Featured Topics
Extraordinary Measures
In the year since the fall of Lehman Bros., the financial crisis has torn through the banking industry, leaving few parts of it — and few people in it — unchanged. Faced with grave and unprecedented challenges, banks and their regulators have responded in ways uncontemplated prior to the crisis, creating a new political and operational order, which is still unfolding. The following is a collection of stories on responses to the crisis.
Regulatory Restructuring
The revamp of the financial regulatory structure has become a top priority for policymakers as they work to stop the financial crisis. Much of the immediate focus is on giving the government oversight powers of systemically important institutions, sometimes referred to as "too big to fail" institutions. The Obama administration has recommended the creation of a systemic risk regulator to oversee such firms, which include bank holding companies, insurance companies, and large hedge funds. It has also championed a bill that would give resolution powers over systemically important firms to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Several lawmakers have also called for the consolidation of existing bank regulators. Policymakers are expected to wrestle with the issue this year in an effort to come up with a new system. Following is some of American Banker's critical coverage in this area.
Restoring Financial Stability
The government has started at least two dozen programs designed to arrest the financial crisis. The most prominent is the $700-billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, but others include the capital assistance program, the public-private investment program to purchase banks' toxic assets and the Federal Reserve Board's Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility. Following is key coverage in this area:
Bank Failures
The rush of bank failures at the end of last year has only escalated. By mid-April, regulators had seized about as many institutions this year as they had in all of 2008, with closures mostly striking community banks lacking the resources to survive the financial meltdown. Facing an enormous workload, the FDIC has had to bulk up manpower, reserve more money to pay depositors and raise premiums to prepare for a longer list of casualties. The following collection of stories on bank failures will be updated as more occur.
2Q '09 Bank Earnings
JPMorgan Chase & Co. set the bar for second-quarter earnings at large banking companies by reporting a 36% leap in profits last week, and the questions it prompted about all banking firms have dominated the earnings season. Those included: Has the industry turned around? Are big banking companies masking their true health with investment banking, accounting and other special gains? How will regional banks, which don't have these fallback options, fare as they struggle with greater concentrations of bad loans? Following is American Banker's second-quarter earnings coverage.
Remembering Bill Seidman
Bill Seidman touched many lives during his 88 years — from politics to business, education to the media. As chairman of the FDIC and then the RTC, he had a huge impact on how troubled banks are handled. His passing May 13 was sad news for many in the banking business. We invite you to share your memories here.
The Pursuit of the Underbanked
Underbanked consumers remain a coveted market — one that is poised to expand in the recession. Wal-Mart and H&R Block have signed up millions of these people for their prepaid cards. Meanwhile, some bankers are encouraging their brethren to enter the remittance market, despite the global slowdown in money transfers. Following is a selection of recent coverage of key developments.
Mortgage Policy
President Obama and key Democrats are pushing legislation that would let judges rework mortgages in the bankruptcy process, while House Financial Services Committee Chairman has introduced a bill that would rein in mortgage underwriting standards. Following is a selection of recent coverage of key developments.
Review '08 / Preview '09
At the turn of each year, American Banker publishes a series of articles offering perspective on the events and trends of the past year and providing a forward view of what the banking and financial services industry might expect in the year ahead.
Articles focus on each of American Banker's core coverage areas, as well as narrower subjects within those areas. The 2008/2009 Review/Preview Topic page is a running archive of this season's series. We welcome your feedback, as well as your own assessment of what by any measure has been an extraordinary year for banking.
GSEs
Some of the first — and still largest — casualties of the housing crisis were the government sponsored enterprises. The Federal Housing Finance Agency — the new GSE regulator created on July 30 — placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship on Sept. 7. The agency replaced their chief executive officers and said it would deemphasize the pursuit of profits. Since placed in conservatorship, the two companies have taken government-directed steps to help encourage more loan modifications even while they continue to suffer massive losses. The future of the companies is wide open. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said the charters need to be rewritten, and Democrats could take such steps next year as part of regulatory restructuring. Following are a collection of articles on policy issues surrounding the government-sponsored enterprises.
Credit Card Billing Practices
Credit card billing practices have come under plenty of scrutiny lately — by banks, issuers, activists, and legislators. We've collected key coverage of this issue, including news-analysis articles, opinion pieces, and more.
