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Morning Scan: B of A's Board Backs Moynihan; Is Nick Szabo the Real Bitcoin Creator?

05/15/15

Wall Street Journal

Despite shareholders' complaints about its sluggish stock price and earnings growth, Bank of America's board appears to be fully supportive of Chairman and Chief Executive Brian Moynihan. As part of an update on Moynihan's tenure, the Journal interviews directors, shareholders, former colleagues and Moynihan himself about his job performance. Jack O. Bovender Jr., the former CEO of hospital chain HCA and a B of A director, applauds Moynihan's personality. "You don't have to...

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Morning Scan: Credit Cards Seek Merchants for Partnerships; Starbucks Mobile Hack?

05/14/15

Wall Street Journal

Loyalty trumps lucrativeness, at least for the time being, in the world of credit cards. Issuers like American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City are all picking up the pace in securing co-branded partnerships with merchants. The reason? Some merchants' customer bases are deemed more loyal, even if they generate less fee income, and a partnership with a merchant is a considered a more efficient way to grow a customer...

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Morning Scan: Shelby's Plan and Political Maneuvering; BNY Activists Profiled

05/13/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

All Politics Is Local: The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times both look at the draft legislation introduced on Tuesday by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions. American Banker stories provided an executive summary of Shelby's proposal and an analysis of how the political maneuvering will play out between Republicans and Democrats. The political game was the focus of one Journal story, with Democrats immediately expressing reservations...

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Morning Scan: Reform Bill Targets Federal Reserve; Gruenberg Talks TBTF

05/12/15

Wall Street Journal

The paper provides additional details on expected proposed changes to the Federal Reserve that could be included in the regulatory-reform bill forthcoming from Sen. Richard Shelby. A look at all of the various expected aspects of Shelby's bill was reported in detail in American Banker. According to the Wall Street Journal, Shelby's bill could require the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee to send to Congress "more details of the analysis and data...

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Morning Scan: Big Banks Huddle in Response to Campaign Critics; Shifting to Loans

05/11/15

Wall Street Journal

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., isn't running for president (as of yet) but her presence is certainly being felt in the C-suites of the largest banks. Seven executives from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and other banks met at Bank of America Tower in New York on March 31, or dialed into a conference call, to discuss how to counter the campaign-trail argument that banks are bad, according to unnamed sources and emails obtained by...

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Morning Scan: B of A, JPM to Set Right Credit Reports; How Kabbage Grows

05/08/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Not B of A's Day: Bank of America pops up in Friday's news for several reasons, none of them flattering. Over at the New York Times, columnist Gretchen Morgenson questions the distribution of Bank of America's $16.7 billion mortgage settlement. The bank is required to forgive or reduce borrowers' mortgage debt as part of the settlement and the amount of relief it provides is then deducted from the bank's total tab. There's...

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Morning Scan: Sanders Goes After Big Banks; What's Jamie Dimon Worth?

05/07/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Sanders vs. the Big Banks: Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders is already stirring up trouble for big banks with legislation that aims to break up "too big to fail" institutions. As American Banker reported Wednesday, the bill's chances of passing are slim, but it's nonetheless helping to keep Wall Street reform a hot topic this election season. The New York Times points out Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has been criticized for cozying...

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Morning Scan: Ripple Labs Fined for AML Issues; HSBC Weighs Escape from London

05/06/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Ripple Hits a Bump: Digital currency startup Ripple Labs touts a focus on compliance as one of its distinguishing traits, which makes it surprising the company has just become the first virtual currency exchange to be slapped with a civil action. Ripple Labs has agreed to pay $700,000 and improve its anti-money laundering program as part of a settlement with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Department of Justice. U.S. authorities...

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Morning Scan: DOJ Probes Fed Leak; B of A Gives Shareholders a Say in Chair Role

05/05/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Fed Pressed Over Leak: The Justice Department doesn't just go after big banks Â-- it also pursues their regulators. The DOJ has joined the Federal Reserve's inspector general in investigating the Fed over a 2012 leak of its policy meeting minutes to a consulting firm. Fed chair Janet Yellen disclosed the news in a Monday letter to the House Financial Services Committee, which is conducting its own probe into the leak. Yellen...

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Morning Scan: Buffett Dismisses SIFI Chatter for Berkshire; Banks Buying in to Bitcoin?

05/04/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Buffett Pooh-Poohs SIFI Talk: Banking was one of many topics discussed at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday. Warren Buffett said it would be a "terrible thing to weaken" Dodd-Frank, and the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department's wide-ranging powers are necessary in order to respond to another large crisis. Buffett also scoffed at the notion that Berkshire Hathaway's insurance operationsÂ--GEICO, National Indemnity, Gen ReÂ--should be deemed systemically important, as...

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