Even if the U.S. government eases enforcement against banks processing wire transfers to developing countries, lawsuits brought by the plaintiffs' bar under the Anti-Terrorism Act may make banks continue to avoid providing remittance services to ... Read full article
Equal-opportunity small business lending can go a long way toward helping minority groups rebuild the wealth lost during the Great Recession. The CFPB has delayed implementing reporting requirements that could close the credit gap for far too long. ... Read full article
A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including a proposal to regulate banks based on their activities rather than size and a plea for members of Congress to take action to help community banks. ... Read full article
The growing popularity of impact investing has led to a raft of new disclosure rules. The problem is that using the SEC to monitor companies' CEO pay policies and use of "conflict minerals" decouples the government agency's authority ... Read full article
Risk-based premiums should apply to big banks as well as small ones. That's because the assessment would have an immediate impact on big banks' quarterly profits, thereby appropriately charging them for the competitive advantage and privilege ... Read full article
Determining regulatory requirements based on banksÂ' activities rather than their size would liberate old-school institutions from unnecessary burdens without endangering the financial system. ... Read full article
A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the need to hold bankers accountable for criminal deeds and whether the FDIC's proposed recordkeeping requirement is smart planning or pointless. ... Read full article
The FDIC is proposing a complicated and expensive record-keeping requirement to prepare for the unlikely event that it liquidates a large failed institution instead of transferring its deposits to another bank. ... Read full article
Once the government makes the decision to prosecute, it's often to the fullest extent of the law Â-- unless, of course, you head up a megabank. ... Read full article
Some argue that nonbank mortgage lenders' rising market share poses a risk to the financial system. But this belief arises from an inaccurate understanding of what is in fact a well-regulated sector. ... Read full article
The cumbersome regulations for prepaid products proposed by CFPB could reduce market competition, discourage innovation and effectively cut off many Americans' participation in the digital economy. ... Read full article
Fannie and Freddie should offer upfront risk-sharing options in order to give lenders an opportunity to lower their guarantee fees while encouraging more private capital and competition to flow into the secondary mortgage market. ... Read full article
The harsh capital treatment of Trups holdings under Basel III undoes the regulatory relief already extended to community banks that had invested in the securities. ... Read full article
New York financial watchdog Benjamin Lawsky is stepping down, and his successor is likely to follow a similar strict yet innovative approach to Wall Street oversight. However, the next head of NYDFS would likely benefit from better industry relations. ... Read full article
Big data has the potential to help people save money, improve their lifestyles, treat existing ailments and prevent new ones. But it's up to the business sector to earn the trust of consumers and lawmakers. ... Read full article
The "too big to fail" problem can't be solved with living wills and orderly liquidation. Rather, a structural solution is needed to reduce the size of mega-institutions. ... Read full article
FICO discards incomplete and old credit history information for a good reason. The solution to today's credit-access problems is not to use this unreliable data but to turn to alternative data such as the payment of everyday bills. ... Read full article
A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including a call for a small-business loan brokers' code of ethics and why Congress needs to level the playing field for investors in bank obligations. ... Read full article
By ensuring that all big-bank investors receive equal treatment in bankruptcy and looking for other ways to prevent short-term liquidity problems from becoming major financial crises, Congress can avoid the need to test the FDICÂ's ability to resolve ... Read full article
A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the merits and drawbacks of Sen. Richard Shelby's regulatory reform legislation, whether bigger banks are inherently riskier and banks' ... Read full article
