BankThink

Big Banks, Deleverage or Perish

04/08/13

If we're powerless to break up the banks, we're also powerless to bail them out should they fail. Bloated size, leverage and managerial dysfunction will do the work the public can't.

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JPM Board Lobbies for Dimon's Dual Role; Fed Policy Side Effects

04/08/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Lobbying for Dimon's Dual Role: JPMorgan Chase board members certainly support Jamie Dimon as bank CEO and chairman. Now, they're working hard to ensure shareholders feel the same way ahead of a vote on a nonbinding proposal to take away Dimon's chairman title. The proposal, which has been voted on by shareholders before, is expected to get more support this year due to the continued fallout from the London Whale trading debacle...

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Make Banks Antifragile - Release Washington's Stranglehold

04/08/13

Viewed through the framework provided by economist Nassim Taleb, a centrally-directed financial system with uniform risk management and prescribed products is fragile.

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Can Regulators that Spawned TBTF Banks End TBTF?

04/05/13

If regulators have the will and the authority to resolve "too big to fail," now is the time to act. The prospect of several more years without resolution is terrifying.

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Why I Take Bitcoin Seriously as a Venture Capitalist

04/05/13

Disruptions like Bitcoin can cause massive value destruction and massive value creation.

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BOJ Goes Big; Fed Mulls Change; Corzine Gets Slapped

04/05/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

BOJ Goes for Broke: ...Or, perhaps, will go broke trying. Haruhiko Kuroda, the newly installed Bank of Japan governor, unveiled a package of easy-money policies Thursday that might make even Ben Bernanke blush. "This is an entirely new dimension of monetary easing, both in terms of quantity and quality," Kuroda said. "Our stance is to take all the policy measures imaginable at this point to achieve the 2% [inflation] target in two...

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Protect the Financial Industry by Protecting Investors

04/05/13

The JOBS Act will allow broader marketing of private placements. Take great care when selling these to your bank's financial advisory and wealth management clients. Focus on what suits them.

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Housing Market Favors Investors, Shortchanges Consumers

04/04/13

FHFA's decision to sell foreclosures in bulk is hindering the rising Hispanic consumer segment, along with other first-time buyers, from driving a healthy housing rebound.

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Why Bitcoin Matters: It's the Payment System, Stupid!

04/04/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

TD Bank: CEO Ed Clark will retire next year and hand the reins to Bharat Masrani, who has overseen the Canadian bank's expansion in the U.S. over the last six years — a hint of where TD's growth ambitions lie. The story in today's Journal leads with an anecdote suggesting customer service has worsened at the former Commerce Bank operations since the Canucks took over "America's Most Convenient Bank." Somewhere, Vernon Hill...

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Managing Vendors Involves Managing Risk

04/04/13

Recent enforcement actions indicate banks must get better at evaluating the risks associated with their third-party service providers.

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