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On anti-money-laundering regulators' urging banks not to "de-risk" by dropping whole categories of clients:
"Re: de-risking & bitcoin: This is zero-sum. Both sides can't be right. Either the de-risking banks are right or the [Financial Action Task Force], [Financial Crimes Enforcement Network], and the international banks who are continuing to take on bitcoin [clients] are." (
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On the suggestion that regulators' stringent approach to enforcing anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing rules is doing more harm than good:
"Were banks and payments systems compliant with their fiduciary responsibilities, perhaps there would not be a need for Fincen and the regulatory expense burden on small community banks.... Libertarian arguments about administrative burden don't hold a candle to the other side of the argument, especially when [money center banks] like HSBC, Bank of Tokyo-[Mitsubishi], etc. misbehave and violate anti-terrorism statutes in our domicile."
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On the paradox faced by banks that are urged on one hand to tighten AML compliance and on the other to avoid overreacting by cutting ties with entire industries:
"The hypocrisy of AML laws facing banks complying means they have to de-risk. No other choice for them." (
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On the widespread trend of contradictory regulatory directives:
"Same everywhere. EU politico[s] want loans for small businesses, financial inclusion and less risk, more caution." (
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On the extent to which bank derisking is born out of a genuine desire to play it safe:
"... What I find interesting is that even when the banks choose to stay away from [money service businesses], recent multi-million enforcement actions imposed on banks show that they choose to engage in really risky business without hesitation." (
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On high-tech substitutes for the human banking touch:
"[Artificial intelligence] will cater digital communications to the individual far better than the mass communications from banks have delivered in the past. AI will permit us to have a 'market segment of one' that is individually catered to that one customer. That is highly personal."
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On the witness list for a Senate hearing on whether the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is too soft on the Wall Street firms under its watch:
"Why is it only men who are invited to testify? And far more important why is [former examiner] Carmen Segarra not at the hearing? What about the examiners who were actually involved with the Goldman exam?"
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On accusations that the Fed is under the banking industry's thumb:
"Increasingly clear that the Fed has been masquerading as a bank regulator whilst operating as a trade association for the mega-banks that comprise its board of directors."
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On questions about whether the rise of prepaid cards is to the advantage or detriment of underserved communities:
"It seems like banking products are now akin to politics: if you're looking for a reason to be offended, you're always going to find one."
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On a suggested syllabus for up-and-coming bankers that would emphasize the need for nuance in conversations about regulation:
"Perhaps our students in the business and economics programs should be required to read some [S.I.]
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On a lawmaker's plan to restructure the Federal Reserve:
"[The] Federal Reserve may need reform but making it subject to politicians would be a disaster. If you look at any central bank around the world where it is not independent, it ends up being the tool of politicians whose job is getting re-elected and hence, whose attention span is that of a gnat at best."
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On holding in-store branches to the same deposit-gathering standard as traditional bank locations:
"Not sure how a statement that an in-store location and a brick and mortar each need the same deposit levels to be profitable can be accurate. Their costs (both to open and ongoing operations) are almost always vastly different. And in-store locations have historically done considerably better at fee generation."
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