Jeanine Skowronski

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Barclays Branded a Big Disgrace: Newly-minted Barclays Chairman David Walker has got a pretty tough job on his hands when it comes to revamping his bank's image. A new report from British lawmakers calls Barclays' steps towards rigging the London Interbank offered rate "disgraceful," says CNN. It also suggests the Libor scandal stemmed from a "deeply flawed culture" at the bank and was not simply the actions of a "small group of rogue traders."

A personal touch can help a bank stand out, but providing great service is a challenge in our increasingly digital society. How do you develop meaningful (and lasting) relationships with your customers?

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Goldman Off the Hook: The Justice Department has decided it will not charge Goldman Sachs (or any of its employees) with financial crimes related to the mortgage crisis. Neither, apparently, will the Securities and Exchange Commission, as Goldman Sachs announced separately the SEC had informed it an investigation into a $1.3 billion subprime mortgage deal had come to an action-less end. The Justice Department said there was not enough evidence to file charges. According to the Journal, the department also said "protecting the integrity of our banking system" remains a "top priority."

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Squarebucks: One small step for Square may turn out to be a giant step for mobile payments. The start-up has struck a mega-partnership with popular coffee chain Starbucks that could very easily revolutionize the payment space. Starting this fall, Starbucks will begin processing all of its debit and credit card transactions in the U.S. using Square technology. The deal also comes with a $25 million investment that places Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz on Square's board.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...StanChart Revisted: Remember how New York regulators were accusing Standard Chartered of helping Iranians launder $250 billion, but the British bank was only acknowledging $14 million in improper transactions? According to the FT, the discrepancy stems from StanChart's belief it used an exemption to U.S. sanction law, known as a U-turn. This exemption allowed banks operating in the U.S. to process transactions from rogue nations such as Iran so long as they were initiated offshore and properly vetted by the overseas financial institution. The U-turn exemption was revoked back in 2008, but, in its formal statement, StanChart asserts it ceased doing new business with the Iranians five years ago. The bank also says it is absolutely sure it wasn't doing business with terrorists.

As Standard Chartered deals with the fallout over accusations it laundered money for Iran, some wonder if U.S. regulators have been overreaching.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Substandard Charter: Well, this is a bit of a doozy. New York regulators have accused Standard Chartered of leaving "the U.S. financial system vulnerable to terrorists, weapons dealers, drug kingpins and corrupt regimes" after discovering the British bank allegedly used its New York unit to launder at least $250 billion for the Iranian government. Among other things, the bank is being accused of "wire-stripping," or removing codes from money so Iranian transfers could not be identified. The FT says regulators are also alleging Standard Chartered engaged in "similar schemes" with Libya, Myanmar and Sudan.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Every Banker for Himself: Sources tell the Times the London Interbank Offered Rate scandal is leading banks to turn on one another. Government and bank officials close to the Libor investigations say implicated banks are using Barclays' $450 million settlement as a "guidepost" in their discussions with authorities. The go-to line seems to be that one's bank wasn't as bad as its counterparts and, therefore, should not be so severely penalized.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...The Computer Is Killing Brokerage Firms: Trading firm Knight Capital suffered $440 million in losses after its new software system went crazy and swamped the stock market with errant trades. The Times reports Knight bumped up against a deadline and used the software, designed to take advantage of a new Wall Street trading venue, before it had to time to work out the glitches. Fortunately, the market handled the malfunction; it was down less than 1% on Wednesday and Thursday. But the error has called attention to how (even more) perilous the stock market has become as a result of technological advancements and has some regulators clamoring for more controls to be instituted. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are investigating the matter. According to the Times, some SEC officials are pushing for measures that would force firms to fully test coding changes before software is put to public use.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Making Dollars on Data: As financial institutions turn to technology for revenue, efforts have been made to capitalize on personal data. American Express's Serve, for example, banks on the idea merchants will pay for spending habit data captured by the digital platform. But, as this article from CNNMoney illustrates, there are other, possibly better ways to capitalize on the data craze. According to the article, several start-ups are developing "data lockers," a cloud-based method of essentially protecting a person's data from everyone they don't want to see it. While the article itself doesn't suggest banks compete with the emerging start-ups, it's hard not to see the opportunity here. A big bulk of the data a consumer is going to want to shield from third-party is information financial institutions already have: credit card numbers, checking account information, personal data related to loan applications, etc. Offering to shield this data may be one service for which customers are willing to pay. As one commenter noted, "If the assumption is that customers have a choice, I can imagine many people preferring to have control over their personal data."

FHFA acting director DeMarco's rejection of principal reductions for underwater homeowners led some to praise his judgment and others to call for his termination. What's your take?

Receiving Wide Coverage ...It's the Principle of the Matter: The Federal Housing Finance Agency caused a stir when it went against the Treasury Department's wishes and ruled principal reductions would not be awarded to struggling borrowers whose loans are owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. FHFA acting director Edward DeMarco ultimately cited moral hazard, maintaining a small number of strategic defaults on mortgages would wind up hurting taxpayers. In a written rebuttal, U.S. Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner — who the Journal notes was against principal reductions in 2009 — asked the FHFA to reconsider and said he was "concerned" over the regulator's "continued opposition" to the purported aid. The Treasury Department also sent out a tweet shortly after the decision was announced, asserting "FHFA's own analysis shows principal reduction at Fannie & Freddie could help up to half a million homeowners and save GSEs $3.6 billion."

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Eye on Central Banks: The European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve are set to meet this week in an effort to bolster the flagging global economy. According to the Journal, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will focus on how to spur enough economic growth in the U.S. to drive down unemployment, while ECB head Mario Draghi needs to address growing concerns that countries will abandon the euro. The Journal says there's a chance the Fed could unveil a new program for buying mortgage or government securities to bring down long-term interest rates, but it also may simply wait until economic forecasts are updated in September to take significant action. Reuters similarly suggests the eurozone debt crisis won't see palpable changes until key policymakers return in September from their summer holidays.