BankThink

Forget directing downsized staffs to sell based on a particular person's share of wallet. Today's customers can tell the difference between brands that push products and brands that are genuinely trying to solve their problems.

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau streamlines mortgage disclosure forms, banks worry that the proposed simplification may become a burden.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Schneiderman Strikes Again: More details have emerged regarding New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's mortgage-backed securities case against Credit Suisse, now that it has formally been filed, and while there are definite nuances and different key players, the general gist of the allegations may sound a bit familiar. To summarize, prosecutors allege the investment bank misled investors about the quality of the home loans that made up its mortgage securities back in 2006 and 2007. In another bout of déjà vu, there are also apparently incriminating staff emails to back these claims up. (See American Banker's candid crisis catchphrases slideshow for a good refresher on earlier examples of internal correspondence gone awry.) Credit Suisse is rejecting the complaint, saying (and this might also ring a bell) that it "recycles baseless claims from private lawsuits" and uses an "inaccurate and exaggerated" number. (Schneiderman is seeking damages related to $11.2 billion in losses.) But perhaps the most important thing to note, post-filing, is that the attorney general reinforced his pledge to pursue legal action against "other institutions" for mortgage-related wrongdoing. And a New York state law with a 10-year statute of limitations provides him with plenty of time to do so. Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, American Banker

All mortgage lenders should voice their objection to the NMLS' efforts to include non-mortgage industries such as pawnbrokers, debt collectors and even used car financing companies in its registry.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is "attempting an ambitious project required under Dodd-Frank to consolidate overlapping disclosures," writes American Banker's Joe Adler.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s unlimited coverage of non-interest bearing checking accounts is coming to a close.

Providing a safe harbor for only some qualified mortgage loans will swing the stringent credit standard pendulum further in the wrong direction.

Banks should seize the opportunity to shape the rule in a manner that helps policymakers achieve their AML goals without imposing needless cost and customer pain.

Seeking to accelerate a process that results in taking someone's home should not be done lightly. Plus, a major driver of foreclosure time is not state law but who services the mortgage.

Trust isn't a message; it's a series of actions that demonstrate character. For the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, the banking industry established public goodwill through voluntary and proactive decisions.