BankThink

Users of Google's Android smartphone software may already be more wary of new apps because the Android Market is not as strictly policed as the Apple App Store is. But users may not be concerned about updates to already-installed apps — and hackers are trying to exploit that trust.

The huge debt of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, other government-sponsored enterprises and Ginnie Mae fully relies on the credit of the United States. It is in fact government debt, but it is not accounted for as government debt. It is not "considered officially to be part of the total debt of the federal government," the Federal Reserve coyly notes.

Bank executives, audit committees and shareholders risk additional scrutiny and unwelcome publicity under the best-case scenario – and audit failures under the worst case – if their auditor picks a fight with the PCAOB.

Breaking News This Morning ...Earnings: Regions Financial, Deutsche Bank

Regulations to implement the Volcker Rule have hit the street. Now a new phase of the battle to reign-in proprietary trading by banks is at hand. If past is prologue, a tough and divisive battle looms. Meanwhile, the industry, regulators and customers will be dealing with the uncertainty that has bedeviled all concerned since Dodd-Frank was enacted.

"Stay tuned." Those were the words Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner used on CNBC last week to apprise an angry public that more bank bashing is yet to come.

The "hacktivist" group CabinCr3w, which has ties to Anonymous, has posted what it says are the personal details of yet another big-bank CEO: Brian Moynihan.

It's nearly Halloween, so it seems a fitting time to mention a ghoulish story from the Golden State: the plan by Technology Credit Union to convert to a bank.

The University of Southern California Credit Union's experience is a textbook case study of creating value and differentiation with private student loans.

The recent public exchange between the Wisconsin Bankers Association and the Wisconsin Credit Union League over member business lending sounds a lot like what has been going on in our nation's capital for months. A stalemate between two parties who argue they can do it better, yet no one gets the job done.