PayThink

The middle of a housing market downturn is no time to experiment with untested underwriting tools.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency soon will commence a review of the Federal Home Loan Bank System. For the process to be successful, the actual users of the system and the institutions that will be the most impacted by any changes to its mission, mandate or role need to add their voice to the conversation.

Jamie Fiore Higgins, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, describes the toxic work environment she endured during her 18 years at the investment bank in her memoir, "Bully Market."

The country's largest banks should deepen partnerships with minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions, and regulators should facilitate that process.

The popular peer-to-peer payments network is rife with fraud. And as much as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau might want to crack down on the big banks that own Zelle, the agency is legally handcuffed.

The additional data that will become available as the economy slows should reveal the true strength of the technology companies some banks are working with and that should inform whether more regulation is required.

In the coming midterm elections, bankers ought to pay attention to candidates for state treasurer, controller and other historically low-profile offices.

Consumers and small business could eventually feel the impact of stepped-up regulatory scrutiny of bank-fintech partnerships.

The agency's invitations to "Come in and talk" often precede investigations and subpoenas.

Regulators are starting to look at bank-fintech partnerships as a source of systemic risk, but the real problem is the lack of consistent prudential rules outside of banking.