BankThink

CFPB Should Tread Cautiously on Payday Loans

03/23/16

The first protection a consumer needs is the assurance that any new reforms will not inadvertently drive all regulated credit from the market.

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Morning Scan: Ex-Goldman Banker Sentenced; JPM Backs 'Flash Boys' Heroes

03/23/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Sentenced: Rohit Bansal, an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, has been sentenced to probation for taking confidential documents from a source inside the New York Fed. Bansal has dodged the year in prison he faced and will instead serve two yearsÂ' probation, do 300 community service hours and pay a $5,000 fine. Under a settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services, Goldman reached a settlement in the case. It paid $50Â...

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Onslaught of Mortgage Rules Is Worse than Many Realize

03/22/16

The sheer volume of regulations adds time and expense to closings without much benefit when consumersÂ' main interest is to get funds as quickly as possible.

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Morning Scan: RIP Andy Grove; Citi Split Suggested

03/22/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ... RIP Andy Grove: Silicon Valley tech legend and former Intel CEO Andy Grove has died, Intel announced Monday. He was the companyÂ's first hire in 1968 and cemented his place in Silicon Valley history by transforming Intel into the largest chip-making company in the world. Grove, who was 79 at the time of his death, battled Parkinson's disease for many years. The cause of his death has not been disclosed. Wall StreetÂ...

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Shadow Banks Are Not a Source of Systemic Risk

03/21/16

Some believe the capital markets need prudential regulation to product the system from danger, but here's why that is a false assumption.

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Blockchain Is Fintech's Real Game-Changer

03/21/16

While many fintech companies are trying to disrupt banking niches, the blockchain has the greatest potential to completely transform finance the way Uber and others have done for their industries.

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Morning Scan: Eyes on Loan Caps, Bonus Clawbacks, Coal

03/21/16

Wall Street Journal

Banks, including Credit Suisse, Jefferies and Wells Fargo, are losing their appetite for lending to companies seeking financing for debt-heavy buyouts. These firms have been rejecting these requests since about last summer. Earlier, banks would guarantee funding of these deals with hopes of handing it off to bond and loan investors; some have taken losses unloading debt at discounts, some hold the loans waiting for better prices. But now the banks are burdened...

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You'll Never Get Real Oversight of the CFPB This Way

03/18/16

House Financial Services Committee members asked CFPB Director Richard Cordray tough questions this week Â-- but they let their own theatrics trump substance, using their time to berate the CFPB chief rather than engaging in substantive discussion.

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The Case for a CFPB Commission

03/18/16

Creating a bipartisan commission to manage the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will make the agency's rules longer-lasting and place needed checks on the director's authority.

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Morning Scan: Big-Bank Stocks Stay Cheap; Moynihan: Big Is Good

03/18/16

Wall Street Journal When fears hit a fevered pitch last month that the Federal Reserve could opt to enact sub-zero interest rates, the big-five banks Â-- Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Â-- traded at a remarkably cheap average valuation of 0.66 times book value. But after the Fed on Wednesday announced that it would not only raise interest rates but do so at a slower pace than was otherwiseÂ...

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