Wall Street Journal
Big businesses in the U.S. are getting more aggressive in their attempt to keep the Export-Import Bank alive. Manufacturers including Boeing, Dow Chemical, General Electric and nuclear power-plant operator Westinghouse Electric say they may move operations overseas if the Ex-Im Bank closes, because competition for basics like water and electric is so cutthroat and Ex-Im Bank provides guarantee financing. Moreover, U.S. manufacturers' industrial contracts in developing countries will also be in jeopardy. Many private U.S. banks, such as Apple Bank for Savings and the U.S. export-finance division of Société Générale, partner with the Ex-Im Bank to provide financing for these deals. Critics of the Ex-Im Bank, including Koch Industries, say private sources of financing would fill the void created if the Ex-Im Bank were to be abolished.
Big banks better get their living wills right this time, "Heard on the Street" says. Regulators may single out individual banks, if their living wills are deemed to be "not credible." Regulators themselves are under pressure to show they have made certain the living wills are adequate.
The new chief information security officer at bitcoin startup Bitreserve is embroiled in a nasty lawsuit involving Nike and MasterCard, his former employers. MasterCard sued Nike this year, after the shoes maker poached William Dennings to be its chief information security officer. MasterCard claims Nike conspired with another executive to poach the credit-card issuer's cybersecurity talent, as Nike also hired additional staff away from MasterCard. Now Dennings has left Nike to join Bitreserve.
Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of private-equity titan Blackstone Group, warns new regulations will cause the next financial crisis. One example he provides is the Volcker Rule has reduced liquidity in trading markets, and "a liquidity drought can exacerbate, or even trigger, the next financial crisis" as sellers offer securities, but no buyers emerge. Another example he offers is the idea that Dodd-Frank caused the drop in the number of community banks, which he says has hurt small businesses.
Financial Times
The Sex Pistols' lead singer, Johnny Rotten, once railed against the mainstream in the band's signature hit, "Anarchy in the U.K." As it turns out, a lyric from that song, "Your future dream is a shopping scheme," was somewhat prescient. Virgin Money is rolling out a line of Sex Pistols-themed credit cards. The Sex Pistols recorded on the Virgin Records label.
Elsewhere ...
USA Today: The resignation of Deutsche Bank's co-CEOs, and the subsequent raid on the bank's Frankfurt headquarters, are the manifestations of long-standing ire among investors and regulators against not only Deutsche Bank but other large banks, a columnist writes.
Reuters: Morgan Stanley is taking steps to become more like a retail bank, at least for its wealthy clients. The investment bank is adding credit cards, debit cards and cash management products and services for customers of its wealth-management division. "We basically want to do with our existing clients whatever they might be able to do with a retail bank," Greg Fleming, president of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said on Tuesday at a Reuters-sponsored conference.
Oregon Public Broadcasting: Banks that work with pot-related businesses should not be penalized, Oregon's state treasurer said in a letter sent this week to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. Legitimate pot businesses should be able to obtain bank accounts, as the industry is about to become legal in Oregon. Treasurer Ted Wheeler said he wants the Treasury Department to issue new guidance that spells out the rules for banks.
Des Moines Register: James Schipper, the chief banking regulator in Iowa, will retire on Oct. 8. Schipper has been the Iowa Division of Banking Superintendent since 2011. Schipper is also chairman of American State Bank in Osceola, Iowa.
San Francisco Business Times: Sterling Bank & Trust has hired two robots to serve as greeters at the bank's new branches in Los Angeles and Cupertino, Calif. The bank's owner, Scott Seligman, got the idea from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, which uses robots to serve customers at branches in Japan.
