February e-News

Are You Considering Refinancing
Your home Mortgage

The changing interest rate environment has enabled many homeowners to reduce their monthly mortgage payments by hundreds of dollars. For others it has prompted them to consider a different type of mortgage to match their lifestyle. Read full article.

Protect Yourself from Debit Card Fraud

Your financial security is important to us. That's why we take a proactive approach to replacing our customers' debit cards whenever we receive security notifications from MasterCard®, our debit card partner. Read full article.

Full FDIC insurance on deposits of up to $50 million, and rates higher than T-Bills.

In today's economic environment, more and more consumers are concerned about the safety of their deposits. While treasury bills and CDs both provide that security, the interest rate earned on T-bills is considerably lower than current CD rates. Read full article.

Are You Considering Refinancing Your Home Mortgage?

The changing interest rate environment has enabled many homeowners to reduce their monthly mortgage payments by hundreds of dollars. For others it has prompted them to consider a different type of mortgage to match their lifestyle.

Should you refinance your home mortgage?
Housing costs are one of the largest components of most household budgets. With interest rates changing so frequently, you should periodically review your current loan to determine whether refinancing at current interest rates would save you money.

To determine whether you should consider refinancing, you need to compare the costs of obtaining a new mortgage with the savings you will enjoy with a reduced interest rate. You may also want to consider refinancing to a different type of mortgage, such as switching from a 5/1 ARM to a 15- or 30-year fixed rate mortgage.

Here is an example and a worksheet to help you determine if refinancing makes sense for you. You may want to print this article and use the worksheets. Please note: the figures used in the example are for demonstration purposes only.

Rick and Carol bought a home 3 years ago for $300,000 and they have 2 years remaining before their mortgage rate adjusts. Their original loan amount was $200,000 with a mortgage rate of 6.75%, and monthly payments of $1,297.20. They intend to live in their home for several years and would like to lock in a 30-year mortgage with a 5.50% fixed rate.

Rick and Carol's Example
New Mortgage Costs Discount points (in $) $ - Origination points (if any) $ - Underwriting fee $ 195 Credit Report $ 21.70 Tax Service fee $ 77 Flood Cert $ 14 Attorney fees $ 600 Title insurance fee $ 550 Appraisal fee $ 300 Document prep $ 319 Local fees (taxes, transfers) $ 240 Other fees $ 50 Total cost of new mortgage $ 2366.70	Calculating the Savings Monthly payment on current mortgage $1297.20 Monthly payment on new mortgage $1112.87 Difference between two mortgage payments $184.33 Divide total fees on new mortgage by monthly savings - This is the number of months to recover your costs. 13 months

In this example, Rick and Carol would save almost $2,212 annually in mortgage payments and lock in a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Over the course of the mortgage they would pay about $22,000 less in total interest.

Worksheets for your use
New Mortgage Costs Discount points (in $) $ Origination points (if any) $ Application fee $ Credit check fee $ Attorney fees (yours) $ Attorney fees (lender's) $ Title search fee $ Title insurance fee $ Appraisal fee $ Inspections $ Local fees (taxes, transfers) $ Other fees $ Total cost of new mortgage $	Calculating Your Savings Monthly payment on current mortgage $ Monthly payment on new mortgage $ Difference between two mortgage payments $ Divide total fees on new mortgage by monthly savings - This is the number of months to recover your costs.

Our mortgage refinancing calculators can also help you to determine monthly payments for any size mortgage with various interest rates.

Other considerations
When reviewing the feasibility of refinancing, you may also wish to consider refinancing a larger or smaller amount than the current balance of your mortgage. If you have excess funds available and believe you will have a hard time earning a return greater than the mortgage rate, you may want to pay down your mortgage and get a new mortgage that is smaller. If you have other liquidity needs, you may want to refinance a larger amount to free up some of the equity in your home.

Remember that mortgage interest is tax deductible if you itemize your deductions on your tax return. Consult your tax advisor to see how this may apply to your situation.

Final thoughts
No interest rate environment lasts forever and there is no crystal ball that will tell you when rates have reached their lowest level. Taking action now to evaluate whether refinancing now makes economic sense and evaluating the type of mortgage you want, can help you be in control of one of your largest household expenses.

Protect Yourself from Debit Card Fraud

Your financial security is important to us. That's why we take a proactive approach to replacing our customers' debit cards whenever we receive security notifications from MasterCard®, our debit card partner. Occasionally, MasterCard will notify Washington Trust of an event whereby a number of our customers' debit cards may have had card data compromised at a merchant, retailer, or other location. A data compromise does not mean that any of our customers' cards or card data has been used fraudulently. It means that important information is potentially in the hands of persons not authorized to have such sensitive data and who could choose to use such data for their own purposes or financial gain. Unfortunately, due to ongoing investigations, MasterCard does not usually provide us with any information regarding the name of the merchant or retailer where a compromise occurs, so we take the appropriate steps to help protect our customers' accounts by reissuing cards.

What is a compromised card?
A compromised card is a card that is at risk of being used fraudulently. Card data can be compromised in many ways. Hacking, the most common means of obtaining card information occurs when an individual or group of individuals gain unauthorized access to a computer system for the purpose of corrupting or stealing data. Data is transferred from a card to computer systems whenever a transaction is made at a merchant such as a store, gas station, over the internet or on the phone.

It is important to note that your deposit account number is not stored on your card. Limited information that is encoded on a debit card includes the customer name, debit card number (which is not a Washington Trust account number) and the expiration date. Any deposit accounts linked to a debit card are not revealed to a merchant when purchases are made, ATM withdrawals, or point of sale transactions.

How will I know if my card has been compromised?
When we are notified of a compromise, we call or send a letter to affected customers with details about card replacement. Our process to notify and protect customers begins immediately after receiving a list of potentially compromised card numbers from MasterCard. The debit card is then inactivated, usually within 10-15 days after a replacement card has been issued. Your may also inactivate your debit card immediately by contacting our Account Information Center at 401-348-1200 or 800-475-2265 or visiting your local branch.

Protect Yourself from Debit Card Fraud
You can remain proactive by reviewing your monthly checking account statement to ensure all transactions listed are authorized transactions. If a transaction does not correspond with your record keeping, contact us as soon as possible so we can report the unauthorized charge. You should also contact us immediately if your debit card is lost or stolen. You may report your card lost or stolen by contacting our Account Information Center at 401-348-1200 or 800-475-2265 or visiting your local branch. After normal business hours, please call 1-800-528-2273.

To ensure your debit card has not been used inappropriately, you should always:

• Check your monthly statements carefully for unauthorized activity.
• If you suspect a transaction you did not make, contact the issuer of your card immediately. You are not financially liable for counterfeit, fraudulent purchases made by third parties that are reported in a timely way to the card issuer.
• Always keep your PIN numbers and other account information hidden. Never write your PIN on your card.
• When selecting a Personal Identification Number (PIN) don't use any number or word that appears in your wallet (such as name, birth date, or phone number).
• When using your card online, only patronize merchants that use secure websites for processing transactions. Look for “secure transaction” symbols like a lock symbol in the lower right-hand corner of your web browser window, or “https://…” in the address bar of the website. The “s” indicates "secured" and means the web page uses encryption.
• Don't give out bank account information over the phone or the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or you know the person is who he or she claims to be. No company or individual needs to know your PIN, not even your financial institution. If you perform transactions over the telephone using your debit card, never disclose your PIN. Do not send your card number through email, as it is typically not secure.
• Always destroy or shred expired cards and receipts with card numbers.
• Review your credit report at least once a year. You can obtain a free copy of your credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com. You can also contact each credit bureau directly: Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241, https://www.alerts.equifax.com Experian, P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013, www.experian.com, 1.888.EXPERIAN (397.3742)TransUnion, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790, http://www.transunion.com, 1-800-916-8800
• If you find any suspicious activity on your credit report or have reason to believe your information is being misused, contact your local law enforcement agency or Attorney General's office, and file a police report. If you file a police report, make sure to get a copy of it - which you have a right to do - and retain it for future reference.
• Report fraudulent Internet crime to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov
• You can also contact each credit bureau directly (see contact information above) to place a security/fraud alert on your credit file. A security/fraud alert tells creditors to contact you before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts. If you wish, you can take the additional step of requesting a security freeze on your credit report. A security freeze prohibits a credit bureau from releasing any information in your credit report without written authorization.

If you have any questions regarding debit card compromises, please contact our Account Information Center at 1-800-475-2265, Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM or Fridays from 8:00 until 6:00 PM or visit any of our convenient branch locations or contact us.

Full FDIC insurance on deposits of up to $50 million, and rates higher than T-Bills.

In today's economic environment, more and more consumers are concerned about the safety of their deposits. While treasury bills and CDs both provide that security, the interest rate earned on T-bills is considerably lower than current CD rates.

Washington Trust has a solution that is perfect for many depositors: we are part of CDARS (Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service), a program that provides depositors with access of up to $50 million in FDIC insurance. Best of all, our CDARS rates are higher yielding than current T-bill rates!

One Bank, One Statement, Competitive Rates, Peace of Mind
Here are some of the benefits of CDARS:

• You bank directly with us, sign one agreement, earn one interest rate, and receive one regular statement.
• You do not need to enter into multiple rate negotiations, track maturing CDs from numerous banks, or organize various interest disbursements.
• Your CDARS deposits earn competitive CD-level rates, favorable with Treasuries, sweep accounts, and money market funds.

To learn more about how the CDARS program works, click here. If you would like to speak with a Washington Trust representative about this product, or our other FDIC-insured bank deposits, call or stop by your local branch, or contact us.

Minimum to open CD and earn stated Annual Percentage Yield is $10,000. Withdrawals before maturity date will reduce the APY earned and early withdrawal penalties may be imposed. Fees may reduce earnings. Offer is for a limited time and may be withdrawn at any time. Funds may be submitted for placement through CDARS only after a depositor enters into the CDARS Deposit Placement Agreement with us. The agreement contains important information and conditions regarding the placement of funds by us using CDARS. With customer consent, we may choose to receive fee income instead of matching deposits from other banks. CDARS is a registered service mark of Promontory Interfinancial Network, LLC.

RI Home Show Discount

Visit Washington Trust's booth # 807 at the RI Home Show March 26-29, 2009 at the Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence.

Click Here for a Special DISCOUNT TICKET COUPON!

Join the PB Xpress!

Our award-winning PB Xpress has collected a total of 57 tons of peanut butter for the RI Community Food Bank over the last 8 years, and we are getting ready to roll again! Find out more!