BankThink

The Handcuffed Banker

03/22/13

To the detriment of consumers, innovations in banking tend to be conservative, late, and incremental, despite top talent and plenty of ideas. Is regulation backfiring?

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Complex Consumer Protection Laws Keep Small Banks from Serving Unbanked

03/21/13

More needs to be done to reduce the compliance burden so these banks can fully serve their communities.

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Get Ready for the Refi Bubble to Burst

03/21/13

All mortgage lenders should prepare themselves for a minimum decline in refinance activity of 75% and make sure their capital plan, liquidity plan and budget all reflect this.

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Bernanke on Fed Policy ... and TBTF; Executive Pay Potpourri; Cyprus Gets Deadline

03/21/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Bernanke on Fed Policy … and TBTF: The Federal Reserve issued its latest policy statement yesterday and, as expected, plans generally remain the same. The central bank will keep short-term interest rates low and continue buying $85 billion a month in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities indefinitely. But both the Journal and the Times posit the Fed is eyeing a wind-down. Per the Journal: "Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke … said the central bank...

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Fincen Spying Plan Invites Privacy Workarounds

03/21/13

Money was never meant to be a method of supranational identity tracking. Its use in that way could signal law enforcement desperation. When all other tactics fail, surveil the finances.

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Holding Company Liquidity Concerns Will Trigger M&A

03/20/13

Holding companies facing looming debt maturities are exposed to the risk of a forced sale or possible forfeiture of the stock of their bank subsidiaries.

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Banking Needs Less Regulation, More Risk Governance

03/20/13

Tough regulations, strict oversight and sophisticated analytics can all help, but they pale in comparison to a culture that actively embraces risk management rather than paying lip service to it.

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Stress Tests Failed the Public

03/20/13

Results suggests safety when there is none and diverts attention from the real need for structural reform.

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Freddie Sues Banks Over Libor; Good Press, Bad Press (But Mostly Bad) for JPM

03/20/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Freddie vs. Banks Over Libor: Freddie Mac is suing more than a dozen banks and the British Bankers Association, alleging it incurred substantial losses as a result of Libor-rigging. The alleged losses are related to swaps transactions and mortgage securities the GSE had linked to Libor. The suit claims the BBA participated in the rigging "to protect revenue it generated from selling Libor licenses and to appease the banks that were on...

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Fannie and Freddie Must Go

03/20/13

Abolish the public/private hybrid model of Fannie and Freddie, sell or liquidate their businesses, and privatize the mortgage market. This can be done in an orderly way in a few easy steps.

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