Resources

Neff Hudson, emerging channels executive at USAA, shares his views on what banks should be doing about mobile payments.

Just when banks thought they had adjusted to life under the Durbin cap on debit card interchange fees, a court has deal them a huge and unexpected blow. Bucking the usual judicial practice of deferring to regulators, a federal judge has ruled that the Fed set the cap too high at 21 cents and disregarded the intent of the Dodd-Frank Act. Expect appeals and a protracted fight that could take years to settle the matter.

State laws requiring money-transmitter licenses have raised the barriers to entry for startups trying to compete with banks and entrenched companies like PayPal. But by keeping out smaller, more nimble payments companies, state regulators could affect the banking industry's long-term innovation and growth.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo are laying off hundreds of mortgage workers, as the boom in home loan refinances starts to taper off. The job cuts are a familiar story for the cyclical mortgage business, but they signal more bad news for the banks that have seen refis as a bright spot amid lackluster sources of revenue.

Miranda Hill, vice president and manager for Digital Innovation Capabilities at Wells Fargo Labs, tells Mary Wisniewski about some of the emerging technologies with which the bank is experimenting.

With the House Financial Services Committee imminently voting on a bill to wind down and replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, you might think Washington is finally moving on GSE reform. Not so fast.

John Lunn, global director of the PayPal Developer Network, details the recommitment the company's made to building and maintaining third-party developer tools since David Marcus become president of PayPal in March 2012.

The relationship between traditional financial institutions and startups is a recurring theme in BankThink's series, "The Future Model of Banking." While young companies are nimbler and more innovative, banks have the advantages of regulatory protections and incumbency. So while the disruptive newcomers could make banks obsolete, these entrepreneurs may be able to accomplish more by working with banks than they might on their own.

Bank buyers are starting to pay more for assets; valuations soared this month in Prosperity’s deal for FVNB and MB Financial’s deal for Taylor Capital, which could be the sign of increased prices for future bank M&A.