BankThink

What Banks Can Learn About Lending from PayPal and Square

06/03/14

E-commerce and payments companies are edging into the small-business lending territory long dominated by banks. If banks want to stay relevant, they need a simpler, speedier lending process.

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Morning Scan: BNP Enlists Government; Interest-Only Home Equity Lines Endangered

06/03/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Up in Arms: French leaders are incensed over demands by U.S. authorities that BNP Paribas pay $10 billion to end a criminal probe of its alleged evading of sanctions by doing business with Sudan and other U.S.-blacklisted nations, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Financial Times all reported. "The penalty must be proportional and reasonable," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was quoted as saying on Tuesday. "These figures are not...

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Even Coffeehouse-Spaceship Branches Need the Right Crew

06/02/14

Innovative branch design and technology won't win the day alone. Finding the right manager and staff is still the key factor in creating a thriving branch.

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Customer-Focused? Prove It.

06/02/14

Banks that drive customers away with pre-recession practices should clean up their act or get ready for competitors to use their missteps against them.

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Morning Scan: Mexican Authorities on Ex-Banamex Bankers' Tails

06/02/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Banamex Update: In Mexico, warrants have been issued for the arrest of an unspecified number of former Citigroup executives allegedly tied to a $400 million fraud at the bank's Banamex subsidiary. Citi fired 11 people last month for what CEO Michael Corbat described as "actions or inactions [that] failed to protect our company from this fraud." According to the reports, Citigroup has been made aware of the warrants but has not been...

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Where Is the Innovation?

06/02/14

Creating a more efficient way to do the same old thing isn't enough, says David Gerbino. Banks need to reconstruct some of their basic deposit products to truly innovate.

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Weekly Wrap: Ancient Pots and Payments; Putting Skin in the Game

05/30/14

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

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Why Minn. Bankruptcy Matters to Trups Investors -- and Regulators

05/30/14

American Bancorporation was the first-ever bank holding company thrown into bankruptcy by the holders of its trust-preferred securities. Regulators may be able to avoid similar bankruptcies if more flexibility is shown in allowing holding companies to access capital to pay off creditors.

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Morning Scan: BNP May Fork Over $10B in Settlement; Piketty Defends His Data

05/30/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

BNP Could Face $10B Fine: U.S. authorities want BNP Paribas to pay more than $10 billion to settle allegations the French lender violated U.S. sanctions against countries including Iran and Sudan, according to the Wall Street Journal. "We are used to seeing penalties wipe out a quarter's profits, but $10 billion will wipe out a full year for BNP so market reaction will probably be somewhat greater," Mizuho credit strategist Roger Francis...

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How the Financial Industry Can Win Consumers' Trust

05/29/14

The financial industry should focus on creating new methods of identification, authentication and privacy protection that ward off fraud while keeping consumer inconvenience to a minimum.

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