Back Porch

James McSwiggan
"They do try to put you together on a first date to see if there is chemistry."

President and chief operating officer, Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania, discussing how the Treasury Department recently added a director to the board of the $929 million-asset company, after it fell behind on its Troubled Asset Relief Program payments

Hugh McColl
"Brain power doesn't only come in blue pinstripe suits."

Former Bank of America CEO, in a speech discussing the growth prospects of Charlotte, N.C., and urging the city to welcome all types of businesses

Jeffrey Immelt
"We are at each others' throats more than is necessary."

Chairman of President Obama's outside panel of economic advisers, on the political debate over the debt ceiling

Steven Kandarian
"We do not believe it is appropriate for the overwhelming majority of our business to be governed by regulations written for banking institutions."

CEO of MetLife, the biggest U.S. life insurer, announcing that, in light of the Dodd-Frank Act, it would explore the sale of its deposit-gathering business to avoid the tighter regulation that comes with bank status

Jon Leibowitz
"The harm they caused to American consumers is absolutely massive and extraordinary."

Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, on Countrywide Home Loans charging excessive fees to more than 450,000 borrowers who fell behind on their mortgages

Elizabeth Warren
"I'm saving all the rocks in my pockets for Republicans."

Former special adviser to the CFPB, on who's to blame for its precarious position

Rep. Barney Frank
"Part of it, I have to say, was gender bias. Along with Sheila Bair, recently departed head of the FDIC, Ms. Warren encountered from some people, maybe unconscious on their part, the notion that a very strong-willed woman with strong opinions might have a place, but not in the financial sector."

Lead Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, on why Elizabeth Warren lacked the political support needed to become head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Lloyd Blankfein
"We're not just sitting here like, 'I hope, I hope, I hope it blows over.' But I hope it blows over."

CEO of Goldman Sachs, lamenting all the negative attention on his company in the wake of the financial crisis

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