BankThink

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling is "cautiously optimistic" that the House will vote this fall on his bill to reform the mortgage finance market and hold a conference with the Senate to resolve policy disagreements.

Declining interchange revenue translates into consumers paying more for the products and services (that in many instances were once free), with no corresponding decrease in retailer prices.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Yellen v. Summers: The growing controversy over who will succeed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke garnered more attention in the major papers. The Journal focused on behind-the-scenes efforts by the White House to "quash the campaign" by Senate Democrats, who have been pressuring President Obama to nominate Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen. Apparently, the "message" has been received. "In recent days, top Democratic senators have vowed to support whomever he picks." Not getting the message, though, was Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who listed her reasons why nominating Larry Summers — the other leading candidate, who is said to have support in the White House — would be a bad idea. "The idea that it is somehow historically inevitable that the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve should go to Summers, that it belongs to him, that he would be an enthusiastic enforcer of bank regulation to protect the little guy? I have my doubts." A story on the front of the Times business section said it is difficult to predict exactly how either candidate would chart the Fed's regulatory course. "For supporters of stronger regulation, it comes down to a choice between someone they do not know and someone they do not trust."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Justice Department announced last week that they are investigating PNC Financial Services' mortgage lending. The probe into the Pittsburgh-based bank's mortgage pricing is causing some to worry that regulators are preparing to investigate other large banks for alleged loan discrimination.

Banking has lost its recruiting luster at a critical time. To attract the best, the industry must regain people’s trust.

For fans of stress-testing, the IMF has a new primer on what it takes to make one credible.

As they push to have over-the-counter derivatives cleared with central counterparties, regulators must not let these clearing houses become systemic risks themselves.

I applaud the government's efforts to weed out bad actors, but I'm deeply concerned about the unintended consequences this could have on much needed financial services for underbanked people.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Probe of Banks' Commodities Role: It is apparently not enough that banks are winding down some of their commodities operations to evade scrutiny over alleged price manipulation. It was widely reported Monday that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued subpoenas to institutions with subsidiaries that store and deliver aluminum, seeking documents as part of an investigation. "The subpoenas come," according to the Wall Street Journal, "amid heightened scrutiny of Wall Street's involvement in commodity and energy markets." The paper also reported another move by a big firm, this time Morgan Stanley, to reorganize its commodities business. The Times, citing two sources, said the CFTC requests "seek all internal documents, e-mails, correspondence, voice recordings and other records concerning the warehouse operations dating back to January 2010." The FT reported that the CFTC inquiry corresponds with a potential ruling by the Federal Reserve on whether firms "should be allowed to continue owning physical commodity assets."

In the race to provide consumers with identity verification tools that are simple and easy to use, it's in everyone's best interest to ensure that businesses are not sacrificing data security in the process.