national-regional

Morning Scan: SEC Enforcement Chief to Leave; Insiders Grab Profit

12/09/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Heading out: Andrew J. Ceresney, director of the SEC's enforcement division, said he will resign at the end of the year after three years at the agency. His move follows that of his boss, SEC chairwoman, Mary Jo White, who last month announced her intention to leave. Wall Street Journal ...

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Women in Banking: Activists Target Banks' Pay; Talking Fintech

12/08/16

The gender equality police Â-- namely, the activists Arjuna, Pax, and Trillium, which targeted Silicon Valley earlier this year Â-- is making moves on Wall Street now, starting with Citigroup, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. Fed governor Lael Brainard encourages fintechs to tackle financial access and Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester talks about the industry's past and future. Citi FinTech's Carey Kolaja celebrates its first product launch. Plus, people moves at Santander Consumer, Deutsche Bank and Bank of New York Mellon.

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Morning Scan: Fintech Firms Expand Services; Merrill's Ultimatum

12/08/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Big brother: Credit Karma and Mint are ready to offer automated tax preparation services as part of new features "that will make them feel more like link" target="_blank">robotic financial advisers, tapping customers on the shoulder when they could make better financial decisions," as the New York Times puts it. Credit Karma said Wednesday it acquired AFJC Corp., an online tax preparation and filing company, and would begin offering its services, called Credit...

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Morning Scan: Wells CEO Assesses Damage; BofA Gives Tellers a Raise

12/07/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Paying the piper: Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan reiterated that the bank expects to spend tens of millions of dollars on investigations and other regulatory matters in the wake of its phony accounts scandal. "I think that seems reasonable today based on what we know. It's the upper end of our range from an efficiency standpoint," he said at a Goldman Sachs financial services conference Tuesday. He also said the scandal could...

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Morning Scan: Carson Nomination Panned; Vernon Hill Returns

12/06/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Ho hum: World financial markets mostly shrugged off the results of Italy's constitutional referendum, which went down to defeat on Sunday, although the country's banks and its economy remain in serious trouble as a result. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times

Carson appointment assailed: As expected, President-elect Trump formally nominated retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson as HUD secretary, but critics were quite vocal. Carson "has a brilliant mind and is passionate about...

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Morning Scan: Fintech Firms Advance; Freeing Fannie/Freddie

12/05/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Fintech Boost: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced a proposal Friday that would grant special limited-purpose banking licenses to financial technology firms that would give them "greater freedom to operate across the country without seeking state-by-state permission or joining with brick-and-mortar banks," as the Wall Street Journal described it. "The move could open the door to more competition between the old and new financial firms, and provide a bigger...

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Morning Scan: Mnuchin Plans to Drive Growth; House Votes to Amend SIFI

12/02/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

It's official: Wells Fargo has formally separated the roles of CEO and chairman under pressure from some large investors, including several state treasurers, according to the Financial Times. John Stumpf, the bank's former chairman and CEO, resigned in October following the bank's phony accounts scandal and was replaced by Timothy Sloan as CEO and Stephen Sanger as chairman. But on Thursday Wells went further, amending its bylaws to mandate the split. "Wells'...

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Women in Banking: Quashing Fintech Fears, Sexism at Work

12/01/16

Citi's Debby Hopkins is retiring at the end of this year and Fidelity's Abigail Johnson is taking over for her father as its new chairman. Beth Mooney, Morgan Cambern, Claire Calmejane, and other execs talk about the impact fintech has had in their jobs and why technology should be embraced and not feared. Meanwhile, Citi faces a suit from a former trader over its alleged "Bro's Club" practices.

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Morning Scan: Mnuchin Talks Regulation, Taxes; Subprime Auto Woes

12/01/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Mnuchin speaks: Steven Mnuchin discussed his views on regulatory and tax policies Wednesday after being named President-elect Trump's designated Treasury secretary. Speaking on CNBC, Mnuchin said he would focus on rolling back parts of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. "The number one problem with Dodd-Frank is that it's way too complicated and cuts back lending," he said, adding, stripping back part of the law "will be the number one priority on the...

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Morning Scan: Bankers Warm to Trump; Closing Branches Could Backfire

11/30/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Wall Street ties: Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive, is expected to be named Treasury secretary by President-elect Donald Trump. "Mr. Mnuchin's Wall Street pedigree presents a contrast with the populist themes Mr. Trump struck in his campaign, railing against big banks and vowing to close tax loopholes that benefit hedge funds," the Wall Street Journal commented. "Mr. Trump also repeatedly attacked his rivals in the primary and general elections for...

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