Wall Street Journal
Election season is heating up, but the presidential candidates aren't the only ones shelling out for advertising.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching its own campaign to educate the public about its online tools and resources. As such, the agency is now devoting a larger portion of its budget to advertising compared with nearly every other federal agency, according to a review of government records by the Wall Street Journal.
Officials are hoping the investment will be worth it. Dodd-Frank was enacted six years ago, but the consumer agency remains a political lightening rod. The Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee introduced a proposal just last week that would overhaul the agency's structure and strip it of some powers.
The CFPB has already spent $15.3 million on advertising this year – about 2.5% of its total budget and nearly twice what it spent on the category for all of last year. Most of the money is going to the firm used by the Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton presidential campaigns, GMMB Inc. A spokeswoman said that the new ads are designed to help consumers find unbiased information about financial products.
Basel's risk call: The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision wants banks to play by its rules when it comes to calculating asset riskiness – a way to standardize the process. Industry says it's a backdoor ploy to require more capital.
Fintech summit: The Obama administration hosted a Friday event focused on how government can benefit from the tech boom in finance. A White House blog post details key takeaways.
Take 2 for an online lender: Online lending veteran Vishal Garg, who founded MyRichUncle more than a decade ago, is back in the game with a focus on mortgages and says he has learned from past failures.
An old problem at Lending Club, OnDeck: Industry upstarts face a familiar challenge – concerns about the use of short-term funding.
Financial Times
Slow progress on equality: Few would be surprised to learn that women are still underrepresented in financial services. A pair of new reports confirms the dismal news.
Deutsche Bank's AML pledge: Deutsche Bank says it will try harder to shore up its controls to prevent anti-money-laundering and other financial crimes.
ICYMI … Citi's thankless lawsuit: Believe it or not, the bank is hauling AT&T to court for using the word "thanks" in a rewards program, arguing that it's already copyrighted.
Elsewhere…
Warming up to blockchain: Fast Company reviews how financial institutions are starting to adopt blockchain technology.
Silicon Valley's new stock exchange? Bloomberg looks at talks to build a Long-Term Stock Exchange to help quell the frenzy over quarterly financial results.
