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Morning Scan: Brazilian Banker Arrested in Petrobras Scandal; Wells Fargo Probed

11/30/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Brazilian Bank CEO Jailed: The chief executive of Brazil's largest independent investment bank has resigned after being arrested last week. Andre Esteves left his post at the helm of BTG Pactual, the Wall Street Journal reports. Esteves is the bank's controlling shareholder and also served as chairman. The Brazilian banker has found himself caught up in investigations regarding corruption at the state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras). His resignation follows a decision...

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Morning Scan: Fed, FDIC Awaited CFPB's Ally Discrimination Settlement; Fintech Worried About Regulation

11/25/15

Editor's note: Morning Scan will not publish on Thursday, Nov. 26 or Friday, Nov. 27 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be back on Monday, Nov. 30. Wall Street Journal

In-house lawyers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had proof the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. were eagerly awaiting its report on Ally Financial. That nugget was included in the House Financial Services Committee report, released on Tuesday, that slammed the CFPB for...

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Morning Scan: Fed Looks at Higher Capital Requirements

11/24/15

Wall Street Journal

Shoppers are losing their patience with Black Friday sales, because it's so difficult to figure out what's the best deal on saving money, because of the layers of coupons, flash sales and other discounts. Retailers aren't the only ones at fault. Banks, too, have confused consumers whether a percentage-off deal is better than a dollar amount. Citigroup's Citi Retail Services, the private-label credit card issuer, has tested two offers this season. One gives...

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Morning Scan: Diebold Confirms $1.8B Buyout Offer for German ATM Maker

11/23/15

Wall Street Journal

Diebold confirmed it's in merger talks with Germany's Wincor Nixdorf, under which Diebold would pay $1.8 billion in cash and stock in an acquisition. Diebold will launch its tender offer early next year, with a breakdown of 80% cash and 20% stock. Diebold will raise $2.3 billion in senior secured and unsecured debt to finance the deal; it will also obtain a $500 million revolving credit facility. The combination would surpass NCR as...

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Morning Scan: Subprime Auto Loan Fears Unfounded: Equifax; Square's IPO as Bellwether

11/20/15

Wall Street Journal

The rise in auto-loan balances, fueled in part by subprime auto lending (read American Banker's coverage of the New York Fed report here), should not necessarily be viewed as a cause for alarm, Equifax's chief economist told the Journal. "The difference between having reliable transportation and not having reliable transportation is life-changing for people," Amy Crews Cutts said. "When you hit a rough patch and are financially on the edge, which is often...

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Women in Banking: Goldman's Gender Imbalance; Barbie's Fed Ties

11/19/15

Did men get more than their fair share of the managing director promotions at Goldman Sachs, and what does Barbie have to do with a Fed trailblazer? Also, JPMorgan Chase's Mary Callahan Erdoes isn't getting on the robo-advisory bandwagon and women talk about "systematic sexism" in the journalism and entertainment fields.

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Morning Scan: Square IPO Disappoints, but JPM Protected; Robo Advisers Heat Up

11/19/15

Wall Street Journal

Square's IPO underachieved, as the fintech startup was forced to slash its share price to $9 from an initial expected range of $11 to $13. The Journal explained what happened thusly: "Public investors are growing more skeptical of the enormous valuations that venture capitalists are putting on private technology companies." Then there's this point: "The company is yet to prove it can turn the business profitable," said analysts at Susquehanna International Group. ...

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Morning Scan: JPM, RBS Probed Over Mortgage Security Sales; Simple Tees Up IPO

11/18/15

Wall Street Journal

Prosecutors are pursuing criminal cases against JPMorgan Chase and Royal Bank of Scotland executives for allegedly selling flawed mortgage securities, unnamed sources said. Authorities are looking at a $2.2 billion deal that RBS handled, in which home mortgages were securitized. RBS has already reached a civil settlement with the SEC on the case. JPMorgan is being probed on a different deal, earlier investigated by the Justice Department's Sacramento, Calif., office, related to a...

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Morning Scan: Regionals Push to Change $50B Asset Rule; Anti-CFPB Ad Backers for Arbitration

11/16/15

Wall Street Journal

Megabanks are "lying low" while Congress tries to wrap up its budget for the year. But that doesn't mean some other financial-services institutions aren't trying to push through their own agendas. Regional banks want to ease their regulatory burden, specifically by raising the $50 billion threshold that triggers stricter oversight under Dodd-Frank. The change is seen as helping institutions like Capital One Financial and M&T Bank. Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee...

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Morning Scan: Goldman Sachs Chooses Managing Directors; Citi Rethinks Branches

11/13/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Goldman Names New Managing Directors: At Goldman Sachs, 425 employees got their golden ticket. The company named its newest batch of managing directors Â-- a much sought-after position at the company just one step below the rank of partner. Goldman now names a new class of managing directors every other November following a lengthy and grueling vetting process, followed by a class photo taken the following January. Before 2013, the bank namedÂ...

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