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This is work in progress. Comments welcome.

Bankspeak 1 -”We have the right to change your Card Member Agreement at any time.”

Most credit card agreements contain this language. Be careful and think:
Why would you want to take out a line of credit or charge money to a credit
card, if you never know (for example) when the whole outstanding balance could arbitrarily be declared immediately due by your Bank? You would have to keep that borrowed money available somewhere So why borrow it in the first place?

Bankspeak 2 -”Reasons for a change may include, but are not limited to:...our financial return.”

Translated into plain English this means: Our goal is to maximize our profits any way possible.
Sorry, if that is inconvenient and causes you harm.

Bank Speak 3 -”Waiver Clause - Defendant wishing to protect equity of redemption herein foreclosed, acknowledge he/she has no defense to this action and therefore agrees to waive any claims or defense, as against plaintiff. Further Defendant hereby withdraws any answer previously interposed in this action.”

Only a Bank lawyer could write such indecipherable self serving language!
If you agree to this, it means should the bank foreclose on you, you give up all your rights to any legal defense to protect any equity you may have accumulated, and ensure you will get nothing.

Bank speak 4 “-Balance sheet management”

This is the term the Bank uses to evade liabilities by moving them for a short time (for example, when quarterly results are due) off the balance sheet (42%), a technique to
Intentionally mask debt by re-classifying loans as sales.

Bank Speak 5 “-Diversification strategy”
This is the term banks use to charge illegal fees to already distressed homeowners

Bank Speak 6 -”Ordinary course of business”
This is a massively overused term, a seemingly innocuous term but when applied to alleged debt in Bank Speak means “We don't have to prove that you owe anything, but you have to pay anyway, because we sent you a bill ‘in the ordinary course of business' so therefore you owe it” (Can also be interpreted as a license to steal)

Bank Speak 7 “-Intent-based accounting”
This term has been defined elsewhere as Securities already sold because “the securities are for sale and the “intent” is to sell them”, even though they are not yet sold. Can also apply to “Debt recorded as bought back at a discount, but not actually yet bought back” See federal Accounting rules

For you and me this term confuses us with the difference between what we believe the security is worth and what the market says it's worth For example: distressed real estate valued on Bank books at last selling price but actually worth less today.

Bank Speak 8 -Nearly lying under oath
Goldman Sachs David Viniar CFO: coined the following phases “We generally do not have a derivatives Business.” (Actually, Only 49 $Trillion of it - This is no typo)
and
“We don't keep meaningful records.” I think the average man is entitled to ask the banks, “if your records are not meaningful, why should I trust my money with you?”

#housing