Resources

John Stumpf, chairman and chief executive of Wells Fargo, wrote an impassioned column for American Banker last week emphasizing the importance of community banks to the national economy and calling for Washington to unburden them from a stifling regulatory regime. Editors discuss why big banks have so much riding on the survival of their smaller rivals.

"Insane" is how one bank CEO characterized what he's seen recently in the competition among banks to win business by loosening loan terms. American Banker editors discuss the trend and the dangers it poses.

Jim Simpson, CTO of City Bank Texas, explains how and why his community bank has been the first U.S. bank to go live with several new mobile banking tools.

Mortgage lenders are facing billions of dollars in new demands that they make whole the government and government-sponsored entities for housing-backed investments that have gone sour. American Banker staffers discuss why now, what additional banks are likely to get sucked in and whether an end to the demands is in sight.

Bitcoin companies have had a tough time getting banks to agree to give them accounts — but a New Jersey credit union has agreed to work with Tradehill, a bitcoin exchange. Is this a ray of hope for bitcoin businesses, or will most be doomed to live in exile from the mainstream financial services industry?

A New Jersey credit union has agreed to accept accounts transferred from a trading exchange that handles Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The move, apparently aimed at attracting business from investors and financial institutions that trade in the alternative forms of tender, could provide them with a much needed level of legitimacy. Staff reporters discuss.

Following a series of fines against some of the largest banks for anti-money laundering lapses, expect regulators to target banks in the next tier down, says Ellen Zimiles of Navigant Consulting. A former assistant U.S. attorney, Zimiles also explains why the government has been reluctant to press criminal charges against financial institutions, and why it's hard to build cases against individual bankers.

JPMorgan Chase's summer of regulator troubles has commanded the spotlight lately. However, the problems it faces have serious implications for many other banks. American Banker editors discuss what's at stake.

Government authorities say that 70 million Americans are either underbanked and unbanked. Yet many of these people are well served by the financial system. American Banker staffers discuss whether the issue of the financially underserved is overblown and if so what may be behind the trend.