Readers chime in on the GSE conservatorships, bitcoin’s future, regulatory relief for regional banks, a recent Supreme Court ruling on debt collection, and more.
Word fraud in lettern on background of dollar banknotes
/Angela Kail - stock.adobe.com
In response to an op-ed on a new idea for reforming the government-sponsored enterprises:
“Fannie and Freddie never needed a bailout. The government used accounting fraud to justify the conservatorship.”
On the risks faced by bitcoin (via <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/EthereumClassic/comments/6h5lpw/american_banker_how_i_missed_the_point_of_bitcoin/" target="_blank">Reddit</a>):
“Ultimately the value of Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies more broadly) could be hurt by politics. The power holders may not want to share control over transactions in a world that is increasingly cashless. Crypto nodes are scattered globally, making it hard to stop at the source. However, transaction in and out of fiat currency can be targeted at exchanges. Peer-2-peer crypto exchange is much harder and time consuming right now than using a central exchange like GDAX and Kraken. These are real risks.”
Many arrows miss their intended target, symbolizing a goal not achieved
iQoncept/iQoncept - stock.adobe.com
A retort to a BankThink article criticizing the Financial Choice Act as a gift to big banks:
“Just feeding the Senator Warren narrative that all reg reform is a conspiracy to help the big banks. Dodd Frank has fueled a faster consolidation of the industry and made the big banks even bigger. Great outcome.”
Fake Dictionary, Dictionary definition of the word maybe.
Devon Yu/Feng Yu - stock.adobe.com
On how private companies incorporated in Delaware might be able to soon start issuing and tracking shares of stock on a distributed ledger (via <a href="https://twitter.com/desantis/status/875277937796403200" target="_blank">Twitter</a>):
Employee miniature trapped inside transparent glass jar by employer's hand. Red brick interior background
peshkov - stock.adobe.com
In support of an op-ed calling for reform of Dodd-Frank’s $50 billion asset threshold for “systemically important” banks:
"Community banking is essential to economic growth and job creation. The Dodd-Frank law is an assault on community banking and is suffocating economic growth, particularly in smaller cities and towns across our nation. The $50 billion threshold in Dodd-Frank should be raised to at least $250 billion."
Another reader supported calls to reform regulation in the interest of regional banks:
"Exceptionally well supported and argued. Unfortunately, this highly logical argument is likely to fall on deaf ears in the hallways of Congress. Battle lines seem to be drawn around any issue related to banks (especially regulation), and the ultimate losers of this battle are the people and businesses that make up our economy. Congressional leadership needs to break through the impasse that has the Democrats viewing any give on the existing regulatory environment as a political loss."