Bankruptcy Blogs

Morning Scan: Preventing the Next Housing Crisis; Santander Targeted for Alleged Redlining

05/29/14

Wall Street Journal

It's hard out there for a U.S. bank, the Journal reports. Plunging mortgage revenue and lower trading activity propelled a 7.6% decline in banks' year-over-year first-quarter profits, according to newly released data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Year-over-year profits had only fallen once in the past 19 quarters, according to the FDIC. The declines in revenue make layoffs and other cost-cutting measures more likely in the months to follow. The paper's "Heard...

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Book Review: Jennifer Taub's Other People's Houses (Highly Recommended)

05/28/14

I just read Jennifer Taub's outstanding book Other People's Houses, which is a history of mortgage deregulation and the financial crisis.  The book makes a nice compliment to Kathleen Engel and Patricia McCoy's fantastic The Subprime Virus.

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Overcoming the Barriers to Biometrics

05/28/14

Diebold Chief Innovation Offer Frank Natoli Jr. maps out what it will take to make biometrics a banking reality.

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The Examiners: Mark Roe on GM’s Liability

05/28/14

It’s up to the courts to decide whether old or new GM is liable for faulty ignition-switch claims. But what do you think? From a legal, practical or ethical point of view, should it be?

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The Examiners: J. Scott Victor on GM’s Liability

05/28/14

It’s up to the courts to decide whether old or new GM is liable for faulty ignition-switch claims. But what do you think? From a legal, practical or ethical point of view, should it be?

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What Ancient Pots Can Teach Us About the Future of Payments

05/28/14

Historical patterns of human innovation suggest that the ever-expanding array of payment technologies will eventually hit a wall. Some of todayÂ's most prominent payments platforms may not survive the next cycle.

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TelexFree Reaching Out to Investors, Creditors

05/28/14

TelexFree LLC has come under siege in recent weeks by federal prosecutors and securities regulators, which have alleged the company is behind a $1 billion-plus pyramid scheme.  Now, the beleaguered company faces the daunting challenge of notifying hundreds of thousands investors worldwide about its pending bankruptcy.

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A New Defense Against Municipal Disparate Impact Claims

05/28/14

Cities including Baltimore and Los Angeles have brought lawsuits against banks alleging that subprime lending to minority borrowers wound up costing municipalities tens of millions of dollars. A recent Supreme Court ruling could help banks deflect such charges.

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The Daily Docket: ‘Old GM’ Trust Has More Than $1 Billion

05/28/14
European Pressphoto Agency

Victims that lost money as a result of General Motors Co.’s ignition-switch problem could be forced to battle Old GM creditors for the remains of a trust that contains just more than $1 billion, accord

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Morning Scan: Square Makes Small Business Loans; Is SEC Slow on Reform?

05/28/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Never Christmas: Big banks including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are reporting a continued slowdown in trading. Fewer big trades, low volatility, economic uncertainty and pullback from large investors have all contributed to dwindling trading revenue for several quarters, according to news reports of a banking industry conference sponsored by Deutsche Bank on Tuesday. "Some investors have begun to worry that the slowdown may be more than a temporary phenomenon," the Wall Street...

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