George Yacik

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Run on Deutsche?: Deutsche Bank shares were under pressure again Friday morning as several large, influential hedge funds moved to pull their money out of the bank, creating what some fear is a Lehman Brothers-type run. But CEO John Cryan told staff the bank has "strong foundations" and urged them not to be distracted by "distorted perception from outside." He said there are "currently some forces at play in the market that want to weaken this trust in us." Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Call in the SEC: Three Democratic senators, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Wells Fargo "violated laws by misleading investors and firing whistleblowers while the bank oversaw the creation of millions of unauthorized, fraudulent accounts," according to the Wall Street Journal. The situation at Wells does "justify an investigation into at least three types of securities law violations," according to the letter the senators sent to the SEC, including signing off on inaccurate financial reports, failing to disclose the fake accounts scandal, and firing employees who tried to report wrongdoing.

Breaking News This Morning ...Deutsche sells insurer: Deutsche Bank, which is under heavy pressure to raise capital, said Wednesday it sold its Abbey Life insurance unit to Phoenix Group Holdings for $1.22 billion. The bank's stock, which hit a 33-year low earlier this week, as it faces a potential $14 billion penalty in the U.S. for allegedly selling toxic mortgage-backed securities, in addition to other problems, including a failed stress test and weak quarterly earnings. The sale, however, will result in a nearly $900 million loss for the German bank. The BBC reported Wednesday morning that Germany is devising a bailout plan, should one be needed, although the bank denied the report. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Good news, bad news: Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo had some good news and some bad news for U.S. commercial banks on Monday. First, he said the Fed is proposing easing stress-test requirements for banks with less than $250 billion in assets that don't engage in significant nonbank or international activity. But the central bank is also considering a separate proposal, to be issued sometime next year, that would have the effect of "significantly" raising capital requirements for the largest banks that are considered "systemically important," meaning the eight largest.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Backwater no longer: Payment systems have long been a backwater of finance, but all that is changing, the Financial Times says in a special report on "The Payments Revolution." While the expansion of online shopping and mobile payment devices has spurred massive growth, "the industry is entering a period of extreme disruption. The dominant players — the banks and credit card companies — face an uncertain future. A fast-growing group of upstart financial technology, or 'fintech,' companies are lining up to challenge the incumbent payment providers by offering to meet customer demand for faster, cheaper and easier-to-use services — many of them using the blockchain." At the same time, regulators are increasing pressure on banks to reduce their fees, while traditional payment services "are facing an onslaught of cyber attacks from an army of increasingly sophisticated hackers and digital criminals."

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Another day, another woe: The pressure on Wells Fargo continues to increase. Eight Democrat senators Thursday asked the Labor Department to open an investigation into the bank's workplace practices. Specifically, the senators, led by Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked the department's Wage and Hour Division to examine whether Wells "aggressively skirted" overtime laws and failed to properly compensate its lower-level employees. Labor said it was taking "very seriously" complaints about how the bank may have treated its employees.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Round Two: Congress isn't through with Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf just yet. Following his pummeling before the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday, Stumpf has been asked to testify before the House Financial Services Committee next week on the bank's phony accounts scandal.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...How long?: Wells Fargo CEO John G. Stumpf told the Senate Banking Committee the bank's pervasive pattern of illegally opening banking accounts without its customers' permission may have gone on even longer than previously believed. "Although the bank has traced the illegal account openings to 2011, it is investigating whether they may have begun even sooner," Stumpf told the panel, according to the New York Times. Stumpf said he found about the situation in 2013, with the board the board being apprised in 2014. "It was not fast enough, not far enough," Stumpf said. "I apologize for that."

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Deeply sorry: Wells Fargo CEO John G. Stumpf will tell the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday that he is "deeply sorry" the bank opened bank accounts and credit cards for customers without permission and that he takes "full responsibility" for scandal, according to his prepared opening remarks that were obtained by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Stumpf will strike "a decidedly contrite tone" before the committee, the Times said. "I want to apologize for not doing more sooner to address the causes of this unacceptable activity," he will reportedly testify.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Too much pressure: Wells Fargo's sales culture "rooted itself so deeply … that it eventually spiraled out of control," the Wall Street Journal reports. "Questionable sales tactics … were an open secret in Wells Fargo branches across the country," according to interviews the paper conducted with more than three dozen current and former employees, from area presidents down to tellers. "Many branch managers routinely monitored employees' progress toward meeting sales goals, sometimes hourly, and sales numbers at the branch level were reported to higher-ranking managers as many as seven times a day. Tension about how to meet the sales targets was common."