BankThink

Financial Product Disclosures Need a Design Overhaul

11/24/14

Banks and regulators aren't the best judges of what constitutes a clear and transparent disclosure form. The CFPB could fix the problem by holding a contest that asks professional designers to create models that convey important information in a way that consumers can understand.

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Morning Scan: Fed Oversight Under Fire; BofA Investors Protest CEO's Dual Role

11/24/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Fed on the Hot Seat: The Federal Reserve's public image took a few hits last week as the Senate held hearings questioning whether the regulator is too lenient on the banks it oversees. The New York Times' Gretchen Morgenson writes these inquiries are "absolutely justified" and suggests policymakers seize the moment to push for more transparency around bank examinations. A Yale professor tells Morgenson that if the Fed made public the mathematical...

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Dudley's Awful Metaphor and What It Means for the Fed

11/21/14

New York Fed President William Dudley insisted Friday that regulators are more like "fire wardens" than "cops on the beat." It's an analogy that says far more than Dudley likely intended Â-- and a comment he will likely regret. Here's why.

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Weekly Wrap: Risk Aversion as 'Silent Killer'; Rise of the Machines

11/21/14

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

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Defying the Odds to Create a Unified Bank Culture

11/21/14

Why are banks missing the early warning signs associated with employee misconduct?

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Morning Scan: Fed Wonders if It's 'Captured'; Commodity Holdings Questioned

11/21/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Too Cozy?: The Fed established a team in Washington to review whether it's too cozy with the banks it regulates. The New York Times described the review as a "surprise announcement." The Fed's inspector general will simultaneously conduct a similar review, looking specifically at whether "top officials were hearing all the opinions of Fed bank examiners." The moves were announced Thursday, ahead of Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo's and New York Fed President...

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Streamlined Regulation Should Be the Next Frontier of Financial Reform

11/20/14

The overly complex Dodd-Frank Act came about because policymakers failed to tie regulation and regulatory structure together effectively. The next step in financial reform should be to simplify Â-- and perhaps consolidate Â-- regulatory processes.

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Is the FDIC Subsidizing a Too Big to Fail Merger?

11/20/14

A government tool for unloading failed bank assets and minimizing FDIC losses may be used as a vehicle to publicly subsidize private gains in the proposed merger between CIT Group and OneWest Bank.

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Morning Scan: Fed-Goldman Sachs Revolving Door?; Commodities Update

11/20/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Revolving Door?: More evidence has emerged of conflicts of interest involving the New York Fed and Goldman Sachs. This time it's an indication of a revolving door between the two institutions, in which an employee leaves one and quickly joins the other, bringing sensitive market information along for the ride. Goldman fired two workers after the bank learned that one had shared confidential information with his colleagues about the New York Fed'sÂ...

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Risk Management Lessons from Jerry Maguire

11/19/14

Banks need risk managers with a "show me the money" mindset Â-- that is, people who know how to use income statements and balance sheets to sniff out risky business activities.

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