BankThink

What Ronald Coase's Work Can Teach Us About Banking

09/11/13

Knee-jerk regulations passed in crisis moments can do more harm than good, but all regulation is a static framework applied to an ongoing, dynamic market. The tensions created are inevitable.

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Banks Should Make It Harder to Withdraw CDs Early

09/11/13

A sharp rise in interest rates could cause customers to cash in CDs they have purchased only 30 to 60 days prior. It should not be easily cost effective to cash any CD prior to maturity.

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Hedge Fund Boss Says Dodd-Frank Is 'Fantastic' for Derivatives

09/11/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Foiled Comeback: Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's hope of staging a political comeback was halted on Tuesday when he lost the Democratic nomination for city comptroller to Scott Stringer, the Manhattan Borough president. The one-time "sheriff of Wall Street" spent more money, but Stringer, as the New York Times describes it, painted Spitzer as a rich man who saw himself as above the law. ...

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That's Rich: Fannie, Freddie Finance Luxury Rentals

09/10/13

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be increasing the availability of loans to the most underserved segment of the market: the small rental properties across the country that are naturally affordable.

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Regulatory Capital: Road Test as Economic Capital: Actual Driving

09/10/13

Incorporating both regulatory capital and economic capital into a unified decision measure allows organizations to better optimize risk/return profiles, facilitate strategic planning and limit setting and define risk appetite.

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Debit Interchange: A Service Worth Paying For

09/10/13

Electronic payment companies design, build and operate costly networks that provide secure payment transactions to merchants. Such providers incur significant costs for the services they provide and deserve to charge a market-based rate to their customers.

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Even the NYC Elections Have a JPMorgan Chase Angle; Have You Heard How 'Strong' Its New Board Members Are?

09/10/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Happy Primary Day, New Yorkers! Did you vote yet? Besides eliminating some of the approximately 43 people running for mayor, you also have a chance to weigh in on the Sheriff of Wall Street's attempted return to elected office. Eliot Spitzer is vying with (and currently behind in the polls) Scott Stringer for the job of New York City comptroller, a role that entails running the city's pension funds and potentially making…

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Big Banks Have a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card

09/09/13

The idea of bringing criminal charges against one of the nation’s larger banks has become untenable. The potential cost in jobs, probable shareholder losses and market turmoil would be horrific.

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Preventing the Next Mortgage Crisis Is Job One in GSE Reform

09/09/13

Congress must create mechanisms to dampen the volatility of housing finance, writes the former regulator for Fannie and Freddie on the fifth anniversary of their takeover by the government.

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The Meltdown Five Years Later; Brainard Considered for Fed Seat

09/09/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Time Really Flies: Five-year retrospectives of the 2008 meltdown were popular over the weekend and fed into Monday's papers. Journal economics editor David Wessel wove together a complete summary of the meltdown — from the fallout over the sharp decline in housing values to policymakers' decision-making over which firms to bail out and which to let fail. In the five years of recovery since the near collapse, "Americans could justifiably celebrate victory."...

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