BankThink

Banking Industry Overly Focused on Capital

07/18/13

An emphasis on capital to the exclusion of all else is, at best, misleading and, at worst, harmful to the banking business model.

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Banks Get One Last Mulligan in Payments

07/18/13

After failing to respond to customer demand and missing tectonic shifts in money transmission and online and mobile payments, banks have an opportunity in the emerging area of cryptographic money.

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JPM to Settle with FERC; Ben Bernanke Update; PayPal's $92 Quadrillion Error

07/18/13

Breaking News This Morning ...

Morgan Stanley Earnings: Morgan Stanley's profit rose 66% in the second quarter due largely to strong trading revenue. The firm also announced it is buying back $500 million worth of its own stock. Wall Street Journal, New York Times Receiving Wide Coverage ...

JPM to Settle with FERC: JPMorgan Chase appears poised to break a record Barclays set just yesterday. Various news outlets report the bank is in talks to settle allegations of...

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Big Banks' Warnings About Leverage Ratio Fail the Smell Test

07/17/13

The new leverage ratio is a relatively modest proposal that can be easily addressed by the affected banks without material capital raises or changes in distribution policy.

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TiVo for Your Finances

07/17/13

Companies that provide on-demand, cross-account control and recommendations are best positioned to serve evolving consumer behavior. Banks that don’t get ahead of this shift could be relegated to the role of back-end infrastructure provider.

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Cordray's Confirmation; Barclays' Latest Fine; NSA's Idea of Bank Virus Protection

07/17/13

Breaking News This Morning ...

BAC Earnings: Bank of America's profit rose 63% in the second quarter, due largely to strong trading revenue and cost-cutting. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, American Banker

More Earnings: PNC Financial Services; U.S. Bancorp Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Confirmed: Richard Cordray was confirmed yesterday as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, after Senate Republicans agreed not to block his nomination as part of last-minute compromise over President Obama's executive nominees. The compromise...

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Why Basel's Latest Leverage Ratio Is Better

07/16/13

An encompassing denominator and full disclosure requirements should assuage concerns that Basel fails to go far enough to cushion banks for unexpected losses.

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Don't Believe the Hype: Payroll Cards Help the Underserved

07/16/13

Notwithstanding recent media criticism, there is little doubt that these products offer a better alternative for unbanked and underbanked consumers who would otherwise use a cash-based system to manage their finances.

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Herb Allison Dies; Brokers Charged in U.K. Libor Probe; Second Take on Citi Earnings

07/16/13

Breaking News This Morning ...

Goldman Earnings: Goldman Sachs doubled its profit in the second quarter, thanks, in part, to strong trading revenue. Wall Street Journal, New York Times Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Herb Allison Dies: Herbert Allison Jr., one-time Merrill Lynch president, former Fannie Mae and, later, Troubled Asset Relief Program chief, died on Sunday in his home in Westport, Conn. His son, Andrew, said the probable cause of death was a heart attack. He was 69....

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The Branch Is Dead - Long Live the Branch

07/16/13

Branch numbers will grow again while the industry’s total branch square footage goes down. More customers will choose their banks based on the availability of a branch they won’t use all that much.

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