BankThink

Morning Scan: Bad Morning at B of A; Yellen Hints at More Bank Regulation

04/16/14

Breaking News This Morning ... B of A Earnings, Etc.: Bank of America reported a $276 million loss compared with a $1.48 billion profit a year earlier, largely due to legal expenses. (In case you may have missed it, Bank of America has been on a bit of settlement tear of late. And, the Journal notes this morning that the bank has settled mortgage-backed securities claims with the monoline insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., which isÂ...

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Industry Must Adapt Financial Education Efforts to Modern Times

04/15/14

The goal is to meet the financial education needs of everyone in the community Â-- whether itÂ's the tech-savvy second-grader, the recent high school graduate getting her first checking account or a retiree learning how to stick to a fixed income.

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GSE Reform Bill Falls Short of Assuring Small Lenders Survive

04/15/14

The proposed Small Lender Mutual cooperative would be expensive for small firms to capitalize, and its securities may get inferior pricing compared to those issued by large banks and nonbanks.

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Morning Scan: Not So Fast, Citi; Facebook Eyes Mobile Payments

04/15/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Second Look at Citi: Don't be fooled by Citi's earnings. General consensus among news outlets is that profits may have bested expectations, but relief Â-- more than accolades Â-- is in order. "After two preceding quarters, in which Citi failed to meet already lowered expectations, a revelation of fraud in Mexico and a rejection of Citi's capital-return request by the Federal Reserve, discovering the ball hadn't been yanked away this time was...

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Sanctions Forcing Banks to Re-Assess Russian Relationships

04/14/14

As the U.S. and Europe impose sanctions against Russia, western banks are keeping closer tabs on their business dealings in the country. JPMorgan Chase's temporary hold on a Russian Embassy payment and the disruption of VISA services for SMP Bank could be just the tip of the iceberg.

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Don't Call Them Shadow Banks -- Call Them Competitors

04/14/14

Bankers are kidding themselves if they think bank-like supervision will ultimately catch up with nonbanks. Expect to compete on the current playing field, however uneven it may be.

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Morning Scan: Citi Surprises; More Say on Executive Pay

04/14/14

Breaking News This Morning ...

Citi Earnings: Citigroup reported a 4% rise in quarterly profits year-over-year, besting analyst estimates. Similarly to Wells Fargo, however (see below), revenue at Citi fell slightly year-over-year. Wall Street Journal, New York Times Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Wells, JPM Earnings, Take Two: A few news outlets are out with second takes on Friday morning's bank earnings. (Quick recap: Wells was up; JPMorgan Chase was down.) "Wells Fargo's ascension punctuates the industry upheaval that...

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'Principled Solutions' Needed to End Destructive Overdraft Fees

04/11/14

Overdraft fees can wreak havoc on household finances, but innovations like B of A's SafeBalance account are a big step in the right direction, consumer advocates say.

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Morning Scan: JPM Misses, Wells Hits, Data Bleeds

04/11/14

Breaking News This Morning ... 1Q Earnings: JPMorgan sharply down (NYT, WSJ), Wells Fargo sharply up (NYT, WSJ). Receiving Wide Coverage ... Fake Bankers?: Bankers were told by regulators on Thursday to upgrade systems in use to protect customer information. The warning involves the Heartbleed security flaw and came from a group of regulators acting as the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, the Times reports. Members include the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office ofÂ...

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Regulating Central Counterparties Is Crucial in Avoiding TBTF

04/10/14

Banks are likely to protest new Basel rules that would require them to hold more capital against their exposure to central counterparties, but the standard is necessary to prevent the fast-growing counterparties from becoming "too big to fail."

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