BankThink

How Eminent Domain Mortgage Plans Signal a Failure in Housing Policy

08/17/12

Eminent domain is a well-meaning bid to help individual homeowners, but it also would raise borrower credit costs and undermine efforts to inject private capital back into mortgage markets.

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Where's the Logic in Subjecting Small Banks to Basel III?

08/16/12

We don't need and shouldn't have one-size-fits-all regulatory policies. Community banks are different from their larger U.S. counterparts.

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Busting the Myth of Glass-Steagall

08/16/12

Restoring Glass-Steagall would be a palliative just like the Volcker rule: simple to say, hard to do. Even under the 1933 law, financial innovators blurred the lines between commercial and investment banking - almost from the very start.

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StanChart: 'We Are Not Backing Down.' Lawsky: 'Then I'm Yanking Your License.' StanChart: 'We're Backing Down'

08/16/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ... StanChart Redux: This morning's editions of the Journal and the FT offer behind-the-scenes accounts of the Standard Chartered saga from different perspectives. The Journal describes how New York regulator Benjamin Lawsky blindsided his counterparts in Washington and London by forging ahead with money-laundering charges against the U.K. bank while the other agencies were still investigating. The FT's story focuses on StanChart's response - the bank considered suing Lawsky for reputational damage, the...

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Small Biz Holds the Key to Widespread Mobile Adoption

08/15/12

No digital wallet can reach ubiquity if it is limited to big-box stores. Mobile solutions have to percolate down at the local coffee shop as well, where they can become part of the customer's daily grind.

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Massive Fine Is a Cautionary Tale in Sanctions Compliance

08/15/12

ING Bank's $1.67 billion settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control is a textbook example of the decision-making process such regulators follow in handling violations.

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Why Do Smart People Make Big Financial Mistakes?

08/15/12

We learn lessons after every financial crisis. But it doesn't stop the next one from happening.

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Did StanChart Admit Guilt? Lawsky's Statement Vague on the Matter

08/15/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

StanChart Settles: Standard Chartered agreed to pay $340 million to settle Benjamin Lawsky's money-laundering charges, but it's unclear how far the U.K. bank actually budged from its initial position that most of the allegedly illegal transactions were kosher. "The parties have agreed that the conduct at issue involved transactions of at least $250 billion," according to the official statement from Lawsky's New York State Department of Financial Services. This sounds to us...

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We Need More Banks and New Kinds of Banks

08/14/12

Money funds and non-deposit-taking consumer lenders should be chartered as limited purpose banks by the Fed and CFPB, respectively. This will reduce systemic risk, improve consistency and efficiency, and protect consumers.

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How Do You Personally Connect with Customers?

08/14/12

A personal touch can help a bank stand out, but providing great service is a challenge in our increasingly digital society. How do you develop meaningful (and lasting) relationships with your customers?

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