BankThink

Bank Regulators Have Ethical Problems of Their Own

01/26/15

Federal Reserve officials have been calling on banks to strengthen their ethical cultures. The message will carry more weight if regulators are willing to turn the spotlight on their own practices.

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Obama's Bank Tax Should Exempt Banks Under $100 Billion

01/26/15

A plan to tax the liabilities of systemically important banks could help curb risk to the financial system, but the president and Congress should first consider more realistic asset thresholds.

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Morning Scan: Apple Pay Traction; RBC CEO Mystery Shops

01/26/15

Wall Street Journal Retailers large and small, not to mention the head of strategic partnerships at Visa, told the Journal that many more customers are using Apple Pay than other mobile-wallet services, such as Softcard, the mobile-wallet services formerly known as Isis that's backed by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. The reasons: Apple's consumer gadgets are popular; banks and credit unions have been aggressively marketing the services; and consumers' cybersecurity concerns after breaches at Home Depot andÂ...

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Weekly Wrap: How Miss America Shook Up Citi; Rooting Out ISIS Funding

01/23/15

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

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When Hacktivists Crack Down on ISIS and Terrorist Financing

01/23/15

Hacker groups like Anonymous have announced plans to target banks that are helping to finance ISIS and other terrorist organizations. But it is governments, banks and regulators that need to work harder at rooting out the sources of ISIS's funding.

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We Shouldn't Be Relying on Hackers to Stop Terrorism Financing

01/23/15

Hacker groups like Anonymous have announced plans to target banks that are helping to finance ISIS and other terrorist organizations. But it is governments, banks and regulators that need to work harder at rooting out the sources of ISIS's funding.

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How Miss America Changed Citibank, Part II

01/23/15

Former Miss America Bess Myerson helped overhaul Citi's consumer loan contracts in the 1970s. Then she turned her attention to cleaning up the bank's collections unit.

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Morning Scan: RBC Takes Second Shot at U.S.; Dimon's Paycheck

01/23/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Canadian Invasion: The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Reuters (via the New York Times) all take a closer look at Royal Bank of Canada's decision to acquire City National in Los Angeles. RBC may have stubbed its toe in its previous American incursion with RBC Centura (which it later sold to PNC), but City National is a different play. The California bank has a big presence in wealth management, particularly managing...

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Opus Bank to Pay $25M for Escrow, 1031 Exchange Firms

01/22/15

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy a pair of nonbanking businesses.

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How Miss America Changed Citibank, Part I

01/22/15

As a consultant to Citibank in the 1970s, former Miss America Bess Myerson helped spearhead landmark consumer reforms Â-- including the first plain-language agreement in the financial services industry.

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