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Readers opine on the prospect of regulatory relief, weigh in on the need for regulators to become more tech savvy, react to HSBC hopping back into U.S. mortgage lending and more.
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On what's next for the Senate regulatory relief package:

“Good questions from @AmerBanker on future of reg relief; most immediate (and to me, important) is what will the House do? Will perceived perfection be the enemy of getting something good done?” (via Twitter)

Related: 5 questions as reg relief moves closer to becoming law
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Credit report with score on a desk

On a credit score provision being added to the Senate banking bill:

"Please, do not let this important bill be weighed down by debate over credit scoring."

Related: Senate reg relief bill opens new front in credit-scoring battle
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First time buyers and a real estate agent, center, enter a home for sale in Warren, Michigan, U.S., on Saturday, March 18, 2017. The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release exiting homes sales figures on March 22. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

On an argument that the housing market needs an explicit government backstop:

"'[M]oving … to an explicit guarantee on the securities will provide catastrophic insurance for those securities. This in turn should provide a more stable and liquid market and lower risk to taxpayers.'…Where does this conclusion come from? Securities and mortgage markets will become more liquid, but crises will occur. In crises, counterparty risk rises and the securitization process breaks down. If GSEs hold the catastrophic risk, what and whom will they charge for it?"

Related: Housing market needs an explicit government guarantee
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A logo sits on a sign outside a HSBC Holdings Plc bank branch in London, U.K., on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013. HSBC may sell a stake in its U.K. retail and commercial bank on the stock exchange to ease the effect of new regulations, the Financial Times newspaper reported. Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg

On HSBC getting back into U.S. mortgage lending after rocky times during the financial crisis:

"‘This time is different.’ Where have we heard that before?”

Related: Why HSBC is getting back into mortgages
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On an argument that bankers should be careful when they wish for relaxed regulation:

“For every regulation, there are multiple guidelines that have the force of law. I'm all for some regulation, but the regulators must stop using guidance in the place of regulation.”

Related: Relaxing regulations could make next crisis worse
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On calls for regulators to become tech savvier in order to stop algorithm-based discrimination:

“Many banks have model-governance procedures and run tests through sample data sets to pretest for inadvertent discrimination. Regulators can and should up their game but it's not the data free-for-all implied here.”

Related: Regulators need to step up their game to stop tech-based discrimination
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On how there is a lingering feeling among many that harassment is not only present, but it may actually be inevitable, based on responses to a new survey conducted across the banking industry:

“Anyone that believes harassment is inevitable has no place in management. Not just in banking - anywhere.”

Related: Banks wrestle with sense of futility on sexual harassment
Tim Sloan, chief executive officer and president of Wells Fargo, arrives to testify before a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington.

On Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan's paycheck:

“The ratio of CEO pay to worker pay should use only CEO's cash compensation and not include future projected stock awards, which might not materialize. A typical CEO works and is emotionally and/or intellectually engaged in his or her work 80 - 100 hours per week - while most workers leave their work totally behind at the end of the day. Using these metrics would put Sloan's ratio at a very reasonable 20 times. Pretty good deal for someone who must take responsibility for all workers misdeeds.”

Related: Wells Fargo's Sloan received a 35% pay bump in 2017
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On banks offering different interest rates based on a customer’s region:

“With primary interest rate competition from digital banks or offerings made digitally from traditional banks, it seems there is still too much emphasis on geography as a determinant for setting rates.”

Related: Megabanks gird for battle over deposit pricing
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Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), speaks during a hearing of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010. U.S. regulators can prevent a repeat of the financial crisis that toppled Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. if they fully apply new authority granted by lawmakers, Bair said. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Sheila Bair

On the questions facing whoever the White House names as permanent CFPB director:

"The perfect nominee - Sheila Bair, former FDIC Chairman. I really hope she's interested."

Related: Five questions for CFPB nominee to replace Mulvaney
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