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American Banker - On Focus and In Depth

Saturday, November 7, 2009, as of 12:11 PM EDT

Viewpoints

Letter to the Editor: CFPA's 'Zombie' Effect

American Banker | Oct 21

To the Editor:
The analogy between Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act state regulatory authority and the effect of disparate state consumer protection laws under a Consumer Financial Protection Agency is specious, one might even say unfair and deceptive ['Preemption Fight Suffers From History,' Oct. 19].

Letter to the Editor: Report Flawed on Irwin Banks Sale

American Banker | Sep 30

To the Editor:
The article from Sept. 25 on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s agreement with First Financial Bank to take over the Irwin banks ['Acquirer Impresses with Terms Won in Failure Buy'] fails to capture how the process works.

Letter to the Editor: Frank: I Misspoke on Preemption

American Banker | Sep 30

To the Editor:
As reported accurately by your publication, I said that the issue of preemption would not be resolved in a collegial manner in the House of Representatives ['Treasury Gives Some Ground on Reg Reform,' Sept. 24].


Commentary & Opinion

Cards

Merchant-Paid Debit Rewards a Boon for Banks

American Banker | Oct 30

Transaction-based debit rewards that are merchant-funded will likely be the reward system of choice because it increases banks' revenue without requiring them to fund the rewards.

Community Banking

Martin on Retailing - Avoiding Message Overload in Branches

American Banker | Nov 06

During a period when more pressure than usual is on us to cross-sell products, the temptation to pile on the marketing is natural. Sometimes saying "less is more" has merit.

Markets

How Congress Can Get it Right on TBTF

American Banker | Nov 04

First, prevent institutions from reaching the "too big to fail" size and influence in the future, and second, achieve a reduction in size and influence in the current TBTF institutions.

Mortgages

Mortgage Reform Plans Fail to Look Forward

American Banker | Oct 09

Reforms that accelerate consolidation into the hands of a few large megalenders would not be healthy for anybody. Consumers benefit most from a range of origination sources.

National/Global

Third Time's the Charm for Toxic Asset Solution

American Banker | Nov 06

Only by adopting an approach that does not fatally impair capital, provide a taxpayer-supported windfall or burden the strained federal budget can we prevent another false start.

Technology

Commercial Lending Needs a New Process

American Banker | Nov 06

If you decide to update your commercial lending, the best advice I've heard is "make finding a proven automation solution that would work to mitigate portfolio risk the top priority."

Washington

Recapitalizing the GSEs to Shield Taxpayers

American Banker | Nov 06

The only option for limiting taxpayer expense is to set up a "Bad Fannie" and "Bad Freddie" holding the existing portfolios and a "Good Fannie" and "Good Freddie" as cooperatives.

Wealth Management

Untapped Potential in Life Insurance

American Banker | Oct 21

Life insurance can be an important addition to the products offered by licensed bankers, acting as a 'protective wrapper' for savings, 529 plans, retirement products and debt.

Stress Test Profile

BB&T Corp.

Christopher Whalen, a co-founder of Institutional Risk Analytics, a Los Angeles unit of Lord, Whalen LLC.BB&T is one of the stronger players in the large-bank peer group, displaying above-peer performance and below-average levels of stress compared with other banks of similar size. It will be a bellwether of the performance of the U.S. banking sector.