PayThink

If banks that performed well for their shareholders from 2002 to 2012 have so many older directors, why would some banks force directors to retire once they hit 70 or 72 years of age?

A House subcommittee is set to discuss whether U.S. financial reform impedes our ability to compete with firms overseas. But if they were truly worried about global competitiveness, there are other, more pressing issues lawmakers should be analyzing.

Policymakers should focus less on the government's retreat from the mortgage market and more on creating the kind of investment environment needed to attract significant private capital.

No technology yet is as effective at initiating and/or strengthening real relationships as smiles, personal conversations and consultations are.

What is different postcrisis is that the actions of a minority of bankers have saddled the finance sector with a greedy, ethics-challenged image that may hinder recruiting the best and brightest talent.

"It would have made a lot more sense to bring back Glass-Steagall," a pre-and-post crisis risk manager tells American Banker Editor in Chief Neil Weinberg, while discussing Washington’s Dodd-Frank solution.

As U.S. issuers and financial institutions prepare for the shift to EMV, two significant benefits over traditional magnetic stripe cards are clear: increased security and reduced incidences of card fraud. However, the migration itself poses risks that must be addressed.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

Consumers facing mortgage trouble want help and are looking everywhere for it. Paying close attention to where and how homeowners seek information is how the servicing industry will put itself on the fast track to a better reputation.

A recent Washington Post article reported on a debate between Nobel Laureate economist Robert Shiller and Vivek Wadhwa of Stanford University.