2009

Viewpoint: Wall Street-Main Street Divide's a Gaping Issue

American Banker | Nov 20

By Eugene A. Ludwig

Banks and bankers have got to make every effort to restore the industry's reputation. There is no silver bullet to accomplish this, but here are some steps that would help.

Viewpoint: Keys to Effective Financial Education

American Banker | Nov 13

By Barb Iverson

Properly structured financial education programs can and do help people make wise decisions about their personal finances. These six components are key.

Viewpoint: Martin on Retailing - Avoiding Message Overload in Branches

American Banker | Nov 6

By Dave Martin

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

Viewpoint: Improve Credit Product Access, Quality

American Banker | Oct 30

By Kimberly Gartner

With 100 million underbanked consumers, credit product access will have to meet consumer needs, be transparent, be fairly priced, help consumers build credit, and have solid underwriting.

Viewpoint: Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Run

American Banker | Oct 28

By John D. Harrison

I support the Treasury Department's announcement of core principles for regulatory capital standards. Higher capital standards will enhance the stability of the financial system.

Viewpoint: Fostering Trust: There's Ample Loyalty to Start

American Banker | Oct 21

By Andrew Goldberg

Instead of taking a wait-and-see approach, financial institutions should be in the business of connecting with their customers with responsible and transparent communications.

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.

Viewpoint: Time to Help Community Banks in Crisis

American Banker | Sep 18

By Eugene A. Ludwig

These institutions did not cause the current financial crisis; their woes are the product of failures triggered by the activities of under- and unregulated entities and entities with more leverage.

Viewpoint: Small Businesses, Toxic Loans Are a Bad Couple

American Banker | Sep 11

By Samuel Bornstein

Various findings indicate a link between small-business owners with mortgages that are resetting and spiking and the financial distress precipitating the small-bank failures.

Viewpoint: Martin on Retailing: Managing with the Player-Coach Model

American Banker | Sep 4

By Dave Martin

Take a minute this week to make sure your branch managers remember that, in our increasingly demanding branch environments, coaching shouldn't be a spectator sport.

Viewpoint: Main Street Turns to Bernanke

American Banker | Sep 2

By Jorge C. Corralejo and Len Canty

After a vote of confidence from President Obama, will Chairman Bernanke focus on those who live from paycheck to paycheck and the small businesses that are the key to the economic recovery?

Viewpoint: No Accounting for Fair-Value Benefit

American Banker | Aug 21

By Brad Olson

Here's why fair-value accounting is not good for community banks.

Viewpoint: Marketing Online Applications

American Banker | Aug 14

By Dinesh Sheth

Advancements in technology have made online account opening and funding affordable. To generate maximum ROI, the new offering has to be marketed correctly.

Viewpoint: Good Will Can Be a Sales Mind-Changer

American Banker | Aug 7

By Dave Martin

It's often the basic and simple good will gestures that generate the kind of awareness and positive personal impressions that 'marketing campaigns' can seldom deliver.