BankThink

Much of the blame for Lehman Brothers' collapse has fallen on the Securities and Exchange Commission, but at least one former regulator thinks the New York Fed has just as much to answer for.

Bucking the conventional wisdom for 2010 — customers just hate their banks — BancorpSouth finds that their customers make plenty of branch visits.

ORLANDO, Fla.-How does Bancorp South determine a customer's propensity to buy a product or service?

You've heard the saying that only the strong survive. We're fast approaching a marketplace where only the efficient survive. Make sure your credit union is counted among the survivors.

Social media is quickly becoming today's message medium of choice; therefore, credit unions must look at the financial behaviors of these groups to develop successful marketing strategies to gain and retain members.

The mortgage crisis was enabled, if not exacerbated, by the fact that there were never concrete definitions for terms like “subprime” or “alt-A,” and thus little clarity among investors about what they were actually purchasing.

President Obama wants to levy a “financial crisis responsibility fee” on the 50 largest banks, to recoup expenses for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The fee — more popularly known as the Tarp tax— could raise up to $90 billion over the next 10 years. But if the intent is for banks to repay society, wouldn’t it be better to have them perform a much-needed community service? Rather than fine banks, make them create jobs.

In at least one instance credit unions are finding themselves being lumped in with banks, and it's good. That's because in this case it's not the universe of "Banks," with a capital "B" that is typically preceded by "Big" and "Bad," but just the smaller, community banks that have a lot more in common with their not-for-profit brethren than they do the too-big-to-fail but not too-big-to-bail operations that belong to the same trade association.

If credit unions are a better deal financially, they offer better service, and you can make transactions nationwide, why are big bank branches springing up on street corners faster than Starbucks? Simple. While credit unions excel at service, big banks excel at sales.

The GSEs' restructuring will depend on who gets control of their key money-making operation — the credit-guaranty business. Big banks — more than investors or the government — look to be the most viable option.