BankThink

Revelations from the last several weeks once again underscore the need for effective reputational risk management.

The spotlight on unethical sales practices at banks has likely led customers to consider abandoning their financial institution, yet too many factors stand in the way of making a switch.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...More lumps: It was another bad for Wells Fargo. Following a quiet period, the bank disclosed Thursday it is in talks with federal and state prosecutors, including the U.S. Justice Department, over potential abuses related to residential mortgages, which would be unrelated to the phony accounts scandal in its retail banking unit.

Payment companies are increasingly adopting biometrics to replace more traditional authentication. That's a good move, but it also comes with a whole new set of risks.

Stessa Cohen warns that if we aren't careful, we could bring old gender biases into world of bank bots; Amy Nauiokas argues bank innovation should be applied more broadly, not just in technology; Marva Smalls recalls how she broke out of her comfort zone; and Esther George of the Kansas City Fed talks about staying true to her convictions. Also, how unbalanced journalism puts more scrutiny on female leaders than on their male counterparts and the silver lining in this presidential election.

The intense focus on sales cultures can be frustrating, but it also presents an opportunity for everyone within a bank to get on the same page about what the institution stands for and is trying to accomplish.

The U.S. is the only industrialized nation without mandated paid parental leave, but innovative leave policies are an opportunity to attract and retain employees in a highly competitive industry.

Wall Street JournalSeeking retail: Marketplace lenders, rebuffed by institutional investors who stopped buying their loans, are hoping retail investors will provide a more permanent source of capital. Several new funds allow retail investors to buy into the business. Investors are attracted by loans that yield over 6%. But there's a catch, warns the Wall Street Journal: "They might find themselves locked into loans due to the illiquid structure of these funds, even as they shoulder fees that are high relative to other investments."

Application programming interfaces have grown so quickly, they're no longer the future of payments. They're the present.

If modified, the cybersecurity standards in New York State are a step in the right direction to protect banks and consumers.