BankThink

Morning Scan: Diamond's African Voyage; BlackRock's Shuffle; BNY Mellon Showdown

04/07/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

BlackRock Planning Ahead: Global investment firm BlackRock is shifting and promoting several of its key executives in a move interpreted as succession planning for the day Laurence D. Fink, the firm's co-founder and chief executive, decides to step down. Charles S. Hallac, its current chief operating officer, will become co-president on June 1 alongside Robert S. Kapito, current president of the firm. Robert Goldstein, current head of institutional client business, will become...

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Why DOJ's 'Operation Choke Point' Is Necessary

04/04/14

The DOJ's initiative ensures that federal and state laws are not circumvented by predatory lenders Â... and gives federal authorities a chance to fix a very broken industry.

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Memo to Regulators: Restricting CLOs Could Stifle Economy

04/04/14

Creating a one-size-fits-all approach to collateralized loan obligations does not harm Wall Street, it harms American businesses.

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Morning Scan: So, Basically, B of A Has Been Pulling a JPM in Recent Months

04/04/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

B of A Nears CFPB Settlement: Anonymice tell their favorite news outlets that Bank of America is nearing an $800 million-plus settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over allegations it force credit card customers to buy other products. The CFPB has levied fines against American Express, Capital One, Discover and JPMorgan Chase over similar allegations, but the B of A fine is expected to be the largest. As the Journal notes...

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Surprise, Surprise: TBTF Problem Remains

04/03/14

The largest and most powerful arm of the central bank of the U.S. has finally admitted the megabank emperors have no clothes. It is past time that we as a nation get to the bottom of this dangerous threat and fix it.

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GSE Reform Must Include FHA Reform

04/03/14

FHA reform would serve as a major enhancement to the Johnson-Crapo proposal as it could ensure long-term viability of both the MMI and new Mortgage Insurance Fund.

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Morning Scan: Masters Exits JPM; Citi's Mexican Unit Fraud Problems Spark Crime Inquiry

04/03/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Another Big JPM Exit: Well, Jamie Dimon's C-Suite is certainly Â... dynamic. Following very recent news of potential Dimon successor Mike Cavanagh's departure, Blythe Masters, head of JPM's commodities unit, has resigned. Masters' exit shouldn't come as a surprise Â-- to the public or to JPM executives. The bank just sold its physical commodities business Â-- which was the subject of a $410 million settlement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last...

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Remembering Charles Keating, Peddler of Junk Bonds and Influence

04/03/14

Charlie Keating, who died Tuesday, epitomized an era today's mortgage lenders would do well to remember as low-yielding portfolio assets tempt them to take bigger risks.

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Why GSE Reform Is Still a Priority

04/02/14

The GSEs are the essence of highly leveraged, systemically important financial institutions, based on their size, interconnectedness and the lack of substitutability

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Why Banks Should Stop Managing Call Centers Like Machines

04/02/14

Scrapping the "call-center-as-a-machine" model and the "customer-as-widget" mentality will allow organizations to make real progress in the battle for customer experience.

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