BankThink

The e-mail from the American Bankers Association earlier this month landed in the boxes of Senators, U.S. Representatives and their staff members with a thud.

What is the sound of one hand clapping? For Buddhists, it's a thorny, Zen question. For credit unions, it's the Washington Hilton Ballroom on Feb. 24,1998.

The individuals who comprise the NCUA board and their qualifications and experience are of primary concern to the entire credit union system. They are of critical importance to the overall health of the nation's credit unions.

Jay R. Murray, President and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Corporate, responds to Frank Diekmann's column on credit union trends.

When a single official has very great power over a small number of firms such as the megabanks, the result too often is regulatory capture.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Consumer Debt Traps: The lead front-page story in Sunday's Times examined large banks' role in supporting online payday lenders that get around state interest-rate restrictions by locating offshore. At issue is the banks' automatic debiting of borrowers' accounts to pay the interest, authorized by the customers when they take out the loans. The problem is that the banks often continue to withdraw money to pay the loans even after accountholders ask them to stop. "I don't understand why my own bank just wouldn't listen to me," says one borrower. The article suggests this is driven by the megabanks' desire to rack up overdraft and nonsufficient-funds fees, rather than by incompetence. The CFPB and FDIC are investigating banks' involvement with this kind of lending, while New York financial regulator Benjamin Lawsky is probing the banks' role in helping the nonbank lenders evade state interest caps, the Times reports. … Another Times article looks at the struggles of young veterinarians to service the debt that paid their veterinary school tuition. … A special report on wealth management in today's Journal leads with "12 Debt Myths That Trip Up Consumers." Myth No. 2: "Credit cards from your favorite retailers are a good deal."

Coinbase makes it simple to buy and sell bitcoins via a bank account, but plays only to the low-fee, frictionless nature of Bitcoin and fails to leverage its unique privacy aspects.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has shown interest in the student loan marketplace, noting its potential to cause systemic problems, and the agency wants to assist struggling student borrowers.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council was created as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank reform law to identify risks and respond to emerging threats to financial stability. The FSOC exercised its authority for the first time last November, when the council issued recommendations to the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the regulation of money-market mutual funds.

The market should pay more attention to whether banks are adequately capitalized for unabated fraud, such as misrepresentations of securities or insider trading, settlement complications and other operational failures.