Resources

Bankers often complain about regulatory intrusion into the free market, but the industry enjoys a host of subsidies. A recent IMF report showing the largest banks get an implicit subsidy to their funding costs equal to their entire profits was just the latest example. From the FHLBs to FHA, from Fannie and Freddie to the FDIC charter, all banks receive some degree of government support and protection from competition.

There's an oversupply of old-fashioned branches, and banks don't know what to do with them, says industry consultant and executive recruiter Rod Taylor.

JPMorgan Chase is cutting some jobs but expanding its asset-management business, as it increasingly courts wealthy customers.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency hasn't explained why it stopped Fannie Mae from slashing its hazard insurance costs by hundreds of millions of dollars. The regulator's decision certainly benefits major banks, however, leading critics to cry foul.