BankThink

Executives Supply First Line of Defense Against Mounting Cyberattacks

10/17/12

Relying solely on a fortress mentality that trusts in firewalls, antivirus and other countermeasure technologies has been shown, time and again, to be insufficient.

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Seven Steps to a Bank Reinvention

10/17/12

Nonbank competitors are forcing financial institutions to utilize new skills sets. Conservative thinkers must now be imaginative, followers must become visionaries and the risk adverse must embrace uncertainty. Here's how to develop a forward-looking strategy in the changing landscape.

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Never Send a Shy Technocrat to Do a Low-Profile Leader's Job

10/17/12

Breaking News This Morning ...

Earnings: Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Comerica, US Bancorp, First Republic, M&T Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Citi's Shakeup — The "Why": The surprise resignation of Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit "was the culmination of months of growing board disenchantment," says the Journal. Citi's failing the most recent stress tests, shareholders' thumbs-down in the last say on pay vote, and the stock's overall poor performance during his five-year tenure fueled the frustrations....

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Customers Want 'Lighter, Not Fewer' Branches

10/17/12

Bricks-and-mortar locations aren't yet obsolete. Leading banks are responding to changing consumer demands by developing specialized branch formats, increasing their focus on advice and emphasizing proactive engagement with customers.

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Amex's Bluebird Is a No-Fee Checking Account, Not a 'Prepaid Card'

10/16/12

If your bank is gung-ho to issue prepaid cards, think again. Focus on how to retain checking account customers, rather than emulating Green Dot and Chase and issuing fee-based "prepaid cards" as a new (already outdated) product.

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No One Asked Steve Jobs to Invent the iPhone

10/16/12

Banks that wait to be told what to do won't thrive because the possibility of surprising and delighting customers with innovation is exactly zero when you wait for them to tell you what to build.

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'I Know There Were a Lot of One-Time Charges to Explain, Vik, But You Might Have Mentioned Your Resignation on the Earnings Call'

10/16/12

Breaking News This Morning ...

Well, That Was Abrupt. The day after a generally positive earnings report (more on that below) CEO Vikram Pandit says he's "concluded that now is the right time for someone else to take the helm at Citigroup." That someone else is long-time company veteran Michael Corbat, who most recently oversaw the Europe, Middle East and Africa business and before that Citi Holdings, the company's garage sale of noncore assets. President and...

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JPMorgan Changes VaR Model Again, But It's Still a Black Box

10/16/12

Switching out three VaR models in less than a year raises questions about not only the models' stability but also how risks across large, systemically important institutions can be compared.

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Small Banks Need Legal Safe Harbor from New Mortgage Regulations

10/15/12

Without one, community banks will face increased risk of litigation they cannot afford. This could push many of them out of the mortgage market.

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Should Bank Examiners Have to Make a Lifetime Commitment?

10/15/12

Former FDIC chairman Sheila Bair wants to ban the revolving door and, moreover, believes bank examiners should be required to make a lifelong commitment to the profession. Not everyone agrees with this prescription.

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