BankThink

The Federal Reserve Board released a proposal that would overhaul the way regulators will supervise foreign banks within the U.S. This approach would be a significant difference from the board's current case-by-case method.

The role of the federal government in housing is the first question that needs to be answered, putting aside political rhetoric and preconceived notions about the subject.

In the past, bank investment aimed at gaining a proprietary edge through new methods of consumer payment has consistently been poorly rewarded. Expect another repeat.

In business speed and accuracy are necessary to remain competitive, yet the critical function of receivables management often gets overwhelmed in sheer volumes of paper and data flows. Checks are a big reason why.

Australia's Louise Petschler happened to be in the U.S. during the recent elections as part of a presentation to a group of credit unions. That experience was quite interesting, she said, sharing a couple of contrasts to how voting in Australia differs from voting in the United States.

Imagine this actually happening here. The country's largest savings banks and largest credit unions come together and agree to henceforth be known as "mutual banks." Both swear off ever using those two-word identifiers-savings bank and credit union-ever again. They even sign on with the same trade group.

The motto of the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) is" Building Dreams Together" and their actions clearly show that they are true to the words they speak.

I have to agree with Mr. Moriarity's letter to the editor in the Dec, 3rd issue of Credit Union Journal and after reading Mr. Diekmann's article entitled "NCUA Posts More Info About Budget On Site" it just seals the deal.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...AIG Is Having (Another) Share Sale: The newly private (or perhaps newly re-private) AIG is set to sell its shares in Asian life insurer AIA. Prices have yet to be set, but the sale is expected to net the company anywhere from $6.4 billion to $6.7 billion, depending on what paper you ask. AIG told Dealbook it will "sell the shares to institutional investors" and "use the proceeds from the deal for general corporate purposes," but other news outlets point out the firm has been "shedding noncore assets" steadily — just last week, the insurer announced plans to sell its 90% stake in an airplane leasing business — as it continues to pay off government loans. News outlets also point out AIG isn't getting out of Asia entirely, however. Last month, the firm said it plans to launch a joint venture with the People's Insurance Company (Group) of China. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times

Know where - and when - your bank's target audience goes online for information and social interaction. It’s better to have just two social media channels that are well-supported than five left unattended.