BankThink

Morning Scan: Muddling Through Stress Tests; Do Big Banks Need Fresh Blood?

03/12/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Stress Test Wrap: All 31 of the biggest U.S. banks managed to pass the Fed's stress tests this year, but for four of them it was less a "flying colors" sort of victory and more about muddling through. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley received approval for their capital-payout plans only after adjusting them to ensure their capital ratios stayed above minimum requirements. Bank of America got conditional approval to go...

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U.S. Housing Policies Should Reflect Millennials' Post-Crisis Reality

03/11/15

Policymakers should stop assuming that homeownership is always better than renting and recognize the economic circumstances that young people will live with for the foreseeable future.

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How Simpler Regulation Can Help Banks Meet More Credit Needs

03/11/15

Small-business lending will be crucial to the future of the American economy. But community banks' ability to make loans to friends and neighbors they know depends in part on a supportive regulatory environment.

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Morning Scan: Boost for Bitcoin; More Stress Test Stress

03/11/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Bitcoin's Big Coming Out: So maybe Bitcoin isn't just for money launderers and drug dealers. Some well-placed folks must think Bitcoin has a role in the mainstream. Two examples emerged on Tuesday of new efforts to expand Bitcoin's use by the broader establishment. Blythe Masters, a former JPMorgan Chase executive, has been named chief executive of Digital Asset Holdings, a new Bitcoin trading platform. Masters helped pioneer the credit-derivatives market in the...

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The Little Bill that Could Take Down TBTF

03/10/15

The Subsidy Reserve Act would bring into the open the financial benefits of being TBTF Â-- benefits the big banks claim to be nonexistent.

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Tiered Regulation Can Help Regional Banks Spur Economic Growth

03/10/15

Tiered regulation could bring about a number of useful changes for regional banks, including a more customized approach to determining capital adequacy and simplified resolution planning requirements.

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Morning Scan: Feds Worried About Nomura Litigation?; Cuomo Blasted

03/10/15

Wall Street Journal

An unsigned Journal editorial makes the argument that the feds are scared out of their wits by the potential of going to a jury trial in a case involving mortgage-backed securities. Japanese bank Nomura Â-- one of the 18 banks named in the Federal Housing Finance Agency 's 2011 lawsuit Â-- is willing to fight the government's lawsuit claiming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were victimized by the banks, which didn't inform the...

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Complexity, Not Size, Determines Banks' Risk to Financial System

03/09/15

When regulators use asset size as a yardstick, they impose unnecessary rules on larger financial institutions that employ traditional banking models.

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Why Banks Need to Go Beyond Basic Stress-Test Compliance

03/09/15

Banks have spent a lot of money in order to comply with stress-test requirements. But they will only realize the value on their investments if they integrate stress-test tools and results into their daily decision-making process.

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Morning Scan: Credit Agencies Agree to Revamp Dispute Process; Stress-Test Prep

03/09/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Credit-Reporting Shakeup: Three credit-reporting giants have agreed to change the way they handle errors and unpaid medical bills in a deal with New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion will carry out most of the changes on a nationwide scale in what the Wall Street Journal calls "the biggest reform for the credit-reporting industry since 2003." The settlement includes two big changes, according to the paper, which got...

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