A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

Granted, journalists can be scavengers; they're nosey and can be positively annoying when they want information. But why does a whole group of crypto-anarchists and technologists think they have the moral high ground?

New innovations in data security, including chip technology, tokenization and end-to-end encryption, are adding even more technologically advanced fraud prevention tools to our nation's payments infrastructure.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

The Father of Bitcoin? Newsweek kicked a media-filled hornet's nest yesterday when reporter Leah McGrath Goodman purported to have found the creator of Bitcoin. The person in question? A 64-year-old Japanese engineer living in California named Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, or, legally, Satoshi Nakamoto, the name that first appeared on a white paper introducing the cryptocurrency in 2008. Goodman's article, containing numerous details on Nakamoto's life and several interviews with family and friends,…

By assessing internal needs, planning how to deal with the external pressures and weighing the value of a good risk chief, banks can make an informed decision on who guides their risk management program.

It is not right that a creditor be held liable for unintentional discrimination on the basis of less evidence than is required to prove intentional discrimination. Leveraging a settlement on threat of litigation without such evidence is an abuse of power.

Receiving Wide Coverage ... The Mercurial Subprime Market: New lenders, including Lending Club and Freedom Plus, are servicing the subprime sector, reports the Journal. These entrants are hoping to fill the void left by banks, reluctant to lend to the demographic following the financial crisis (and all the resulting regs.) The Journal notes these firms are lending at interest rates "approaching 10% and sometimes much more … a premium above prime loans … but less than…

If banks that performed well for their shareholders from 2002 to 2012 have so many older directors, why would some banks force directors to retire once they hit 70 or 72 years of age?

A House subcommittee is set to discuss whether U.S. financial reform impedes our ability to compete with firms overseas. But if they were truly worried about global competitiveness, there are other, more pressing issues lawmakers should be analyzing.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Closer to Bitcoin Regulation: Japan is close to regulating cryptocurrency Bitcoin, following the collapse of Tokyo-based exchange Mt. Gox. Draft regulation, which includes a tax on Bitcoin transactions and prohibits banks and securities firms from handling the cryptocurrency, appears to treat Bitcoin more like a commodity than an actual currency, but a lawmaker, who opposes the plan, has asked for clarification. One look at this Journal quote from an anonymouse and you…

Policymakers should focus less on the government's retreat from the mortgage market and more on creating the kind of investment environment needed to attract significant private capital.

No technology yet is as effective at initiating and/or strengthening real relationships as smiles, personal conversations and consultations are.

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Exposed: Turmoil in the Ukraine roiled global markets on Monday, with European and Russian bank stocks taking a hit. The Times reports global markets had calmed on Tuesday (no specifics on bank stocks mentioned), after Russian President Vladimir Putin said via news conference that he saw no need to use military force at the moment. However, investors tell the paper "confidence remains fragile … and the calm could quickly dissipate." The FT…

"It would have made a lot more sense to bring back Glass-Steagall," a pre-and-post crisis risk manager tells American Banker Editor in Chief Neil Weinberg, while discussing Washington’s Dodd-Frank solution.

Breaking News This Morning ... Subpoenaed: PNC Financial disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has received subpoenas from prosecutors over certain mortgage-lending practices. The bank has also received subpoenas from the Justice Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about the return rate for its payment-processor clients. Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Receiving Wide Coverage ... …