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Reports on the plan by Citigroup to open around 400 branches in North America in 2005 to increase its profit margins through consumer finance business focusing on adding units in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Focuses on the growth of the credit card sector in southeast Asia. Influence of improved economies in enabling consumers to emerge from poverty to lower middle class; Financing options offered by banks and finance companies to consumers; Growth of consumer credit in Thailand in 2003; Role of lenders in stimulating domestic consumption in an effort to offset the region's dependence on exports.

Reports on the plan of Citigroup Inc. to build a call center in South Carolina for the company's CitiFinancial consumer-credit business.

The article discusses an investigation of U.S. car lenders by the Federal Trade Commission regarding GPS tracking used in automobiles. Topics include the tendency for lenders to extend loans to more low-income Americans as they can easily locate the cars if they need to be repossessed, lenders' installation of devices allowing them to remotely disable a car's ignition if a borrower misses a payment, and privacy concerns related to the location tracking of borrowers.

The article discusses financial services firm JPMorgan Chase's shift towards a greater emphasis on consumer banking and financial services rather than investment banking. Topics addressed include the outlook of Gordon Smith, the head of JPMorgan's Chase consumer bank, as well as cuts to JPMorgan's investment bank, which is led by Daniel Pinto.

Comments on Dell's decision to set up a special-purpose entity that will profit by packaging and selling one-quarter of the loans or leases originated at Dell Financial. How Dell's foray into financing is another example of its quest for profit growth; Views of analysts, including Toni Sacconaghi at Sanford C. Bernstein; Risks that captive financing units present to nonfinance companies; Why aggressive consumer lending can be perilous; Experience of Gateway Inc., which used a finance program to mask declining product sales; Outlook for Dell's financial business.

8:56 p.m. Updated Debt collectors and credit reporting companies are bracing for intense scrutiny after the government's consumer finance watchdog unveiled a broad plan to regulate financial firms that have largely evaded federal oversight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BANKING LAYOFFS Credit Agricole announced Wednesday that it would cut 2,350 jobs as the French bank scales back its operations to adapt to continued instability in the world's financial markets. The layoffs will be spread across Credit Agricole's investment banking and consumer finance businesses. The bank also said it expected to report a loss in 2011 after writing down 2.5 billion euros, or $3.2 billion, primarily connected to its investment banking division. DAVID JOLLY and MARK SCOTT [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WASHINGTON -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said on Thursday that it was seeking public comment on how much regulation to impose on consumer finance companies like debt collectors, check-cashing agencies and consumer credit companies. The Dodd-Frank financial regulation law, which became effective last July, specifically allows the new consumer bureau to regulate nonbank mortgage companies, private education lenders and payday lenders. But the law allows the bureau to regulate only ''larger participants'' in a host of other consumer finance markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When peer-to-peer online lending first became possible in the United States five years ago, using the Web to make money by lending it to fellow citizens in need seemed wonderfully subversive. No more banks! Let the people play loan officer! The hype was literally suffused with the rhetoric of revolution when a company called Prosper began operations in February 2006. ''Prosper gives people the opportunity to take back the marketplace for consumer credit,'' the company's co-founder, Chris Larsen, said in its news release. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ECONOMIC REPORTS Data will include the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index for December and construction spending for November (Monday); factory orders for November (Tuesday); the Institute for Supply Management service index for December and ADP's employment figures for December (Wednesday); weekly jobless claims (Thursday); and unemployment for December and consumer credit for November (Friday). CORPORATE EARNINGS Companies reporting will include Family Dollar Stores (Wednesday); Constellation Brands and Monsanto (Thursday); and KB Homes (Friday). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Citigroup is closing 330 branches of its consumer finance business as part of an overhaul aimed at finding a buyer for the unit, the bank said on Tuesday. The branch closings at the unit, called CitiFinancial, will result in about 500 to 600 jobs being eliminated across 48 states, the bank said. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

What would you think of a proposal to create a consumer financial system in which the poor subsidize the well off? How about one that raises costs for those who do not use credit while imposing hefty penalties on those who use it unwisely? If all that sounds good, read no further. That is the system we have now. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mint.com, a start-up whose Web site helps people organize their money, rolled into some cash of its own on Monday, selling out to the personal finance giant Intuit for $170 million. Companies like Intuit that sell boxed software have been struggling to gain their footing on the Web as free, online financial start-ups like Mint, SmartyPig and Wesabe have surged in popularity for their simplicity and ease of use, said Emmett Higdon, a senior analyst with Forrester Research who specializes in the online banking industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The American International Group agreed to sell its consumer finance operations in Mexico to firms related to Afirme Grupo Financiero and Consorcio Villacero. A.I.G. will sell its entire stake in AIG Universal and Markcenter Services, the insurer said in a statement. The transaction, for undisclosed terms, awaits approval from a Mexican regulator, the company said. A.I.G., which is seeking to repay loans within a government bailout valued at $182.5 billion, has disclosed deals raising about $6.7 billion. AIG Universal, which has 50 branches in central and northern Mexico, sells insurance and extends personal loans to about 50,000 customers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ECONOMIC DATA Reports will include personal income and spending for April, construction spending for April and the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for May (Monday); pending home sales for April (Tuesday); factory orders for April, ADP employment for May and the I.S.M. service index for May (Wednesday); revised productivity for the first quarter (Thursday); and consumer credit for April and unemployment for May (Friday). CORPORATE EARNINGS Reports will come from Hovnanian Enterprises (Tuesday); and Toll Brothers and Williams-Sonoma (Wednesday). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

EARLY last year, Fannie Mae began offering a surprising option for struggling homeowners: an unsecured personal loan of up to $15,000 to cover missed mortgage payments. But vast numbers of borrowers who took out these loans ultimately defaulted. And though still in operation, that program, called HomeSaver Advance, is now being de-emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ECONOMIC SIGNALS Data on productivity, employment and consumer credit will headline the week. Reports will include the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for October and construction spending for September (Monday); factory orders for September (Tuesday); the Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing index for October (Wednesday); third-quarter productivity (Thursday); and employment for October, consumer credit for September and pending home sales for September (Friday). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reports that Citigroup has stopped doing business with some independent loan brokers at its Associates Home Equity Services unit, citing ethical and legal concerns. Citigroup's acquisition of Associates First Capital; How Associates First Capital has been denounced for predatory lending practices; Attempts of Citigroup to improve the lending practices of the consumer loan unit; Response of consumer advocacy groups.

Addresses the issue of racial bias in the consumer credit markets, following two class-action lawsuits filed in Tennessee against two prominent automobile finance companies during October 2000. Details of suits filed against General Motors Acceptance Corp. and Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp, after black consumers were charged higher finance rates than whites for dealer-arranged loans; Proposed defense for the cases.

Reports on the planned acquisition of the Associates First Capital Corporation by Citigroup. Comments of Sanford I. Weill, chief executive of Citigroup, who is responsible for the acquisition; Growth of the consumer finance company; Discussion of the stock shares in Citigroup which are expected to rise.

Discusses January 2000 efforts of consumer goods makers to restore profit growth. Employee layoffs announced by Coca-Cola; Procter & Gamble's bid to acquire American Home Products and Warner Lambert; Profit and stock price history; Changes that have affected consumer goods companies.