BankThink

Next week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will focus on cross-border issues and the 2013 budget in two separate meetings.

Financial institutions should, among other things, implement an information governance program, perform periodic privacy audits and learn how data is managed in the cloud.

Remain vocal in conveying your opposition to unwarranted regulatory proposals. Understand your true competition by studying peer data. Eat, breathe, preach and execute sales – but sell to profitable niches in a profitable manner.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...StanChart to Settle … Again: Standard Chartered expects to pay another $330 million in order to settle claims by U.S. agencies that it violated U.S. sanctions. Negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Manhattan district attorney's office are currently underway and expected to close "very shortly." You may recall that the U.K.-based bank has already paid $340 million to settle rebel regulator Benjamin Lawsky's anti-money-laundering allegations related to transactions with Iran earlier this year. That charge will affect the bank's earnings in March, but StanChart still expects pretax profit to be roughly 5% higher than last year's $6.78 billion and, according to Finance Director Richard Meddings, the bank remains "firmly in growth mode." Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times

Chicago is soon to become the first city to report financial activity and fraud to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Banks can get consumers to adopt online banking services by keeping websites simple, communicating a positive message and providing an interactive experience that meets immediate needs.

Rep. Maxine Waters was formally elected as ranking member for the House Financial Services Committee by the House Democratic Caucus.

If we can rate the reliability, safety and efficiency of automobiles, we can do the same for bank risk management.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...HSBC Sells Insurer: Well, we knew this was coming. HSBC has sold its entire stake in Chinese insurer Ping An to the Charoen Pokphand Group, a conglomerate backed by Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont. (Interesting to note, as most papers do, the group is primarily known for its agribusiness, not financial services, empire, "particularly the production of livestock feed, chicken farming and rice trading.") The deal netted HSBC $9.4 billion, which means, over the long haul, the bank is "is making six times what it paid for" the insurer. The sale is part of HSBC's ongoing effort to shed assets, cut costs and streamline its business. According to Dealbook, the bank "has sold more than 40 noncore assets and has booked about $4 billion in gains on those sales this year alone" following chief executive Stuart Gulliver's takeover at the beginning of 2011. Following the deal, Gulliver said ''China remains a key market for the group.'' The bank has expressed interest in increasing its stake in China's Bank of Communications, though it will need regulatory approval to do so. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times

When industries and business environments evolve, the best and brightest people and organizations in that industry will as well.