BankThink

Receiving Wide Coverage ...The Day After: "Thousands" of customers visited their local community banks and credit unions on Saturday, presumably to consummate Bank Transfer Day, the Journal reports. However, the paper raises the possibility that the megabanks losing these accounts may be whispering "good riddance" to at least some of them. "People who gravitate to credit unions tend to be unprofitable for giant banks because of the small balances they keep on deposit, low number of products they buy and the relatively high account-maintenance expenses at big financial firms," the Journal says. (Hmm, that idea sounds familiar; where did we read that before?) Lower down in the article is a refreshing acknowledgment that despite being lumped together with credit unions as "the good guys" in the Bank Transfer Day narrative, many community bankers resent their tax-exempt rivals at the CUs almost as much as they resent the too-big-to-fail banks (if not more so). Another Journal story warns consumers that while the $5 debit card fees that galvanized the Bank Transfer Day crowd are kaput, other fees are likely to take their place as banks try to somehow recoup revenues lost to the Durbin interchange regulation. (Hey, that analysis sounds familiar, too.) The Netbanker blog points out that several of the credit unions actively wooing consumers to make the big switch were using SwitchAgent, a technology developed by Deluxe Corp. that makes it easier to change banks. We must say this was a prescient and timely offering, particularly from a company whose traditional business is the very twentieth-century activity of printing checks. Another credit union featured in the NetBanker post, Verity, employed what the blog called a "gloves off" promo: "Join the Credit Union Revolution … Make a Stand." At least the ad doesn't call CUs a "movement"…

We've already seen Occupy Foreclosures. How about Occupy The Wall Street Journal, Occupy Fox News or Occupy PBS?

Banks with thousands and tens of thousands of employees shudder when dozens or hundreds of demonstrators display their resentment of "Wall Street" and when surveys show that lots consumers dislike or blame banks. Then articles blossom, telling us how to convince employees that they should not be ashamed of being bankers.

How many stolen vans does it take to break into an ATM? In Nashville, Tenn., thieves needed two.

Breaking News This Morning ...Corzine Out at MF Global: And he won't seek severance.

If MF Global commingled client funds, it would be PwC’s fault as much as Jon Corzine’s.

Brian Moynihan gives an interview on camera, on the spot. ABC dwells on the sidewalk chase. Will bankers who hide their checking fees get the same treatment?

The latest data confirm what housing practitioners already knew: there are simply not enough home sales today to spark a housing recovery. Whether it is a recent Mortgage Bankers Association survey on purchase applications being at a 15 year low, the Federal Housing Administration's fiscal year 2011 purchase data indicating a 30% decline or Fannie and Freddie's consistently weak purchase volume, all show a market in serious trouble.

The Texas Ratio is often used to measure the riskiness of a bank and its likelihood of failure. But recently, it has lost its distinctiveness as being uniquely Texan.

Breaking News ...European Central Bank Cuts Rates: Full press release and snark at ZeroHedge.