BankThink

Arbitration Is Fair and Efficient for Consumers

05/06/14

Read alone, a recent report from the CFPB might suggest that arbitration clauses in banking contracts could disadvantage consumers, but it was only a preliminary look that failed to paint a complete picture of arbitration's costs and benefits.

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Mornings Scan: AG Holder Says No Bank 'Too Big to Jail'

05/06/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

No Bank 'Too Big to Jail': U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder declared in his weekly video address Monday, "There is no such thing as too big to jail." The Justice Department has been facing criticism that federal prosecutors have failed to bring criminal charges against Wall Street banks out of fear of destabilizing the financial system, the Washington Post notes. Justice Department officials have said cases relating directly to the financial crisis...

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Tug-of-War Over Pay Leads to Small Gains, Changing Incentives

05/05/14

Regulators are seeking to limit risky behavior. Shareholders are intent on paying for performance. The result in 2013 was modest gains for bank CEOs and a shift to long-term payouts.

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Bank Customers Should Get What They Pay For

05/05/14

Bankers provide customers with a huge range of services free of charge. If banks want to compensate for the rising cost of those services, that's got to change.

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Morning Scan: Target CEO Resigns; Banks Detail Sanctions Against Russia

05/05/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Target's CEO Resigns: Target is still reeling from the data breach it suffered over the winter, in which the cardholder information of 40 million customers and personal information of 70 million people was compromised. In the latest and perhaps largest piece of fallout from the event, Gregg Steinhafel, the company's chairman and chief executive, resigned, the New York Times reports. The retailer replaced its CIO last week. Target's chief financial officer John...

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Two Policy Changes That Could Help Save Community Banks

05/01/14

Confusion over regulatory jurisdiction and burdensome compliance costs are cutting into community banks' profits and forcing them to consolidate. But it doesn't have to be this way.

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Takeaways from B of A's Accounting Error: A Roundup

05/01/14

Financial pundits weigh in on questions raised and conclusions drawn from Bank of America's capital mistake, in tweets.

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Morning Scan: European Banks Under U.S. Probes; What Caused 'Too Big to Jail'

05/01/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

European Banks Face U.S. Legal Woes: European lenders BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse are both being probed by the Justice Department, and everyone's wondering what the inquiries may bring. French lender BNP Paribas may have to shell out penalties higher than the $1.1 billion it already set aside for a Justice Department investigation into whether it processed payments for countries under U.S. sanctions, including Iran, according to the New York Times. BNP...

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The Bell Tolls for Community Banks -- Unless the FDIC Acts

04/30/14

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. claims that reports of the impending death of community banks are greatly exaggerated. Historical data tells a different story.

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One Bad Apple Can Spoil the Small Bank Branch

04/30/14

Banks looking to build productive, lean-staffed branches should ensure that their work culture rewards positive employee attitudes.

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