BankThink

Breaking News This Morning ...JPMorgan Restates 1Q Profits Lower: The bank "cut its previously reported first-quarter earnings by $459 million, or 8.5%, after revising valuations of some positions in the Chief Investment Office's synthetic credit portfolio." Wall Street Journal

"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has already proved to be one of the busiest regulators in Washington," writes American Banker's Rob Blackwell about the agency’s first year in operation.

"The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 included a provision protecting whistleblowers at publicly traded companies from retaliation. Dodd-Frank spelled out that the provision also protects employees of wholly owned subsidiaries of public companies. The question remained, however, whether that protection applies retroactively,” writes law.com.

The only beneficiary of this well-intended but misguided regulation appears to be a small group of lawyers bringing costly lawsuits.

When smaller financial institutions, such as credit unions, are inundated with regulations from multiple agencies simultaneously, their ability to meet the needs of members is hampered and services are curtailed.

How ironic to see banks complain about being victimized by nuisance lawsuits filed by consumers over missing warning notices at ATMs – notices that were required to stop banks from victimizing consumers with nuisance charges at ATMs.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...The Fed’s Reserve: In the minutes from the last policy meeting, “Federal Reserve officials sent new signals they are seriously considering more actions to bolster the economic recovery but disappointed many investors by not indicating they are committed to taking action,” the Journal says. The Times and the Post play up the divisions among Fed officials on whether, how and when to act. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post.

The qualified mortgage definition was the topic of a House subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, part of a six-hearing campaign by Republicans challenging Dodd-Frank.

Gearing up for the two-year anniversary of Dodd-Frank House Republican's launched a campaign "to convince the electorate that Dodd-Frank's rules are hurting everyday Americans rather than just the financial sector,” writes American Banker’s Kevin Wack.

With new entrants from China, fresh capital could be made available to entrepreneurs and business owners who otherwise might fail to find financing. Also, remember the fears in the 1980s that the Japanese were buying up America?