PayThink

The large municipalities can leverage their primary banking relationships to help their communities — as opposed to seeing all of the benefits accruing to the too-big-to-fail financial conglomerates.

Exposing complex financial instruments to the vetting of thousands of experts could help restore trust in banks.

The period when banks report their first quarter financial performance is about to begin. These performance numbers will likely reinforce the reality that, absent significant changes, many banks simply cannot attain the level of profitability needed to remain viable.

The industry is like a 1920s Hollywood actor who does not understand the new technology, has not seen it coming and doesn't understand why the change is happening.

The agencies can use their discretion to act without discretion: treat all banks alike, big or small, and declare that no nonbanks are "systemically important," i.e. too big to fail.

One key to the well being of the banking industry is of course the economy. Even the best management and board cannot immunize a banking company from the effects of local and national economic malaise.

Sometime in June, the long-awaited final qualified mortgage rule will be released. Considerable speculation and debate over variations of the rule have taken place since it appeared in the Dodd-Frank Act. Its ultimate form has implications for access to mortgage credit, its cost, and contingent legal liability, among others.

The mortgage insurance industry has paid about $30 billion in claims, mostly to Fannie and Freddie, through the current cycle. That $30 billion is money that didn't have to come from the taxpayer.

The National Fair Housing Alliance's past discrimination initiatives against the property insurance industry and others suggest that servicers should expect a series of press releases and HUD complaints followed by federal court actions.

Why has there been continuing explosive growth in prepaid cards, primarily marketed by nonbanks and most profitably to people who are already bank customers?