Receiving Wide Coverage ...
What's Next for Greece: One day after Greeks voted overwhelmingly to reject the bailout terms offered by European creditors, the country's future is up the air. One thing that's for sure: controversial Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is stepping down at the behest of prime minister Alexis Tsipras in an effort to smooth upcoming negotiations with European creditors. Varoufakis has no regrets about the hardball tactics that aggravated eurozone officials: "I shall wear the creditors' loathing with pride," he said in his resignation statement. The papers admit they have no idea what creditors will bring to the table in coming days. The Wall Street Journal argues it's unlikely creditors will readily agree to forgive and restructure Greek debt, since they worry such a move would set a bad precedent for other debt-laden countries in the bloc. But it also notes that calling Greece into default "could backfire on creditors and increase losses faced by those governments." The New York Times suggests it's not too late to avert a Greek exit from the euro, particularly if creditors are willing to be more flexible on austerity demands. Meanwhile, Greek banks are getting ready for a possible bail-in plan in which portions of depositors' funds would be seized to keep banks running if a bailout package gets approval. And the European Central Bank is weighing whether to cut off Greek banks or keep them running with emergency loans. (The Times tends to think the latter option is more likely for now.) Market in Europe and Asia are reacting to the tumult with "muted dismay," according to the Times.
The Financial Times features an op-ed sympathetic to Greece, in which economics blogger Nick Malkoutzis argues Europe's dire threats about the impact of rejecting the bailout were bound to fall on deaf ears. Austerity has already so hobbled the Greek economy that the country's citizens "can no longer be cajoled with the threat of that predicament becoming worse," he writes. Times columnist Paul Krugman also sides with Greece, comparing European creditors to "medieval doctors who insisted on bleeding their patientsand when their treatment made the patients sicker, demanded even more bleeding." The Journal's unsigned op-ed, on the other hand, argues Greeks are only punishing themselves, and Europe should let the country leave the euro rather than risk the "political contagion" of bowing to Greek demands.
Santander Departure: While Americans were stocking up on charcoal and hamburger buns in preparation for the holiday weekend, Santander's subprime auto lending unit announced Thursday evening that its head Thomas Dundon has stepped down. Dundon's sudden departure took industry analysts by surprise, according to the Times. The paper highlights the fact that Santander Consumer USA has been swamped by regulatory issues "including federal investigations into its packaging and selling of subprime auto loans and a rebuke by the Federal Reserve for making an unauthorized dividend payment." But the unit's new leader (company president Jason Kulas) says his predecessor's departure has nothing to do with that. The Journal deemphasizes the firm's regulatory troubles but notes Banco Santander has seen a lot of executive shuffling since executive chairman Ana Botín took over from her late father last year.
Wall Street Journal
New Credit Suisse chief Tidjane Thiam is looking to lower everyone's expectations when it comes to his turnaround powers. The paper's interview with Thiam also details his eventful career, including a stint in the Ivory Coast's government that ended with a military coup in 1999.
Financial Times
Former attorney general Eric Holder tells the paper that fines leveled against big banks under his regime have had a salutary effect on their cultures. "People tend to undervalue what we did with the banks," he tells the paper. "Given the nature of the penalties that were extracted, given the interactions that we had with people at the banks, with those attorneys who represented the banks, I think the cultures have changed." Critics have argued Holder's Justice Department erred in neglecting to hold individuals responsible for misdeeds that contributed to the financial crisis.
An interview with PayPal chief Dan Schulman finds the executive comfortable in flip-flops and chillaxing about the prospect of payments competition from Apple, Google and Alibaba. "When you have an extremely large market, growing at a nice clip, that always invites competition," he tells the paper. A separate article calls out Schulman's plans to cope with competition by making international acquisitions a priority.
New York Times
New York financial watchdog Benjamin Lawsky is a tough act to follow. Columnist Teresa Tritch worries Gov. Andrew Cuomo is looking for a replacement with a "light regulatory touch." She argues Cuomo should instead pick a financial industry outsider who will continue Lawsky's hard-hitting approach to regulation.
Washington Post
Should kids start learning good financial habits while they're still mastering the art of tying their shoes? A White House advisory council says educating kids about money as early as kindergarten could go a long way toward improving their financial positions down the line. The council also commends initiatives such as Operation HOPE's competition for budding young entrepreneurs.
Elsewhere ...
Bloomberg: Big banks aren't slimming down, according to Bloomberg's analysis of the top six firms' most recent regulatory filings. JPMorgan Chase had about 3,400 subsidiaries as of March 2014, about the same amount it had at the end of 2012, according to the report. The article suggests this is bad news for bank wind-downs in the event of a future crisis.
