BankThink

Arbitration Tricks Consumers into Giving Up Their Rights

01/22/15

Even if arbitration does turn out to be beneficial for many consumers, Americans should not lose their constitutional right to a day in court without being aware that they are doing so.

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Morning Scan: Europe's QE Plan; Investors 'Panicking' About Oil-Heavy Banks

01/22/15

Breaking News This Morning ...

Earnings: KeyCorp, Huntington, BB&T, BankUnited Receiving Wide Coverage ...

European QE: The European Central Bank is expected to launch a quantitative-easing program that could include the purchase of about 50 billion euros worth of bonds each month (equivalent to about $58 billion). Europe hasn't embarked on a QE program during the recent years of economic tumult. But the state of the continent's fragile economy prompted the move, said Matteo Renzi, Italy's prime minister....

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Make Way for the Bank Tech Disruptions of 2015

01/21/15

This year, electronic trading will finally come to the bond market and more banks will adopt technologies that harness social media to flag potentially fraudulent customers.

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Government Looks to Stay Put in Mortgage Market

01/21/15

The federal government's recent decisions to lower annual premiums for new borrowers and reduce down payment requirements suggest it has little interest in making room for private capital in the mortgage market.

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Morning Scan: Obama Plans to Fight for Dodd-Frank; Walmart's Latest Move

01/21/15

Breaking News This Morning ...

Earnings: Fifth Third, U.S. Bancorp Receiving Wide Coverage ...

SOTU from POTUS: Banking and finance played a lead role in President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night. For one, Obama vowed to keep Dodd-Frank intact, saying the law's rules and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are protecting American consumers. However, Obama avoided direct bashing of banks, declining to take up the same rhetoric as Sen. Elizabeth Warren,...

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Banks' Five Big Tech Priorities for 2015

01/20/15

Let this be the year that the financial industry stops using the phrase "big data" and remembers that the goal of technology is to make people's lives simpler.

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Morning Scan: U.S., Europe Diverge on Interest Rate Plans; Robot Bank Teller

01/20/15

Breaking News This Morning ...

Earnings: Regions Wall Street Journal

The Journal notes the divergent paths down which the U.S. and European central banks appear to be heading. The Federal Reserve, on the one hand, still appears ready to raise short-term rates, sometime, perhaps, around the middle of this year. The European Central Bank, on the other hand, looks set to engage in a round of quantitative easing, in which it will purchase hundreds of billions of euros...

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Technological Costs Could Be Last Straw for Community Banks

01/19/15

Many community banks will soon have to replace outdated technology Â-- expenses that will hit them in an ongoing environment of compressed net interest margins, increasing compliance costs and higher capital requirements.

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Weekly Wrap: Never Send a Machine to Do Loan Officer's Job

01/16/15

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

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Clearing the Road for GSE Reform

01/16/15

Total overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a long shot, but Congress can pass measures that set the housing agencies on a path to reform. Mandating deeper mortgage insurance coverage for loans sold to the housing agencies would be a good place to start.

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