BankThink

Morning Scan: Citi Consumer Chief Plans to Leave As New Banamex Scandal Breaks

10/15/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Big Changes at Citi: Citigroup probably won't want to include this week in its highlights reel. Its Mexican unit, Banamex, is embroiled in another scandal; not unrelatedly, reports are circulating that Manuel Medina-Mora, the bank's head of consumer banking and chairman of Banamex, is planning to step down; and in a separate decision, the so-called "everywhere bank" is shutting down businesses in 11 countries, including El Salvador, Japan and Egypt. The Times...

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Same-Day ACH and the Future of Faster Payments

10/14/14

Real-time payments would undoubtedly benefit some consumers and companies, but same-day payments can address many current needs. To that end, Nacha is working on a phased-in approach to implementing multiple same-day settlement windows.

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Financial Regulators Should Listen to Bill Gates on Mobile Money

10/14/14

A risk-based approach to anti-money laundering rules would allow regulators to be sure mobile transactions are being screened for suspicious activity without hindering the technology's potential to do social good.

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Regulators Should Take a Holistic View of Risk

10/14/14

Before regulators require the country's largest banks to take on more burdensome regulations, they need to reconsider the parameters used to assess the threat of systemic risk.

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Morning Scan: JPM Earnings Leak; Regulation Guru Wins Nobel

10/14/14

Breaking News This Morning ...

Earnings: JPM, Citigroup, Wells Fargo Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Early Bird Gets the Earnings Attention: JPMorgan Chase showed a $5.57 billion profit in its third quarter, but whether that's a victory or a disappointment depends on your preferred news source. The Journal's upbeat report emphasizes the bank's return to profitability after "a year-earlier period weighed down by massive legal charges." The Financial Times, on the other hand, leads by noting JPMorgan's net income...

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To Create Shareholder Value, Start by Visualizing Your Terrain

10/10/14

Defining your bank's limits on earnings and minimum capital requirements can help safeguard against the reckless pursuit of return on equity.

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How Mortgage Insurance Can Improve Credit Access

10/10/14

In order to make homeownership more affordable, the FHFA should make sure that GSE guarantee fees fully recognize private mortgage insurance and restore the longstanding tax-deductible treatment of mortgage insurance premiums.

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Morning Scan: Bernanke's Testimony and Pseudonym; Here Come the AG's

10/10/14

Editor's note: Morning Scan will not publish on Monday, Oct. 13 in observance of the Columbus Day holiday. We'll be back on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Receiving Wide Coverage....

Bernanke, Annoyed: Unsuccessful home-refinance applicant Ben Bernanke was the final star witness on Thursday in the shareholder lawsuit challenging the federal government's bailout of American International Group. Most of his answers were terse, according to several media reports, and he was often "visibly annoyed," the Journal reported. At one...

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Why Regulatory Gripes Can Be Bad for Business

10/09/14

Bankers should temper their criticism of new regulations with some support for reform, lest the American public think the industry has failed to heed the lessons of the financial crisis.

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If Congress Won't End GSE Conservatorship Soon, FHFA Can

10/09/14

The same broad powers that allowed the federal government to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship also allow it to reconstitute both companies.

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