BankThink

Debit card issuers used to promote signature transactions over PIN. But now, in a post-Durbin world, the interchange revenues from both are similar, so “issuers are now trying to guide shoppers to use personal identification numbers” because of the lower costs, explains American Banker’s Victoria Finkle.

Financial institutions that do the same things should have the same oversight. Unfortunately, we're a long way from regulatory parity, even after Dodd-Frank.

Designating certain companies as systemically important accomplishes nothing more than putting them into a closer relationship with the government, making the designation itself a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If Congress fails to extend this 2007 law, millions of already-struggling families would face a substantial tax bill shortly after working out a deal with their mortgage lender – undermining short sales and other foreclosure prevention efforts.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Spanish Bank Launches Big IPO: Spain's Banco Santander is launching an initial public offering of its Mexican unit in an effort to raise up to $4.2 billion as the Spanish economy continues to falter. The Madrid-based bank will sell as much as 24.9% of its aptly named Santander Mexico unit with shares costing between 29.00 and 33.50 pesos each. Santander is one of the few Spanish banks still able to issue debt, but that doesn't mean the bank is thriving. According to the Times, it reported a 93% drop in second-quarter profit "as it set aside more money to cover bad loans in the Spanish market." The FT says the IPO is in line with a strategy Santander has used throughout the financial crisis "to sell stakes in its overseas subsidiaries to raise capital and to establish clearer valuations" in troubled times. The paper also points out that the IPO is the "second-largest in the world this year after Facebook" and, as such, could provide a "welcome jolt" to the U.S. economy. Let's just hope the debut, expected on September 26, goes smoothly.

Few things cut through the skepticism many folks hold toward a business (or even industry) as much as genuine, altruistic actions.

The all-inclusive APR that figures into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's prosed mortgage disclosure forms has elicited a mixed reaction.

Among those calling for tighter money market fund regulations, one analyst says the Financial Stability Oversight Council's action (or lack thereof) on the matter will be a test of Dodd-Frank's effectiveness.

No one should be surprised that banks would suppress their posted rates in a funding crisis or that they might manipulate the BBA survey for gain. It was easy to see this coming.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Europe's Banking Woes Burgeon: Perhaps because of the long weekend in the U.S., this morning's banking news is dominated by headlines about Europe … and things aren't looking up. The Journal reports the French government rushed to bail out the "small, but key" Caisse Centrale du Crédit Immobilier de France (CCCIF) over the weekend after the mortgage lender requested aid to pay down bonds that were due on Monday. The $6.3 billion loan provided to CCCIF follows the French government's bailout of Franco-Belgian lender Dexia last year. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a radio interview while the county's financial sector is largely strong, both bailouts were necessary because of the areas they were focused on: housing and local governments.