BankThink

Some notes from around the world, or at least a world as large as the inside of the Ottawa Convention Center, where WOCCU recently held its World CU Conference.

Edward Speed, a recently retired CEO of a $2 billion-asset credit union, explains why rigid operations kill front-line performance.

Ron Schmidt, CPA, with CBS Certified Public Accountants LLC, explains why an audit is about more than just the numbers.

Modern banking exposes our financial system to considerable risks. Government attempts to contain these risks exacerbate them. Here’s a proposed alternative: A “Depositary” that stores money for a fee without lending.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Targeting Barclays: The U.K. Treasury is expected to give the "cash-strapped' Serious Fraud Office £2 million in special "blockbuster" funding so that it can continue a probe into Barclays' fundraising efforts five years ago, the FT reports. "The SFO's director, David Green, negotiated a similar arrangement for the agency's sprawling investigation into Libor manipulation, in which Barclays is also a target," the paper notes. Regulators have been looking into "certain commercial arrangements" the bank made with Qatar Holdings back in 2008, but the funding seems to indicate the probe is "escalating". Barclays declined to comment on the investigation. Meanwhile, the bank did say that it would "update the market" as to how it plans to fill a capital gap during its earnings call on Tuesday. Anonymice previously told the Journal and the FT that the bank was considering issuing fresh equity and selling convertible bonds, among other things, to meet its estimated £7 billion shortfall.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., John McCain, R-Ariz., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Angus Kin, I-Maine proposed a bill that would reinstate the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act, and analysts believe the legislation will not pass Congress.

The use of social media channels promotes transparency, enhances customer service and helps establish a senior bank executive as the most accurate and trusted source of company information.

Join Bankthink and series contributors in discussing the types of products and services tomorrow’s banks might offer.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Democrats Rally for Yellen: Roughly a third of Senate Democrats reportedly have signed a letter urging President Obama to appoint Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen as successor to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. The Journal and the FT were not able to say exactly who or how many senators have signed the letter, which is being circulated by Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Tom Harkin say they've signed. Meanwhile, the Times and Barron's explore the gender politics between frontrunners Yellen and Lawrence Summers, Treasury Secretary during the Clinton administration. Both discuss the Obama administration's lack of women in top economic positions, while Barron's Greg Valliere calls Summers "famously prickly."