national-regional

Morning Scan: MetLife Wins SIFI Case; Fintech Means Job Cuts

03/31/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Not 'Important': MetLife, the country's largest life insurer, has scored a significant victory in court, winning its battle with regulators over its designation as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI). U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said in her decision that she sided fully with MetLife on two counts and partially on a third. MetLife argued federal regulators assigned the label in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner using a problematic process. In the...

[more]

Morning Scan: Deutsche's IT Overhaul; Lenders Push Parent Loans

03/29/16

Wall Street Journal The source of the so-called Â"bombshell that blew up Bear StearnsÂ" has finally come to light. Emails obtained by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission have answered the question of who tipped off CNBC reporter David Faber as to the ill health of Bear Stearns. On March 12, 2008, Faber famously asked Bear Stearns chief Alan Schwartz in an interview broadcast by the network to respond regarding reports that Goldman Sachs had refused toÂ...

[more]

Morning Scan: Banks Target Home Equity; Bitcoin Rival Emerges

03/28/16

Wall Street Journal Banks have turned to home equity lines of credit as a means of counteracting a slowdown in refinancing and the continued depression of mortgage originations. In 2015, lenders loaned $156 billion to consumers through HELOCs, the highest amount since 2007 when the housing bubble burst and nearly a quarter higher than in 2014. And the average line of credit is also hitting new highs at $119,790, according to CoreLogic. The push for theseÂ...

[more]

Women in Banking: Bakhshi, Alemany, Mooney All Make Headlines

03/24/16

Nandita Bakhshi and Ellen Alemany discuss strategy; Beth Mooney strikes a deal; a Lehman Sister recounts her experience as a woman at the top of Wall Street in its doomsday; and HSBC sets a goal to have equal gender representation in certain areas by 2020. Plus, some interesting research on equal pay for women, and good grief, Raymond Moore.

[more]

Morning Scan: Credit Suisse CEO Blindsided; A CIT Comeback?

03/24/16

Editor's note: Morning Scan will not publish on Friday, March 25 in observance of Good Friday. We'll be back on Monday, March 28. Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Blindsided: Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam has said neither he nor his CFO were aware of the size of the bank's "positions in risky, illiquid segments," following a bad first quarter for trading that saw revenues fall 40%-45% (analysts' expectations were revenues would decline 37%). Apparently staff had concealed...

[more]

Morning Scan: Ex-Goldman Banker Sentenced; JPM Backs 'Flash Boys' Heroes

03/23/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Sentenced: Rohit Bansal, an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, has been sentenced to probation for taking confidential documents from a source inside the New York Fed. Bansal has dodged the year in prison he faced and will instead serve two yearsÂ' probation, do 300 community service hours and pay a $5,000 fine. Under a settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services, Goldman reached a settlement in the case. It paid $50Â...

[more]

Morning Scan: RIP Andy Grove; Citi Split Suggested

03/22/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ... RIP Andy Grove: Silicon Valley tech legend and former Intel CEO Andy Grove has died, Intel announced Monday. He was the companyÂ's first hire in 1968 and cemented his place in Silicon Valley history by transforming Intel into the largest chip-making company in the world. Grove, who was 79 at the time of his death, battled Parkinson's disease for many years. The cause of his death has not been disclosed. Wall StreetÂ...

[more]

Morning Scan: Eyes on Loan Caps, Bonus Clawbacks, Coal

03/21/16

Wall Street Journal

Banks, including Credit Suisse, Jefferies and Wells Fargo, are losing their appetite for lending to companies seeking financing for debt-heavy buyouts. These firms have been rejecting these requests since about last summer. Earlier, banks would guarantee funding of these deals with hopes of handing it off to bond and loan investors; some have taken losses unloading debt at discounts, some hold the loans waiting for better prices. But now the banks are burdened...

[more]

Morning Scan: Big-Bank Stocks Stay Cheap; Moynihan: Big Is Good

03/18/16

Wall Street Journal When fears hit a fevered pitch last month that the Federal Reserve could opt to enact sub-zero interest rates, the big-five banks Â-- Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Â-- traded at a remarkably cheap average valuation of 0.66 times book value. But after the Fed on Wednesday announced that it would not only raise interest rates but do so at a slower pace than was otherwiseÂ...

[more]

Women in Banking: Whoa, Nandita Bakhshi; Is JPM Ideal for Women?

03/17/16

Nandita Bakhshi will become CEO of the $76 billion-asset Bank of the West, and a study finds JPMorgan Chase is the most ideal bank for women. Still, it seems as if lip service lives on when it comes to gender diversity, even where Dodd Frank is concerned. Would contentious SEC nominee Hester Peirce change that? Also, how job sharing could help more women rise through the company ranks.

[more]