Wall Street Journal
Regulators are putting more pressure on compliance officers at large banks and, as a result,
The Journal piece cited JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock as the banks and financial services companies affected by the trend. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Fincen and the New York State Department of Financial Services were cited as the agencies that have been turning up the heat.
Also, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently told banks that compliance officers should not report directly to executives who run businesses. Instead, compliance officers should have more independence. Compliance officers say they often are being placed in the role of fall guy, when the bank gets in trouble.
"It's easier for firms to give up their compliance officer, because what are they going to do, give up the CEO?" an unnamed bank compliance officer told the Journal.
Following CIT Group's
The performance of CIT's shares is indicative of a belief that "a recession is imminent," Thain said; he added he does not agree with that forecast.
Financial Times
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway recently convened a group of institutional investors to discuss ways to
After all, Dimon has called shareholders "lazy" for following the recommendations of proxy-advisory firms like ISS and Glass Lewis; Dimon is already hostile toward any kind of proposal that would rock the boat. So what's the point of Dimon working with the likes of non-activist investors like BlackRock on improving relations between management and shareholders?, asked John Chevedden, who sponsors proposals at corporate annual meetings.
"None of them have a reputation for rocking the boat, or for forging something new in corporate governance," Chevedden said.
Also invited to Dimon and Buffett's soiree were Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price, Vanguard Group and Capital Group Cos., owner of the American Funds. Read American Banker's recent coverage of activist investors that target the banking sector
Auto lending has soared into the stratosphere, but that
Ally CEO Jeff Brown sought to distance his company from the likes of Santander Consumer. "There is no other market participant that can be compared to Ally on an apples-to-apples basis," Brown said during a conference call. "We have a unique position in the markets and a finely honed proprietary underwriting process that is nearly 100 years in the making."
Ally was formerly known as GMAC, the auto-lending arm of Detroit auto giant General Motors. American Banker's coverage of Ally's earnings report focused on Brown's answers to persistent questioning about whether the company might put itself up for sale. Read it
Elsewhere ...
Memphis Commercial Appeal: First Horizon National has agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle allegations allegations that its bank unit, First Tennessee Bank
As part of the settlement's terms, First Tennessee will also establish a $1.5 million fund to provide interest-rate reductions on mortgages and assistance on downpayments and closing costs to borrowers in Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville, Tenn.
Associated Press: Iran has been given