BankThink

Small banks and credit unions should work together to put pressure on legislators and regulators to reduce unnecessary and cumbersome regulations.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

New Mortgage Rules: Two Republicans on the Securities and Exchange Commission objected to relaxed mortgage rules, but the SEC approved the new rules regardless on Wednesday, as did the Federal Reserve and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "Today's rule-making takes the untenable housing policy that injected irrational exuberance into mortgage lending and, as a result, caused a catastrophic financial crisis and chisels that failed policy into the stone tablets of...

Some banks try to justify tight underwriting standards by arguing that borrowers with lower credit scores and those who can only afford lower down payments are more likely to default. But the research supporting this argument is based on outdated analysis of high-cost, risky loans.

The Community Reinvestment Act is often used as a tool to address a broad range of social problems. But the lawÂ's expanded purpose may distract banks from their primary mission of direct lending to low- and moderate-income communities.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Bankers Warned: Big banks, be warned (again). In closed-door meetings Monday, Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo and New York Fed President William Dudley said big banks must clean up their acts, or face repercussions. Those consequences could include things like "performance bonds," limits on executive compensation and a central registry to track the hiring and firing of traders and other top finance officials, all of which were reported by the Wall Street...