BankThink

Traditional checking hasn't faded nearly as fast as original predictions at the dawn of online banking. Checks will remain a major part of payments, though there are some signs of an eventual decline.

Almost 40 years ago, a rock music legend asked a question that too many banks are failing to address today.

The current single-director leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not a recipe for transparency and accountability. Creating a multimember commission to oversee the agency is the answer.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Bitcoin boost: While the Dow Jones Industrial Average struggles to reach the 20,000 mark, a different financial milestone was hit on New Year's Day. On Sunday bitcoin broke through the $1,000 mark for the first time, and kept climbing to $1,022 on Tuesday. The digital currency gained about 123% in value in 2016, due to global uncertainty and inflation fears. "The currency had faded from the public eye through early 2016 as prices stalled and traders battled about the structure of the approximately eight-year old market," the Wall Street Journal reports. "Now, with trading volumes rising sharply and some countries such as India making large cash payments more difficult, higher demand has pushed the bitcoin price up." Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

China isn't living up to promises to open its card market, a shortcoming the incoming Trump administration should remember when forging trade policies.

American Banker is pleased to bring you Breaking Banks, hosted by Brett King, and featuring the editors of American Banker.

Proponents of "recap and release" misread the political risks and the depth of interest that key lawmakers have in determining the long-term future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...He's back: Anshu Jain, the former co-CEO of Deutsche Bank, is joining Cantor Fitzgerald as group president, a newly created position, where he will help oversee Cantor's overall strategy and expansion efforts. His appointment comes 18 months after Jain resigned from Germany's largest bank "as concerns mounted over Deutsche's financial health and the many investigations it was facing," the New York Times said. He joined Deutsche in 1995, becoming co-CEO in 2012 before being replaced, along with co-CEO Jrgen Fitschen, by John Cryan. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times

The EMV migration, online marketplaces and e-banking are giving crooks lots of places to commit fraud. Security strategy has to be more dynamic to keep up.

Even in a digital era, human connections still matter. That is one big disadvantage for fintech startups and increasingly for banks as customers stop making regular branch visits. So it is instructive to hear SoFi's thinking on how to overcome this challenge. It is trying some unorthodox tactics to better understand the people behind the data and to create meaningful connections with them.