BankThink

Under new international rules, mutual banks in the U.S. will need a way to issue marketable securities to raise capital. Core capital deferred shares, a U.K. innovation, offer a model.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Battle over Money Market Funds Intensifies: A recent push by regulators to reform money market funds has become about much more than revamping a risky industry. According to the Journal, the showdown is "turning into a major test of a key change to the U.S. financial architecture after the most severe financial crisis in half a century" since the establishing new rules regarding the funds has now fallen to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the "superregulator of sorts" created by the Dodd-Frank Act. Meanwhile, another Journal article points out money market funds are poised to receive an influx of cash between now and year-end since the Dodd-Frank Deposit Insurance Provision, which guarantees "an unlimited amount of non-interest-bearing deposits at banks" is set to expire.

It's ironic yet also true that the worst fallout of an election season is it can sour so many people on democracy. So let's have a thunderous round of applause for the restorative power of the democracy seen in action at Tech Credit Union in San Jose, Calif.

An alarming number of credit unions still view mobile banking as an extension of their Internet banking channel.

NCUA brazenly handed out a MBL gift to all of us in the form of 1,500 credit unions that have been newly designated as "low income."

Trader fraud occurs only because we do not require immediate trade confirmation posted infallibly to the institution's books. Instead, the trader is allowed to wave a magic wand to create false transactions or hide real ones.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council moved forward on its task, required by Dodd-Frank, of identifying nonbank financial institutions that pose a systemic risk. In phase three you only find out if you're a candidate.

There will be some complex decisions for those involved in Tarp situations, particularly with regard to banks that are likely to fail if they are not acquired or recapitalized. Here’s what to consider before you make them.

Breaking News This Morning ...$2.4B to Make It Go Away: Bank of America agreed to pay $2.43 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by investors who claimed, among other things, that the bank misled them about the health of Merrill Lynch, which B of A was in the process of buying. B of A denies the allegations, but said it just wanted to put the dispute to rest. "Resolving this litigation removes uncertainty and risk and is in the best interests of our shareholders," said CEO Brian Moynihan. New York Times, Wall Street Journal

Both the generalized Democratic mantra that the Dodd-Frank Act is inviolable and the Republican mantra to repeal Dodd-Frank are untenable.