BankThink

Holes Remain in Basel's Revised Securitization Framework

01/23/14

Market participants should weigh on BaselÂ's latest consultative document in order to strengthen safety and soundness in growing global securitization markets.

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Morning Scan: Wells Sells Servicing Rights; Getting Tough on Foreign Banks

01/23/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Sold: Wells Fargo is selling the mortgage servicing rights on $39 billion in loans to Ocwen Financial Corp. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move is par for the course these days as more and more large traditional banks offload mortgages to nonbank lenders to comply with new rules requiring them to hold more capital against the loans they service. Wall Street Journal, New York Times ...

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Existing Titans Will Trounce Payments Disruptors

01/22/14

The next decade should be a payments-industry renaissance, but thanks to established market shares and persistent consumer and merchant habits, familiar names will remain at the core.

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How to Judge a Bank CEO

01/22/14

Bank CEOs, particularly those running small banks, shouldn't be judged on stock price alone. Board members and investors should also consider, among other things, liquidity, tangible book growth and oversight of mergers and acquisitions.

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Morning Scan: Target Data Breach Details Emerge; Another Goldman Tell-All on the Way

01/22/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Target Breach Update: The Secret Service is looking at arrests made in a Texas credit card fraud case for possible links to Target's massive data breach, reports the Journal. The paper also reports that the malware used against Target was on sale in black markets a year ago for $2,000. "That life cycle Â... shows the new nature of the threat faced by American retailers hoping to defend themselves from attacks," theÂ...

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CFPB Needs Course Correction on Consumer Credit

01/21/14

This is 2014, not 2008. The problem is not subprime mortgage lenders, but a pendulum of federal regulation that has swung to such an extreme that worthy, qualified borrowers are being turned away.

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Banks: You're in the People Business

01/21/14

None of us is above human error, but it's worth reminding financial institutions that these interactions can impact the psychological well-being of their clients.

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Morning Scan: Deutsche's Loss Sparks Fears

01/21/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Deutsche's Loss: Germany's Deutsche Bank AG surprised investors with a $1.35 billion fourth-quarter loss, signaling that European financial institutions might be having trouble competing with U.S. institutions since European banks face tougher regulation. European banks face further scrutiny from regulators, who are working to tamp down the continent's banking crisis, with another round of examinations set to be finished by the end of the year. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has...

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Bankers, Regulators Need a Risk Index

01/20/14

Regulators should create a risk management quality rating that may be used in examinations and deposit insurance pricing. Banks should build capabilities that comprehensively assess the quality of their risk management processes tied to strategic business goals.

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Weekly Wrap: Rounding Up What Bank Customers Want; Mortgage Morass

01/17/14

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

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