower the total monthly amount of money you are paying out each month. If your total monthly outlay previously was $3500, the payment on your debt consolidation loan might be $2200, which gives you $1300 per month of financial breathing room. Another thing this does for you is not tarnish your credit report and credit score. As long as you are making timely payments to the debt consolidation loan company, your financial obligations are being paid on time, and the credit bureaus will reflect the fact that you are making timely payments on each of your debts.

If you need some financial breathing room and understand that bankruptcy should be your last resort, consider a debt consolidation loan to keep your head above water until you can get back on your feet again.

For more insights and additional information about Debt Bill Consolidation Loan Programs please visit our web site at http://www.debtconsolidationstrategies.com

* Shareholders' net earnings for the first nine months of ISK 60.2 billion, increasing by 31.3% compared with the same period in 2006. Earnings decreased, however, by 10.5% between periods taking into account the one-off after-tax profit of ISK 21.4 billion related to Exista in the third quarter of 2006

* Shareholders' net earnings in the third quarter of ISK 14.4 billion, increasing by 3.0% from the third quarter of 2006. Earnings decreased, however, by 59.3% between periods taking into account the one-off after-tax profit of ISK 21.4 billion related to Exista in the third quarter of 2006

* Return on equity for the first nine months of 27.5% on an annualised basis. Earnings per share of ISK 82.6

* Net interest income in the third quarter up by 59.7% YoY to ISK 20.3 billion

* Net fee and commission income in the third quarter grew by 75.2% YoY to ISK 13.4 billion

* Financial loss in Treasury of ISK 6.9 billion in the third quarter, primarily due to the decrease in the fair value of derivative contracts, bonds and asset-backed securities

- Total assets of ISK 4,889.9 billion (EUR 55.6 billion) at the end of September 2007, increasing by 27.7% at a fixed exchange rate from the beginning of the year and by 20.6% in ISK

* On 15 August 2007 the Bank signed an agreement to acquire the Dutch bank NIBC for EUR 3 billion, expected to complete by the end of the year

* The board of directors will seek approval at a shareholders' meeting to issue new shares in the Bank and to sell them in a pre-emptive rights issue during the fourth quarter 2007

* The board of directors plans to change the Bank's functional currency into the euro as of January 2008, in accordance with IFRS

* The board of directors will propose at the shareholders' meeting that the Bank's shares be redenominated in euros

Hreidar Már Sigurdsson, CEO

"Kaupthing's activities have been characterised by robust growth and we continued to strengthen our position in the third quarter. Trends in interest income and fee and commission income are most encouraging; interest income was up 60%, while fee and commission income grew by 75% in the third quarter compared with the same period last year. The international financial markets experienced considerable unrest during the quarter, but it is good to see that our strategy of risk diversification enabled us to achieve 19% return on equity during the quarter. The Bank is performing well and results were particularly strong in corporate banking and investment banking. I believe that 2007 will prove to be another excellent year for Kaupthing Bank."

Further information

For further information on the results please contact Jónas Sigurgeirsson, Chief Communications Officer on 354 444 6112 or Ólöf Hildur Pálsdóttir, Deputy Head of Investor Relations, on 354 444 6569 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Information on Kaupthing Bank is also available on the Bank's website www.kaupthing.com.

About Kaupthing Bank

Kaupthing Bank (http://www.kaupthing.com) offers comprehensive commercial and investment banking services to individuals, companies and institutional investors. The Bank is a leading player in all the main areas of the Icelandic financial market, and in addition to Iceland, the Bank's key markets are Denmark and the United Kingdom. The Bank focuses on the growth and development of its international activities and aims to be one of the leading investment banks in northern Europe.

Kaupthing Bank operates in twelve countries with its headquarters located in Reykjavík. The Bank's main subsidiaries are FIH Erhvervsbank in Denmark, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander in the United Kingdom, Kaupthing Bank Sverige, Kaupthing Bank Luxembourg, Kaupthing Bank Oyj in Finland, Norvestia Oyj in Finland, Kaupthing New York, Kaupthing Asset Management in Switzerland and Kaupthing Norge in Norway. The Bank also has activities in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and Qatar and operates a branch in the Faroe Islands. As of 30 September 2007 the number of full-time equivalent positions was 3,190 at Kaupthing Bank and its subsidiaries.

For further information about Kaupthing Bank visit our website, www.kaupthing.com

Press Release Q3 2007 (pdf)

Consolidated Interim Financial Statements (pdf) (http://hugin.info/133944/R/1163143/226523.pdf)

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