PayThink

Fresh off a victory, groups that canvassed for the Democrats in the run-up to Tuesday´s elections are now settling in to affect policy-without downshifting. A new crop of lobbyists will be installed in Washington with ambitious goals for the early period of President-elect Barack Obama's term.

President-elect Barack Obama probably hasn´t given it much thought but BankThink can't help but wonder which regulators will still be making financial services policy next year.

How do you convince the guy you dissed yesterday not to return the favor?

As evening draws near and the pundits and anchors take their spots, a red-and-blue election map will take shape. Where will the bankers be?

As the presidential election draws near one thing is clear-this country is desperate for change.

For a lot of credit unions along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions, we are (hopefully) nearing the end of another tough hurricane season: Hurricane Dolly, followed by Tropical Storm Fay, then the triple punch of hurricanes Gustav, Hannah and, most especially, Ike.

The direct and indirect mortgage losses that the financial services industry are experiencing have dominated the news headlines for several months, and recent passage of the $700 billion treasury plan is a testament to the distress that many institutions are facing.

Let's get right to it: if you can't tell your credit union's story this year, you have no business telling it. And if you have no business telling it, you have no business.

The push to require more of big banks that participate in the Tarp program has begun in earnest.

An Ohio Congressman sounded a personal note Tuesday on the Treasury-fomented deal between Pittsburgh´s PNC Financial and Cleveland´s National City, offering a glimpse of a side-effect of the recapitalization plan that may still be to come.