BankThink

There are 7, 500 banks in this country. Of those, 6,800 have asset sizes of a billion dollars or less. This diversity enables our banking system to support the world's largest and most dynamic economy, and it is what sets us apart from other countries whose banking industries are highly concentrated. Prosperous, American-based global enterprises — which do business with America's largest banks — beget mid-size suppliers that are served by regional banks. Small businesses in this supply chain are in turn nurtured by community banks, which work to make Main Streets across America vibrant.

Microsoft’s Security Essentials is supposed make sure that Windows users stay virus-free when they surf the Web. Last week it took its mission a bit too far, removing a popular Web browser entirely.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Eye on B of A: Merrill Lynch is "thriving," but morale isn't so good, according to the front page of the Times' Sunday Business section. For one thing, the brokerage's profits are being overshadowed (and canceled out) by parent company Bank of America's whopping mortgage losses. Many bankers and traders get about half their pay in restricted stock, so the decline in B of A's stock price has amounted to a pay cut. And hundreds of layoffs in the past few weeks haven't helped the mood among the "thundering herd" either. Meanwhile, the Post reports that B of A has faced customer outrage over its new $5 charge for debit cards. It probably compounded customers' frustrations that B of A's website suffered sporadic outages over the weekend. The bank said the outages were not the result of hacking and went out of its way to add that the website problems had nothing to do with the debit fee. It's hard to imagine why the former would have anything to do with the latter, but "the response may reflect quite how much the resulting criticism has stung BofA," says "Heard on the Street."

An analysis of your member base will usually show that members havecommon traits regarding their business activities, profession, incomelevels, etc.

As a finance manager, you're going to work according to your pay plan. You are going to go with where you can make the most money, but also where you can get that deal bought. It's the last part of that sentence that should be of the most interest to credit unions looking to work with auto dealers.

Many small and midsize businesses have fallen victim to a recent deluge of phishing attacks.

Many bankers are employing a botox business strategy of reaching for yield in the current low return environment. It involves toxic injections of risk to cover up performance wrinkles. Unfortunately, it has potentially ruinous long-term side effects. The strategy is based on the mistaken belief that risk creates return. Thus, if you cannot get desired returns from safe investments, then all you need to do is turn up the risk appetite thermostat and take more risk.

In retail banking, we look for trends: the branch of the future; the winning mobile banking platform; prepaid cards. It's harmless fun.

Text messages – and any sensitive information they contain – may last a lot longer than people realize.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Eurozone Crisis, Chapter 42: German Chancellor Angela Merkel mustered a political victory by winning approval of the expansion of the European bailout mechanism in a parliamentary vote that would have passed on the stregth of her coalition's support alone. The Times said Slovakia "is the only remaining wild card" in a process that requires the assent of all 17 European Union countries. But even though the paper predicted that opponents in Slovakia would cave under pressure from the rest of the bloc, a fraught road lies ahead to secure the further amplification of the European Financial Stablitity Facility that many analysts believe is necessary to resolve the crisis. The Journal said, "As deputies emerged from the assembly in the Reichstag in central Berlin, a number of lawmakers predicted Ms. Merkel would have to ask parliament for more money soon." Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post