BankThink

CFPB Payday Loan Plan Marks Return to Smart Lending

03/30/15

The CFPB's proposed reforms for payday and other high-cost loans are both welcome and long overdue. But there are two ways the agency can further improve future requirements.

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Morning Scan: Mortgage Foreclosure Cases May Soon End; Barney Frank's Autobiography

03/30/15

Wall Street Journal In a review of former Sen. Barney Frank's new autobiography, "Frank: A Life in Politics From the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage," the Wall Street Journal recounts what former House Speaker Tip O'Neill told his colleague: Frank could have been the first Jewish Speaker of the House of Representatives, had he not been gay. James Kirchick's review says little about Frank's work on banking matters, and doesn't mention the Dodd-Frank Act. "Many readers'Â...

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Wall Street Heeds Silicon Valley's Siren Song: Weekly Wrap

03/27/15

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including thoughts on Wall Street's dwindling number of high-powered women and the merits and drawbacks of the CFPB's consumer complaint database.

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A Simple Solution for Overburdened Student Loan Borrowers

03/27/15

The recent history of bankruptcy law suggests there's a way to provide relief to borrowers overwhelmed by student loans while minimizing concerns about moral hazard.

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Morning Scan: CFPB-Payday Loan Grumbling; Porat's Worth to Google

03/27/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Too Much or Not Enough: Depending on who you ask, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's newly proposed restrictions on payday lenders may be characterized as a prime example of regulatory overreaching or as a milquetoast response to toxic practices. Both consumer advocates and payday lending supporters are disappointed by the CFPB's proposals, according to the New York Times. "A chorus of consumer groups said that loopholes in the proposal could still leaveÂ...

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Think Outside the Box to Solve Americans' Cash Flow Problems

03/26/15

A number of companies across the U.S. are harnessing technology to solve Americans' cash flow challenges. But there is much more to be done to bring these solutions to the millions of Americans who need them.

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Cheat Sheet: Make Sense of the New Players in Mobile Payments

03/26/15

Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Wallet are among the mobile payment services vying for dominance. Here's what every banker needs to know to get a game plan in place.

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Parsing the Mobile Payment Playing Field

03/26/15

Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Wallet are among the mobile payment services vying for dominance. Here's what every banker needs to know to get a game plan in place.

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Morning Scan: Payday Loan Reforms Previewed; Amex Is Mum on Plans

03/26/15

Wall Street Journal The Journal takes a look at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's upcoming rules for payday lenders, set to be released today, as did American Banker in today's edition. The Journal's piece includes a quote from Lauren Saunders at the National Consumer Law Center, who said the CFPB's proposal doesn't go far enough. "The CFPB has taken an either/or approach: prevention or protection. But borrowers need both," Saunders said. The Journal also quoted DennisÂ...

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From Wall Street to Google: Takeaways from Ruth Porat's Big Move

03/25/15

For ex-bankers like Ruth Porat, who is leaving Morgan Stanley for Google, free-flowing cash and a sunnier climate are only part of Silicon ValleyÂ's allure, industry observers note. The tech sector is also mercifully light on regulation.

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