BankThink

Beware of Expanded Board Fiduciary Duties

08/07/14

Fed Gov. Tarullo's suggestion that directors should be more engaged in risk oversight is a dangerous development that, if implemented, would expose directors to more lawsuits and further discourage capable people from serving on boards, writes banking attorney John Gorman.

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Morning Scan: B of A Nears $16B-$17B Deal; Banks' Living Wills 'Too Sanguine'

08/07/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ... BofA's Very Big Deal: Bank of America has reached a tentative agreement with the Justice Department to pay between $16 billion and $17 billion to settle charges related to the sale of shoddy mortgage-backed securities, according to multiple news reports. The expected deal is a bit of an about-face for BofA, which just a few weeks ago was drawing the line at a $13 billion fine and protesting that it was beingÂ...

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In Quest for Client Relationships, Are Supervisors on Board?

08/06/14

Creating deeper bonds with business clients can help banks win market share. But organizational inertia and sales managers who are quick to fall back on old habits often hobble this approach, according to consultant Duncan Banfield.

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Why Genuine Relationships Still Trump Technology

08/06/14

While bankers' reputation as the unquestioned authorities on financial services may be changing, the importance of face-to-face interactions has not lessened, according to contributor Dave Martin.

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Morning Scan: Regulators Flunk Banks' Living Wills; Hackers Steal 1B Passwords

08/06/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Living Wills Need Do-Over: Eleven big banks remain dangerously unprepared to wind down in the event of a crisis, according to U.S. regulators. "The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said bankruptcy plans submitted by big banks make 'unrealistic or inadequately supported' assumptions and 'fail to make, or even to identify, the kinds of changes in firm structure and practices that would be necessary to enhance the prospects for' an...

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Government Report on TBTF Banks Shows Progress

08/05/14

A report on big bank subsidies offers proof that statutory, regulatory, and industry changes have strengthened the financial system in the years since the crisis, according to Financial Services Forum chief Rob Nichols.

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Army Officers Can Be the New Captains of This Industry

08/05/14

The skill set of successful military commanders makes them uniquely well-suited to compliance roles in today's strict regulatory environment, writes former U.S. Army Captain Jonathan Hendershott.

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Morning Scan: Lawsky Deepens Ocwen Probe; Should Firms Stay Mum on Data Breaches?

08/05/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Ocwen Under Fire: New York financial watchdog Benjamin Lawsky is turning up the heat against mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial. The superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services is accusing Ocwen of routing as much as $65 million worth of fees each year to an affiliated insurance company, Altisource. In a letter to Ocwen's general counsel Lawsky also highlights "serious concerns about the apparently conflicted role played by Ocwen executive chairman William...

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Banks Have a Case of Digital Marketing Myopia

08/04/14

Digital channels are not strategies in and of themselves, writes Kevin Tynan. In fact, three important customer groups are unlikely to be swayed by mass emails and pay-per-click advertising.

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How Regulators Can Help AML Compliance Officers Do Their Jobs

08/04/14

Enforcement actions can head off future Bank Secrecy Act violations by outlining the specific steps that compliance officers ought to have taken, according to Robert Axelrod of Deloitte Transaction and Business Analytics.

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