PayThink

Editor's Note, July 25, 2012: This and other BankThink opinion columns written by Joel Sucher bearing this note, published between October 2011 and June 2012, mentioned the law firm of Stephen J. Baum, Litton Loan Servicing, or both. The columns should have disclosed that Baum’s firm, working on behalf of Litton, had attempted to foreclose on the writer’s property in 2009. American Banker's editors were unaware of this history at the time the columns were published.

If the credit derivative positions are hedges, why doesn't JPMorgan account for them as such under GAAP?

Every year, despite the risks and high costs, millions of Americans turn to payday loans for emergency funds. To date, a top-down, regulatory approach has been the primary means of addressing the downsides of the payday lending industry. To improve protection of consumers and encourage this industry to mature, such regulation should be joined by efforts that encourage market transparency.

I was surprised and disappointed by Jim Well's BankThink piece"Are Small Banks Big Banks' Pawns in Assault on Dodd-Frank?". As chair of the American Bankers Association's Community Bankers Council, I have the honor and responsibility of being a spokesperson for the community banking industry. I take this job seriously, and took great care to report on the growing regulatory burden that is suffocating our nation's small — but vital — financial institutions.

The recently passed Jumpstart Our Business Startups ("JOBS 2012") Act had the laudable goal of giving small companies easier passage to IPOs, but it did so by unwinding some Sarbanes-Oxley protections and permitting a new method of financing called crowd-funding.

The $2 billion loss at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has reopened debate on the Volcker rule. The proponents of the rule have seized on the story as proof that the Volcker rule is necessary and should be quickly put into effect by regulation. In reality, however, if the facts are as thus far reported, what happened at JPMorgan is proof that the Volcker rule is unworkable and should be repealed.

The JPMorgan Chase CEO's role as industry punching bag du jour has more to do with bad politics than with bad business.

Virtual currency is prevalent in gaming, where users can deploy credits to continue using favorite social games or to buy virtual goods and powerups. But that's likely just the start. According to several market reports, virtual commerce is a $2.2 billion industry that's projected to grow to a whopping $6 billion in fewer than five years.

JPMorgan’s flawed value at Risk modeling failed to catch the danger in its Chief Investment Office. But the metric’s elevated readings now threaten the bank’s ability to take risk elsewhere.

That $2 billion trading loss is just last week's headline. Is Chase so big and complicated that no CEO could apply, teach and enforce decency and the smell test?