Citibank

Ed Myska works as executive vice president of El Segundo's Bank of Manhattan, so it's pretty fair to say that he knows a thing or two about keeping his financial house in order. Yet he was among numerous people who have been notified by Citibank in recent days that the interest rate on their credit cards is soaring to almost 30%. Letters being mailed out by Citi say only that the rate increase will allow the company "to continue to provide our customers with access to credit."

The bank heist crew didn't carry demand notes or ever see a bank teller. Their tools of choice were a powered cutting saw, hand-held radios and ladders. They walked away with millions of dollars in recent years by simply cutting through the rooftops of San Gabriel Valley banks under cover of darkness. They made holes in the roofs to access the money and slipped away with bags of cash unnoticed before dawn. They have been responsible for three rooftop heists since August 2011, L.A. County Sheriff's Department officials said.

Saying the operation was too small to make "economic sense for us in the long run," H.F. Ahmanson has sold its credit card operation to Citibank. The Irwindale parent of Home Savings of America sold 150,000 Visa and MasterCard accounts totaling $131 million in receivables to Citibank, booking a gain of $33 million. Citibank will continue to issue and service bank cards for Home Savings of America customers, but the cards will bear the Home Savings name.