Dr. Thomas is the nation's leading expert and author on the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA. He has a Ph.D. in business and applied economics and an M.A. in finance from The Wharton School as well as an MBA from the University of Miami and a B.S.B.A. (High Honors) from the University of Florida. Dr. Thomas taught banking and monetary economics at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for 42 years. He is also a 20-plus year member of the board of directors and chairman of the nominating/corporate governance committee of a community bank. Dr. Thomas was the co-founder and chairman of the board of trustees of another successful CRA qualified investment impact bond fund that he launched in August 1999, but he is no longer associated with it or its advisor. Dr. Thomas was a recipient of one of the first three awards of excellence from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, or NCRC, in 1994, the other two awarded to Representative Joe Kennedy and Comptroller of the Currency Eugene Ludwig. As a consultant to both the private and federal sectors, his thought leadership is reflected in today's existing CRA regulations.
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Just as two North Carolina universities have dominated college basketball in recent decades, two banks from the Tar Heel state have dominated much of U.S. banking since 1990, turning Florida, especially, into a "banking colony."
April 14
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President Trump and Elon Musk probably would not have put Rohit Chopra and his CFPB on their hit list had he run it with common sense, balancing the interests of both the financial industry and their consumers. An independent and consolidated federal consumer financial protection agency is needed, but only if a fair-minded leader runs it.
March 10 -
After nearly 10 years of banking my business, BofA debanked it because of overzealous anti-money-laundering enforcement. The Trump administration must bring back common sense to Bank Secrecy Act compliance.
February 10 -
President Trump has promised to reduce banking regulations, a form of indirect tax or "bank tariff," that will help the banking industry. But, he also plans to impose new tariffs on imports that may adversely impact agricultural and manufacturing industries and thus their banks.
January 17 -
The chairman of the Federal Reserve presided over the worst inflation in 40 years, generating public outrage that paved the way for Donald Trump's victory in last month's election.
December 9 -
With plans to open 100 banking centers in "banking deserts," the $3 trillion JPMorgan Chase is arguably the nation's largest community bank. Other big banks should take notice and follow suit, and regulators should encourage them.
November 11 -
Regulatory justice prevailed with a federal district court injunction staying the politically motivated CRA final rule, the most complicated and convoluted regulation ever. Depending on election results, it may end up in the Supreme Court.
October 14 -
Branches are being closed at a record pace because of mergers and financial reasons. If a closed branch is in a good location and meets certain other conditions, it can represent a low-cost way for a community bank to expand.
September 9 -
Congress publicly excoriated the supervisors and CEOs of last year's trifecta of megabank failures. But, what about the directors who were supposedly overseeing those CEOs? The entire chain of bank oversight needs to be rethought from congressional hearing rooms to banking board rooms.
August 12 -
The most important issue on voters' minds is inflation, and the inflation blame game has heated up with the upcoming presidential election. Putting politics aside, an objective economist would blame neither candidate, since the underlying cause of our inflation, like so many other problems today, was COVID-19.
July 8
