'Banks See No Limits to Gimmicks': Comments of the Week

July 12, 2013 10:33 AM

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. As excerpted from the Comments sections of AmericanBanker.com articles.

(Image: Thinkstock)

On a new Senate bill that would effectively reinstate Glass-Steagall:

"Legislation is no substitute for competency and enforcement of existing rules."

(Image: Thinkstock)

On Sen. Elizabeth Warren's show of support for small banks:

"Am I the only one laughing? No, now I am crying."

(Image: Thinkstock)

On Sen. Warren supporting a two-tiered regulatory system for banks:

"A small county bank of 30 employees jumping through the same hoops as a nationwide corporate bank is a bit beyond ridiculous. Maybe with Warren's common sense approach, the CFPB will soon begin to understand how community banks foster home equity lending."

(Image: Thinkstock)

On Warren's words of support for small banks:

"says the woman who constantly imposes fixed regulatory costs that only the big banks can cover profitably." (Via Twitter)

(Image: Bloomberg News)

On Warren supporting a two-tiered regulatory system for banks:

"Once you buy into the premise that the government can do what it wants to any industry in the name of the people, then the only thing left to argue about is degree Remember that when [Warren] decides that 'big' includes your bank."

(Image: Thinkstock)

On the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau using complaint data to scrutinize debt collectors:

"Monty Burns responds: 'Actual consumer complaints used as a basis for regulatory action? What kind of Marxist nonsense is this? Is the proletariat going to drive action on its own behalf? Somebody get a lawyer on this: if those families in Sector 7-G don't get their weekly early morning Saturday wakeup call from the medical debt collectors, they might get enough rest to vote or something.'"

(Image: Bloomberg News)

On startups launching programs that tie short-term loans to the borrower's employer:

"This type of program has been around for more than a century: They're called credit unions."

(Image: Bloomberg News)

On Carolina Premier Bank using rocking chairs and robots to revamp its branches:

"Truly impressive that so many banks see no limit to gimmicks but seem unwilling to offer the basics: great service, anytime, anywhere, anyplace along with attractive pricing on products and services."

(Image: Thinkstock)

On the claim that lack of competition is the real problem with reverse mortgages:

"The real problem with reverse mortgages is the lack of any suitability standard and protections for the consumer."

(Image: Thinkstock)

On American Express pushing alerts to cardholders' Facebook pages:

"I don't need that much info in my Facebook feeds. It gets enough junk."

(Image: Bloomberg News)

On U.S. regulators proposing a higher leverage ratio:

"Higher capital equals less need for regulation equals lower operating cost equals higher efficiency equals higher profits equals the way free markets are supposed to work."

(Image: Thinkstock)

On U.S. regulators proposing a higher leverage ratio:

"At this moment, when warning signs stating 'bank creditors, caveat emptor, you won't be bailed out like before' are being put up all over the world, starting in Cyprus, banks have to be truly insane not knowing they have to substantially raise their capital."

(Image: Thinkstock)

On the assertion that bank regulators can save the free market system by smoothing credit cycles:

"Sure, government bureaucrats can control macroeconomic cycles, 'macro-financial' cycles, and even the climate."

(Image: Thinkstock)