BankThink

This morning Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will answer questions from the Senate Banking Committee on the Obama Administration´s new regulatory restructuring plan and BankThink will be keeping you up today with a live blog of the hearing. Watch for some tough grilling on the proposal to give the Federal Reserve the power to monitor and regulate systemic risk. The committee members have been particularly resistant to the idea of giving the Fed more power, and several of them voiced fresh concerns yesterday after President Obama announced the plan. Geithner will have to defend the plan twice today; this morning's Senate hearing will be followed by one in the House Financial Services Committee.

This morning Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will answer questions from the Senate Banking Committee on the Obama Administration´s new regulatory restructuring plan and BankThink will be keeping you up today with a live blog of the hearing. Watch for some tough grilling on the proposal to give the Federal Reserve the power to monitor and regulate systemic risk. The committee members have been particularly resistant to the idea of giving the Fed more power, and several of them voiced fresh concerns yesterday after President Obama announced the plan. Geithner will have to defend the plan twice today; this morning's Senate hearing will be followed by one in the House Financial Services Committee.

No shopaholic jokes, please: do women really want special credit cards?

Given the extent to which the global financial crisis has ravaged markets, crippled industries and closed countless businesses both large and small, it would seem doubtful that there's any light at all on the economic horizon. However, credit unions and financial cooperatives the world over have a good story to tell and may be able shed some light on a brighter financial future.

I am deeply disappointed in Dan Mica and CUNA not representing the majority of credit unions on two issues.

During this year credit unions across America commemorate the 100th anniversary of the very first credit union in the United States. For many, looking back provides a sense of security. It's good to remember the principles upon which the movement was founded.

Perhaps no word conjures up more of a diverse reaction now than "mortgage."

Writing for the Bank Innovation blog, Michael Gibbs, last week offered three stories from the major papers chronicling separate victories for the banking lobby. He concluded that by reasserting its strength, the lobby is showing how banks are regaining ground in the power struggle with federal regulators and thusly reviving themselves as drivers of economic growth. In other words, Gibbs is saying that a stronger banking lobby and stronger banks can get the economy back on track. But does that make sense?

This week, the Treasury Department faces another Monday deadline, but the agency may miss this one too: The first round of big banks permitted to repay their Tarp funds may be revealed. Word is that if the announcement comes at all on Monday, it will come late in the day. On the Hill, regulatory restructuring discussions will pick up speed.

It's not just the "Why?" but the "How?" How in the world do you create a strategic plan for mortgage lending today when the market is in a state of constant change? How could you even think about a plan of action when products are evaporating, the government is making new rules on a daily basis, and rates are venturing to levels that you never imagined?