PayThink

Banks are likely to protest new Basel rules that would require them to hold more capital against their exposure to central counterparties, but the standard is necessary to prevent the fast-growing counterparties from becoming "too big to fail."

Regulators look at eight risk categories when determining a bank's health, but it's how banks deal with three in particular — interest rate risk, liquidity risk and IT/operational risk -- that could make or break them.

Smartwatches may not be popular enough or have enough screen real estate to usurp smartphones as the next major mobile payment device, but there is a strong potential for the two technologies to work in tandem.

If regulators really want banks to invest more heavily in their communities then they should consider giving banks some reward, such as reduced deposit insurance premiums, for achieving a top CRA rating.

There's drama to come as regulators finalize a proposal requiring banks to self-assess their track records on diversity.

Care deeply about the price at which you make an investment, whether it's in your own shares or another company's. Don't delude yourself about how great the future will be. And look for empirical evidence that you have an "edge", rather than simply assuming it.

On its surface, the initial plan for a central bank looked like a fair deal for a country as geographically spread out as the United States. What did not receive publicity was the way in which it was structured to provide an easy supply of money to the nation's biggest banks.

There is much discussion around the demise of cash and quite rightly so. These are exciting times for the financial industry with substantial growth in payment innovation. Respondents to numerous surveys claim that they will use their mobile phone, contactless card and other alternative payments in the future and that they currently mostly pay for everything on card and over the Internet.

Regulators cannot seem to understand that the changes effected by technological advances and modern risk management techniques have evolved banking practices and banking institutions into a new profession.

A new book from Nomi Prins illustrates how the Wall Street-Washington symbiosis — the subject of much debate in the wake of the recent financial crisis — has existed for over a century.