BankThink

Four people allegedly broke into 200 point-of-sale systems by guessing their passwords or using software to crack the passwords.

Lars Svensson, deputy governor of Sweden's central bank recently urged the Federal Reserve to find ways to push borrowing costs lower — this even though we already have the lowest nominal interest rates in modern history.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Search Me: "I simply do not know where the money is," Jon Corzine told lawmakers of that missing $1.2 billion during a tense hearing on the collapse of MF Global. The man who once ran Goldman Sachs and the state of New Jersey "appeared as befuddled by what had happened to his firm as the regulators who have been attempting to resolve the matter for more than a month," the Journal says. (In a video embedded in the Journal's main story, the commentators make light of the placard in front of the former Senator's microphone, which read "the honorable Jon Corzine.") Corzine said he was "stunned" when he learned of the missing customer funds. At the same time, he defended his stewardship of MF Global, claiming that the firm failed not because he had it wager $6 billion on European debt but because "the marketplace lost confidence in the firm." (Would it be inappropriate if we reminded readers that nearly 10 years ago, another former CEO of a failed company - Jeff Skilling of Enron - told lawmakers his firm was victim to "a classic run on the bank"?) Intent was a major theme in Corzine's testimony - "I never intended to break any rules" and "never intended to authorize anyone" to touch customers' money. (And if he did "it was a misunderstanding.") Another refrain was the possibility that others might have fumbled: "Someone could misinterpret 'we've got to fix this,' which I said"; he didn't know "whether banks and counterparties have held on to funds that should rightfully have been returned to MF Global." Corzine seemed acutely aware he was doing a lot of blaming of other people. After reassuring a lawmaker he hasn't talked much with CFTC chairman Gary Gensler since they worked together at Goldman, Corzine said, "the buck stops here" … before adding "on that score." Meanwhile the Journal reports that George Soros's family fund bought $2 billion of European debt that belonged to MF Global, for below-market prices. The palindrome probably profited on this purchase, since these bonds have gained in value in the weeks since. In the bigger picture, the Journal says "the Soros move … is something of a wager that a wider collapse of euro-zone finances will be averted" by a renowned investor. Which brings us to …

In 1982, in the height of the first savings and loan crisis, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation announced a new policy that would seek to hold those responsible — particularly directors and officers — for losses ultimately suffered by the FSLIC in resolving their failed institutions.

The MF Global collapse provides an important lesson concerning the effectiveness of the principal or proprietary banking model.

Ninety-four people are accused of committing as much as $1 million in fraud on TD Bank, though individually they received just a few hundred dollars and some McDonald's food.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Three-Card Monte: European nations are preparing for life after the European Union and the return to individual currencies, the Wall Street Journal reports, and those outside the EU are looking for defensive measures in case of an unraveling of the coalition. Meanwhile, on the sunny side of the Street, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner continued his confidence-building tour of Europe, and Germany sold $5.5 billion, of five-year securities. The Times said Geithner noted the "progress" the French and Germans were making in developing ideas for strengthening Europe. The plan calls for further central supervision of each nation's budget. But dark clouds loom: the Washington Post quoted a senior German official as saying he was not convinced that other nations would back the plan and that he was "pessimistic" there would be a deal by the end of the bellwether summit on Friday. If the euro zone collapses, it would be followed by Europe's banking system, triggering "global economic misery," an article in the Journal based on a JPMorgan Chase report noted. JPMorgan advises hedging exposure to the euro. Another Journal story looked at Poland, which still uses the zloty as its currency and has no troubles. And as far as the banks go, it's all just one more work-around: the Times reports at length on how European banks are playing Three-Card Monte with their bond holdings in a "complex maneuver" to bolster capital levels -- without actually raising additional money. The euphemism for this stunt is 'liability management.' Nice optics on that one, fellas. At least it's legal. It is legal, right? (Notice that in this entire 200-plus word discussion of Europe we haven't once mentioned Britain. There's a reason for that, as the Times suggests.)

The Financial Stability Oversight Council, the newest, largest, and surely the most unusual multi-member agency ever to be created by Congress, has begun its work. Comprised of ten voting members — the secretary of the Treasury, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, the heads of the independent financial regulatory agencies, and a presidential appointee with insurance expertise — and five "advisory" nonvoting members, the FSOC has been given the mission, broadly stated, of protecting the financial stability of the United States.

Four reasons Verizon's smackdown of Google Wallet is bad for banks and consumers.

A Brooklyn resident's role in a plan to commit card fraud at multiple casinos may sound like the plot of an Ocean's Eleven movie, but the details are far more mundane.