Receiving Wide Coverage ...
New CFO in the Haus: Deutsche Bank has tapped Goldman Sachs partner Marcus Schenck as its future chief financial officer, with plans for current CFO Stefan Krause to take on a newly created position at the company. The change comes as investors pressure the German lender to improve its financial strength, according to the Wall Street Journal. The papers all note Krause has made slow progress in strengthening the bank's regulatory reporting; Deustche was reprimanded for its continued shortcomings in this area by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York last year. The shakeup came amidst several other management changes; Deutsche gave audit executive Christian Sewing oversight over the bank's legal and legacy issues and assigned responsibility for digital and IT issues to chief operating officer Henry Ritchotte. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times
Meanwhile, the company announced a loss of 94 million in the third quarter as it bolstered legal reserves to cover penalties from pending litigation. Deutsche is currently under investigation for a range of allegations, including manipulating the Libor benchmark interest rate and foreign exchange market, selling toxic mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis and violating U.S. sanctions. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times
Standard Profits Plunge: In other European banking news, Standard Chartered profits fell 16% year-to-year in the third quarter, to $1.53 billion, as charges for bad loans and other credit risks almost doubled. Investors are none too pleased with the U.K. bank; chief executive Peter Sands says the bank is looking to slash costs but "doesn't plan to make any major disposals or to raise new capital," according to the Journal. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times
QE, Almost Gone But Not Forgotten: The Federal Reserve is expected to wrap up its bond-buying program this week, but the central bank will keep quantitative easing in its back pocket in case of future trouble, according to the Journal. That's worrisome for inflation hawks and those concerned the program could create asset bubbles by funneling liquidity into the U.S. financial system, the paper reports. The Financial Times wonders if the Fed "will replace its extraordinary actions with soothing words to limit the volatility markets have seen earlier this month." Traders are looking for assurance that interest rate hikes remain a ways off.
Financial Times
Banks in the eurozone may be safer thanks to European regulators' more rigorous stress tests and asset quality review, but that doesn't mean they're going to drive economic growth, according to the FT's Martin Wolf. Banks have too little capital to significantly boost lending, he writes, and policymakers have yet to come up with a "credible strategy" to address the problems of weak demand and the looming possibility of deflation.
New York Times
Retailers including Wal-Mart, CVS and Best Buy are taking on a big risk by refusing Apple Pay, the paper reports. The companies' industry group, Merchant Customer Exchange, is developing a competing mobile payment option called CurrentC. But in the meantime, members of MCX face several gloomy possibilities. "If Apple Pay becomes a hit, MCX member retailers still waiting on CurrentC to begin could miss out on untold mobile payment transactions," the paper reports. "Merchants also risk customer resentment if they continue to refuse Apple Pay. And if Apple Pay catches on, consumers may not be interested in a competing product."
The Russian government may have had a hand in cyberattacks against networks run by Eastern European governments and security organizations, according to a new report from computer security firm FireEye. "The researchers have made the government connection because the malicious software used in the incidents was written during Moscow and St. Petersburg working hours on computers that use Russian language settings and because the targets closely align with Russian intelligence interests," the paper reports.
The American dream is due for a revision, according to columnist Eduardo Porter. Stricter mortgage lending requirements would likely result in fewer homeowners and more renters, but he says the tradeoff might be worth it in order to reduce risk in the financial system.
