BankThink

Weekly Wrap: Fed 'Critiques Its Own Cooking'; Big Banks in Wonderland

12/05/14

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

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How Your Bank Can Avoid Million-Dollar Mistakes

12/05/14

Bank employees will inevitably make mistakes. Lenders need to invest in people and technology to reduce their impact.

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Morning Scan: New York Fed's Ties to Banks Examined; Insurance Deal

12/05/14

Financial Times

The paper takes a somewhat lengthy look at the New York Fed as the institution struggles with the fallout from secretly recorded internal conversations that show it might be too cozy with the banks it regulates. The article uses as its launching point a Nov. 18 event at the New York Fed's headquarters, which was held to celebrate the Fed's 100th anniversary, and which came a few days before Fed officials were excoriated in...

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Down the Rabbit Hole, Megabanks Thrive and Community Lenders Crumble

12/04/14

Most big companies achieve success by squeezing vendors, lowering prices, improving efficiency and giving consumers what they want. But in the topsy-turvy world of banking, the most disliked financial institutions end up at the top of the food chain.

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Bank Examiners Are the Alpha Dogs of the Volcker Rule

12/04/14

Almost a year after the Volcker Rule was finalized, banks still have questions about which regulators are taking the lead on the rule and how the supervisory and enforcement process will work.

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Morning Scan: CFPB Clashes with Banks on Student Loans; Chicago Fed Prez Leans to 2016

12/04/14

Wall Street Journal

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ombudsman for student loans, Rohit Chapra, is being taken to task by some lenders for how he has used public forums to encourage banks to improve their dealings with consumers on student loans. The problem lenders have is the 32-year-old Chapra favors delivering his message in public forums like blogs and letters, compared to other regulators who use more discreet formats. The paper looks at some of the...

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Why the Merchant Cash Advance Industry Should Self-Regulate

12/03/14

If advance providers want to avoid the same overregulation to which banks have been subjected, they should take action now to improve fee disclosures and collection practices.

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Business Models Aren't Sacrosanct — But Relationships Are

12/03/14

Recent technological advancements are forcing banks to change the way they do business while staying true to the customer relationships that determine their success.

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Morning Scan: BNY Mellon Gives In to Activist; Credit Suisse Appraisal Lawsuit

12/03/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ... BNY Mellon Yields to Trian: If Bank of New York Mellon, which has been around for more than two centuries and safeguards more than $28 trillion in assets, can't stare down an activist investor, who can? The trustee bank BNY Mellon has decided to avoid a proxy fight with activist investor Trian Partners and give the firm a seat on its board. The decision means BNY Mellon won't get bogged down inÂ...

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Arbitration Clauses Trap Consumers with Fine Print

12/02/14

A new study suggests that most consumers only waive their right to sue companies in court and participate in class actions because they don't understand the contracts they're signing.

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