BankThink

Bitcoin and the Rebirth of Financial Safe Havens

04/11/13

The exchange rate may be volatile now, but as the market eventually finds equilibrium and stabilizes, bitcoin will become an important store of value — beyond restriction and confiscation.

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Goldman Strikes Deal on Blankfein's Dual Role; Dimon Writes Shareholders; Is an FHA Bailout on the Way?

04/11/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Chairman and CEO?: Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein has successfully skirted a vote that could have split up his role as CEO and chairman after striking a deal with the investment group putting forth the proposal. The deal beefs up the role of lead director James Schiro, who will, moving forward, "set the agenda for the board, instead of merely approving it" and "write his own letter to shareholders in the proxy statement,"...

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How the CFPB's Auto Financing Rule Affects Consumers

04/10/13

Constraints on fees for arranging loans will encourage car dealers to charge more for other products and services to make up lost revenue.

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Support FHA's Efforts to Expand Responsible Lending

04/10/13

Young families looking to put down roots in a community must be served if we are going to grow our economy and sustain the housing recovery.

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Mortgage Settlement Check Assessment; Small Biz Aid Gets TARP-ed; KPMG Rogue Auditor Update

04/10/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Mortgage Settlement Checks to Be Mailed: Regulators announced yesterday that the first round of checks related to their $8.5 billion settlement with banks over alleged foreclosure processing mistakes will soon be in the mail. Many news outlets led with the stats. The Fed and the OCC "are set to dole out roughly $1.2 billion in the first batch of payments," Dealbook reports. "By April 12, the regulators expect to mail 1.4 million...

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Discussion: Customer's Always Right? Banks May Beg to Differ

04/09/13

What's the most inane complaint your bank has ever received?

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End 'Too Big to Fail' Without Breaking Up Banks - Here's How

04/09/13

We must make clear that in all bank failures all creditors, other than insured depositors, will face risk of loss so that neither the FDIC nor taxpayers will lose money.

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Google Glass: A Cure for Rogue Traders

04/09/13

Forcing traders to strap computers on their heads may sound extreme, but consider the current threat. Saving billions from trading losses might take the sting out of the loss of privacy.

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Wait on TBTF Reform? That's Tempting Fate

04/09/13

An honest debate over our "too big to fail" problem and a sound policy response are incompatible with a wait-and-see approach to the laws already on the books.

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Mary Jo White's To-Do List; Jack Lew Goes to Europe; KPMG Fires Senior Partner for 'Rogue Actions'

04/09/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Confirmed: As expected, the Senate confirmed former federal prosecutor turned corporate defender Mary Jo White as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. She's set to start at the SEC any day now, but already has her hands full. On the SEC's (and as such White's) to-do list, per Dealbook: "complete new rules for Wall Street," "take aim at financial fraud," "confront the growing world of high-frequency trading … and...

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