Interest-free student loans will be available to borrowers in Niue, the Cook Islands, Tokelau and the Ross Dependency under law changes passed by parliament View original post here: Student loans extended as legislation passed by parliament (TVNZ)

LONDON – Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, government-owned after being bailed out, reported a loss of 3.6 billion pounds for 2009 but beat expectations and said the peak of bad loans from the econom… See the original post: Royal Bank of Scotland loses $5.5 billion for year, say bad loans may have peaked (MalaysiaNews.net)

LONDON – Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, government-owned after being bailed out, reported a loss of 3.6 billion pounds for 2009 but beat expectations and said the peak of bad loans from the economic crisis may have passed. Originally posted here: Royal Bank of Scotland loses $5.5 billion for year, say bad loans may have peaked (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)

SHAH ALAM, Feb 25 (Bernama) — Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) and Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to guarantee business loans taken by Bumiputera small-and-medium enteprises (SMEs). Read the original: MARA AND BANK MUAMALAT SIGN MOU FOR BUSINESS GUARANTEE LOANS (Bernama via Yahoo! Malaysia News)

Bank of Ireland is increasing interest rates on some of its personal loans, graduate loans and overdrafts. The bank says the changes are due to the increased cost of providing these products during the economic downturn. The rest is here: BoI moves rates on loans and overdrafts (RTÉ News)

FRANKFORT – A bill that would cap fees on payday loans appears dead, at least in the current legislative session. Read this article: Bill to cap payday loans looks dead (The Cincinnati Enquirer)