BankThink

Wall Street Funding Advantage Is All Too Real

10/30/13

Community banks have a proportionate disadvantage to taxpayer-subsidized megabanks as the crushing burden of regulation meant to stop the abuses of Wall Street rain down excessively on Main Street.

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The Year of Crisis-Era Reckoning Is Upon Us; Rabobank Libor Settlement

10/30/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Sins of Financial Crises Past: The year of crisis-era legal reckoning may indeed be upon us. According to the Wall Street Journal, regulators have brokered another settlement with a financial firm over allegations it sold bad mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac leading up to the financial crisis. No, we're not talking about JPMorgan Chase, but Ally Financial, which said on Tuesday it will take a $170 million charge in...

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The Benefits of CSR Programs for Small Banks

10/29/13

If CSR efforts are allowed to fall by the wayside, it will be at the expense of customer trust and future growth.

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Mobile Devices Alone Won't Solve Financial Inclusion Problem

10/29/13

Mobile banking can alleviate friction and save time for underserved, low-income consumers, but face-to-face interaction is critical to serving their financial needs.

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HR Is Risk Management in Banking

10/29/13

It should be a human resources department’s responsibility to spot poor leadership qualities, flawed compensation programs and workforces ill equipped to handle a crisis.

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Rabobank CEO to Resign; Goldman Potluck; Foreign Bank Earnings

10/29/13

Breaking News This Morning ...

Rabobank CEO to Resign: Anonymice tell the Journal that Rabobank CEO Piet Moerland is poised to step down Tuesday as the bank reaches a $1 billion settlement with global regulators over rate-rigging allegations. The expected settlement would be the second largest Libor settlement to date, behind UBS's $1.5 billion agreement last December. Receiving Wide Coverage ... ...

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Yellen's Policy Views Matter, Not Her Gender

10/28/13

Given her philosophy, Janet Yellen is likely to continue the Federal Reserve’s highly accommodative monetary policy as chairman. That is worrisome.

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Settlement with FHFA a Kind of, Sort of Win for JPM; Is P-2-P Lending Dead?

10/28/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

JPM Settlement(s) Update: In case you missed it, late on Friday, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $5.1 billion in a deal with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to settle allegations it sold bad mortgages to Fannie and Freddie in the years leading up to the financial crisis. The deal is part of the broader, reported $13 billion mortgage-related settlement the bank has been trying to broker with federal regulators and the Justice...

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Here's One More Reason U.S. Is Unlikely to Prosecute JPMorgan

10/28/13

A successful prosecution of JPMorgan would throw into disarray the bank’s substantial and highly lucrative asset management business, among other disincentives for the government to pursue a criminal case.

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Mortgage Market Morass; Does Being a Big, Connected Bank Pay?

10/25/13

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

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