'A textbook example of rent-seeking': Comments of the week

On a look at an uptick in charter competition among regulators:

"There could be a couple reasons for bank ratings to go up after a regulatory switch not discussed in this article. One is that a bank often corrects the issues identified by the previous regulator prior to making the switch, i.e., its condition is improved, but they still switch because the regulatory relationship became toxic in the process. Another is that fresh eyes see stuff differently."

Related: Regulatory competition is hot again — and that’s worrisome

On appraisal industry groups seeking a hearing to discuss a proposal by bank regulators to raise the threshold for transactions requiring outside appraisals:

"A textbook example of rent-seeking by the appraisal industry. If the regulators cave to the ridiculous request for a hearing, let's make sure the borrowers are represented in equal strength, since they get the privilege of paying fees for these nearly-worthless appraisals. There are at least a few million foreclosures on the books which were fully supported by appraisal values at the time of purchase/refinance."

Related: Regulators urged to hold hearing on proposed appraisal relief

On an argument that credit card issuers should step up their monitoring of suspicious activity when it comes to gun purchases:

"Missing is a discussion of what the rate of false positives is likely to be. It is likely to be high, which would not only potentially chill legal activity by law-abiding card holders but would harm law enforcement by giving them more bad info (on top of the vast majority of SARs that don't amount to anything), while creating a trove of super-sensitive data that would be very harmful for consumers when a breach occurs."

Related: How credit card issuers can help curb gun violence