PayThink

A sharp rise in interest rates could cause customers to cash in CDs they have purchased only 30 to 60 days prior. It should not be easily cost effective to cash any CD prior to maturity.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be increasing the availability of loans to the most underserved segment of the market: the small rental properties across the country that are naturally affordable.

Incorporating both regulatory capital and economic capital into a unified decision measure allows organizations to better optimize risk/return profiles, facilitate strategic planning and limit setting and define risk appetite.

Electronic payment companies design, build and operate costly networks that provide secure payment transactions to merchants. Such providers incur significant costs for the services they provide and deserve to charge a market-based rate to their customers.

The idea of bringing criminal charges against one of the nation’s larger banks has become untenable. The potential cost in jobs, probable shareholder losses and market turmoil would be horrific.

Congress must create mechanisms to dampen the volatility of housing finance, writes James Lockhart, the former regulator for Fannie and Freddie, on the fifth anniversary of their takeover by the government.

Credit union leaders are "Storming the Hill" this week during NAFCU's Congressional Caucus with a purpose: to demand relief from the growth of new regulations that affect credit unions' ability to serve their member-owners.

Harland Connections CEO Raj Shivdasani urges credit unions to prepare for untethered banking, or "Infrastructure as a Service" (Iaas); how Square is aiming to harness the "informal economy"; and more.

For those closely connected to the mission of community-based financial institutions, the consumer call to action may be as strong as ever, but how do credit unions reach general consumers who may have tuned out the pro-CU messages?

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