BankThink

Customer-Friendly Mortgage Lessons from Banks Down Under

07/15/14

Australian banks give homeowners greater flexibility with portable loans and an option that lets customers make prepayments on their mortgages and tap into the extra cash later. American banks could increase customer retention Â-- and build stronger client relationships Â-- by doing the same.

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Morning Scan: Citigroup to Pay $7B Fine for Allegedly Selling 'Toxic Financial Products'

07/15/14

Breaking News This Morning ...

Earnings: JPMorgan Chase, Comerica, Commerce Bancshares Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Citigroup Settlement, Day 2: Citigroup has agreed to pay $7 billion to settle Justice Department charges it sold mortgage-backed securities stuffed with subprime mortgages to unsuspecting investors in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. About $4 billion of the penalty will go into the U.S. Treasury's general fund. The rest will be divided among other federal agencies, with about $2.5...

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Why Debt Settlement May Hurt Consumers More than It Helps

07/14/14

A recent report from the Center for Responsible Lending finds that debt settlement companies frequently fail to settle the bulk of their clientsÂ' debts, leaving them in even weaker financial positions.

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Why Big Banks' Slick Strategy Will Be Their Downfall

07/14/14

Big banks stand to lose hordes of young and dissatisfied customers to digital banking startups and tech behemoths like Google, Apple and Amazon. Community banks, on the other hand, have a more loyal base.

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Morning Scan: Citi Announces $7B MBS Settlement, Lower Profit

07/14/14

Breaking News This Morning ... Earnings: Citigroup Receiving Wide Coverage ... Settled: It's official. Citigroup and the Department of Justice reached a $7 billion mortgage-backed securities-related settlement. Here's the breakdown: a $4 billion cash penalty paid to Justice, $2.5 billion in mortgage relief for borrowers, and $500 million to state attorneys general and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the New York Times reports. The $4 billion payment is the largest to date. Citigroup said it would take aÂ...

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Weekly Wrap: The High Cost of Fair Lending; Breakup Debate Is Back

07/11/14

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

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How to Reform the Federal Home Loan Banks

07/11/14

Reducing the number of Home Loan banks would lower the cost of advances for community banks, leaving them with more money to lend out to their communities.

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Morning Scan: Fischer Backs Financial Stability Mandate; Wells Gets Into Fashion

07/11/14

Breaking News This Morning ...

Earnings: Wells Fargo Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Alibaba IPO Looms: Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba plans to hold its initial public offering within the next few weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Alibaba's hotly anticipated IPO could raise more than $20 billion. The Financial Times takes a more dramatic approach to the news: Alibaba's "self-imposed deadline is in danger of slipping as the company gets close to the moment when it will have...

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Why We Need to Restructure the Big Bank Holding Companies

07/10/14

Large bank holding companies defy both effective management and effective regulation. The solution is to allow shareholders of each company's subsidiary to choose its management and judge its performance.

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To Woo the Young and Mobile, Use the Power of Push

07/10/14

Push notifications offer banks and credit card issuers a unique way to communicate with a generation that's skeptical of the financial industry but fond of technology and hungry for deals.

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