Consumer banking
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to draft rules governing payday lending this year. But the conventional wisdom that will likely guide it is based on false perceptions about the working poor and the best way to serve them. So argues Lisa Servon, a professor at The New School.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will soon begin looking beyond the rollout of new mortgage regulations this month to other markets. American Banker's Rachel Witkowski, who covers the CFPB, offers insights into where the agency is headed and when.
January 10 -
The Dodd-Frank Act and other financial regulations enacted in the wake of the financial crisis have made banking a "worse place" by adding unwieldy and unnecessary restrictions on big banks, says Dick Bove. The longtime bank analyst also points a finger at regulators for failing to adequately enforce existing regulations in the lead-up to the crisis, a point he discusses at length, while defending big banks, in a new book.
January 9
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The new year will bring an end to big regulatory settlements with banks, a sharp drop-off in the number of branches across the industry, increased use of biometric technology and a breakthrough in banks' use of big data. American Banker editors discuss these and other predictions for the year ahead in banking.
January 8 -
The finalization of the Volcker Rule signals that banks have reached "the height of the regulatory burden that has been placed on banks" since 2008, according to ConnectOne CEO Frank Sorrentino III. Now bankers just need to figure out how to fully comply with these new rules. Sorrentino, also a board member of the American Bankers Association, discusses his outlook for industry regulation in 2014.
January 7 -
Recurring debit payments, in which consumers give companies their bank or card account numbers to "pull" money out for regular bills, are a jury-rigged solution for a system built in the 1970s, says consultant Dave Birch. There is no need to replicate this setup in the modernized payment system that the Federal Reserve is nudging banks to create, Birch argues. "Push" payments, which require an active step by the accountholder each and every time, are more secure and easier to manage, he says.Related: JPMorgan, Wal-Mart Offer Starkly Different Views on Faster Payments Message to Banks: Speed Up Payments or Fed Will Take Charge
December 30 -
Compliance issues and regulatory worries can prevent many banks from embracing much new technology internally - especially when it comes to the tricky waters of social media like Twitter. Frank Sorrentino III, CEO of the New Jersey community bank ConnectOne, discusses why he and his bank are so active on Twitter, and why other bankers shouldn't let worries about compliance block them from being innovative.
December 27 -
Most bankers are reluctant to shrink the size or number of their physical locations, but for the New Jersey lender ConnectOne, "the primary channel is no longer the branch on the corner." CEO Frank Sorrentino III discusses how ConnectOne has expanded its business in the competitive New York market by embracing technology instead of building many branches.
December 26 -
The Volcker Rule may be finalized, but bankers still face many looming questions about the final shape of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and other pending financial regulations. American Banker editors discuss what to expect in 2014 from regulators including the Federal Reserve, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
December 23 -
Banks are increasingly trying to make up for lost revenue by charging new fees -- which can anger their customers. But banks that add checking account fees carefully and transparently can maintain good customer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power's Rocky Clancy, who shares his other tips for charging fees with American Banker.
December 19
