BankThink

Community bank CEOs truly stand out from the crowd when they possess a contagious enthusiasm that motivates sales teams, a discerning approach to hiring and an insatiable desire to innovate.

The harsh capital treatment of Trups holdings under Basel III undoes the regulatory relief already extended to community banks that had invested in the securities.

HSBC to Cut Up to 50,000 Jobs, Refocus U.S. Unit; HELOC Rate Resets

We already know that American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa are on board with Android Pay. MasterCard has mooted its launch date to be ‘in the coming months.' So, the global support network is in place, but broader questions remain: Will it take on Apple Pay? How will it compare, or even compete, with Samsung’s offering?

Apple Pay's security shortcomings were likely deliberate, done with the goal of making signups and initial usage as easy as possible for shoppers. And so far, it's worked.

New York financial watchdog Benjamin Lawsky is stepping down, and his successor is likely to follow a similar strict yet innovative approach to Wall Street oversight. However, the next head of NYDFS would likely benefit from better industry relations.

New York AG Urges Banks to Limit Tellers' Data Access; GE Preps Sale

There have been various media reports about some of the security shortcomings within Apple Pay. The shortcomings are not security holes per se, in the sense that a hole is generally unintended. No, the security issues were deliberate, done with the goal of making signups and initial usage as easy as possible for shoppers.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the debate over how to expand access to mortgage credit and the dangers and opportunities presented by large-scale corporate data mining.

Local Government FCU doesn't negotiate with its employees or prospective employees on salary, a practice that some might find off-putting, but the CU says it's all about preventing an adversarial environment.