BankThink

In Battle of Banks Versus Fintech, Consumers Will Be Victors

06/16/15

While marketplace lenders like LendingClub and Prosper are at the cutting edge of innovation for now, banks may gain ground eventually. Either way, the competition greatly benefits the expanding pool of borrowers who will have greater access to credit.

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Morning Scan: Will AIG Ruling Deter Bailouts?; Goldman's Online Lending Bet

06/16/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Analyzing the AIG Ruling: Is former AIG chief Maurice "Hank" Greenberg a happy man? A federal judge partially validated Greenberg's four-year legal battle with the government Monday by ruling that the Federal Reserve overstepped its authority in the 2008 bailout of the insurance giant. But Judge Wheeler also declined to award Greenberg and other AIG shareholders any of the $40 billion in damages they had requested, arguing that AIG would have filed...

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CFPB's Prepaid Card Rules Would Squelch Financial Inclusion

06/15/15

The cumbersome regulations for prepaid products proposed by CFPB could reduce market competition, discourage innovation and effectively cut off many Americans' participation in the digital economy.

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U.S. Banks Must Brace for Europe's Data Privacy Rules

06/15/15

Multinational banks that delay preparation for the European Union's proposed General Data Protection Regulation could pay a steep price: hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.

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Morning Scan: Default Dangers; Terror Victims' Claims on BNP Fine

06/15/15

Wall Street Journal BNP Paribas pleaded guilty in 2014 to breaking U.S. sanctions against Sudan, Iran, Cuba and other countries listed as state sponsors of terrorism. So it seems to make sense that victims of terrorist attacks should receive a share of BNP's $9 billion fine. The matter of how to determine which victims deserve a portion of the funds is proving to be a knottier question. Groups including survivors of the 1979 Iran hostage crisisÂ...

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The Downside of Alternative Data; Will Lawsky's Tough Regime Live On?

06/12/15

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the pitfalls of using alternative data to score "credit invisibles" and whether Benjamin Lawsky's successor should play nice with big banks.

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Memo to Big Banks: Lighten Up

06/12/15

Barclays has mounted a sober public response to a tongue-in-cheek email sent by analyst Justin Kwan to a crop of summer interns. But the bank would have been better served by showing the world that it has a sense of humor.

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Morning Scan: Hedge Fund Loses Big on JPMorgan Lawsuit Bet; Mortgage Refi Market Chilled?

06/12/15

Wall Street Journal Hedge funds have been placing bets on how judges will rule in lawsuits stemming from bankruptcies or crisis-era dealings. At least one of those hedge funds, Appaloosa Management, lost big when a judge ruled in favor of JPMorgan Chase this week. Hedge funds bet by acquiring deeply discounted securities, such as corporate bonds, that are likely to increase in value if the judge rules their way. That didn't happen in the JPMorgan caseÂ...

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Proceed with Caution on Credit Scoring with Alternative Data

06/11/15

Alternative data used to score "credit invisibles" may do more harm than good. That's because in areas like employment and insurance, no credit score is often better than a bad one.

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Morning Scan: Ukraine's Rebel Financing; Santander Shakeup

06/11/15

New York Times

Why is this not deemed to be money laundering? Pro-Russia rebel groups in eastern Ukraine have raised money through crowdfunding sites to fund their military campaigns. Much of their funding comes via Russian state-owned banks, including Sberbank, and through a private system of payment terminals owned by the company QIWI, which is affiliated with Visa. The rebel groups have also solicited funds from outside Russia using U.S. and European banks and through PayPal...

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