BankThink

Repurchase Risk Still Haunts Mortgage Lenders

09/21/12

The industry's movement toward plain-vanilla mortgage products since the crisis masks deficiencies in the underwriting process that remain to this day.

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TAG Must Be Extended to Protect Community Banks

09/21/12

If TAG is senselessly allowed to expire, many depositors may sever their relationships with the smaller banks in their communities and opt to place their money under the "protection" of the Too Big to Fail institutions.

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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Money Laundering But Were Afraid to Ask

09/21/12

Wall Street Journal

If you want to catch up on FinCen's proposed expansion of anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements, which was released for public comment in February, the Journal offers a primer today. The gist is that "Treasury wants financial institutions to understand who owns or controls an account and keep detailed records that law-enforcement officials can access." While regulators have wanted banks to identify beneficial owners of accounts for years, the rule would codify this...

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Dodd-Frank Missed an Opportunity to Truly Reform Derivatives

09/21/12

Central clearing for over-the-counter contracts will undoubtedly reduce risks, but the market still has multiple regulators and multiple sets of rules for different players and for different instruments.

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What's Your Take on Tim Pawlenty as Megabank Lobbyist?

09/20/12

Personal motivations aside, many felt the hire made sense for the Financial Services Roundtable since it fortifies the trade group's relationship with Congress. What impact do you think Pawlenty is likely to have on banking policy?

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Fed Has Opened the Door for China to Push Its Agenda

09/20/12

China blocks U.S. banks from operating there. We should reciprocate. There's nothing to gain from giving keys to our banking system to entities owned and controlled by an adversary state.

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Banks That Ask Customers to Waive Legal Rights Upfront Get Taste of Own Medicine

09/20/12

Wall Street Journal

Bank of America is accelerating its job cuts, aiming to trim 16,000 positions by the end of the year, according to a front-page story in the paper.

U.S. prosecutors have asked the banks under investigation in the Libor affair to sign "tolling" agreements, in which they promise not to challenge any enforcement actions on the grounds that the five-year statute of limitations had expired. Why would the banks agree to waive a defense against...

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The Absurdity of Too Big to Fail Banking

09/20/12

Large banks homogenize their approach to small and midsize companies. That's more efficient for those banks, not necessarily good for the economy. Small and medium-sized banks are better at lending to the firms that create most jobs.

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Even Republicans Know Greed Is What Led GSEs Astray

09/19/12

Andrew Kahr blames Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's affordable housing goals for helping "inflate" the housing bubble. Former GOP appointees at HUD see it differently.

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Give Nonbanks Credit - and More Power to Fill Lending Void

09/19/12

A federal charter will allow lenders to provide more credit alternatives with lower costs as well as flexible payback periods and loan amounts to underbanked consumers.

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