PayThink

The Treasury Department has released an infographic outlining how the financial reform legislation helps to strengthen Main Street banks. Do you agree Dodd-Frank creates a level playing field for financial institutions?

The Volcker rule's liquidity account exemption is stirring debate. Some say it would allow for trades like JPMorgan's infamous "London Whale." Others argue it needs to be expanded in order to be effective in letting banks manage liquidity risk.

After I wrote a post last week expressing optimism about this technology's potential, several generous Bitcoin fans sent me small donations of the virtual currency. Thank you. Now stop. Please.

Calls from various constituencies in the business to establish a single mortgage-backed security are sensible. But why stop there?

The political game in Washington might not be one former SIGTARP Neil Barofsky was willing to play, but it suits Wall Street lobbyists perfectly. What are we, citizens and taxpayers, supposed to do now?

OK, here at DFRW we may get wonkish about the nuts and bolts of the Dodd-Frank Act, but let’s face it, the topic unlikely to fire up passion in the average Joe. It’s unlikely we'll hear much about the legislation at the Republican convention in Tampa this week. "Instead, count on hearing in more general terms about overregulation and the burden it imposes on small business," writes American Banker’s Kevin Wack.

Midsize banks will most likely not have to go through stress tests mandated by Dodd-Frank until September 2013. The rulemaking on the tests has yet to be finalized and regulators want to make sure those banks have enough time to prepare.

Bain Capital's relationship with auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, though not necessarily inappropriate, is still too casual and in need of more monitoring.

Issuers should develop strategies to make their account the primary one in a consumer's existing wallet and on new payment tools offered by companies like PayPal or Square.

Thrift holding companies, industrial loan companies and other limited-charter financial institutions will be subject to a rule, mandated by Dodd-Frank, that will require parent companies to act as a "source of strength."