Comments of the Week: Dems' Overdraft Bill, Levin's Whale Hearing
March 22, 2013 8:29 AM
On Sen. Carl Levin's hearing on JPM's London Whale trades:
"Hard to believe that a Congressional committee could do a better job of investigating a trading scandal at a national bank than the OCC and Fed -- with over 100 resident examiners between them."Related Article: Big Banks 'One Major Misstep' Away from Breakup: Zions CEO (Image: Bloomberg News)
On House Democrats introducing an overdraft fee bill:
"Overdraft fees are completely avoidable by the consumer. Don't spend more money than you have and you will never have an overdraft fee."Related Article: House Democrats Introduce Overdraft Fee Bill (Image: Bloomberg News)
On House Democrats introducing an overdraft fee bill:
"An accident, illness or death of a child or spouse, sudden loss of savings, job, or business, can upend even the most financially literate person's financial management … Financial punishment that endures 'indefinitely' should not be added to the mix."Related Article: House Democrats Introduce Overdraft Fee Bill (Image: Shutterstock )
On a call for Congress to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
"Dream on. Congress will never have the guts or the incentives to liquidate Fannie and Freddie or their mortgage portfolios."Related Article: Fannie and Freddie Must Go (Image: Shutterstock )
On a call for Congress to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
"As a former Fannie Mae director, I could not agree more. The internal workings of this GSE are a dysfunctional bureaucratic mess."Related Article: Fannie and Freddie Must Go (Image: Shutterstock )
On a call for Congress to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
"Abolishing the secondary mortgage market is certainly in the interest of Wells [Fargo], the 800-pound gorilla that controls 40% of the mortgage market! But how about community banks? … Main Street needs a continuous source of mortgage money as does our economy."Related Article: Fannie and Freddie Must Go (Image: Shutterstock )
On a Minnesota lawmaker's move to revamp the mortgage interest deduction:
"In the private sector bad ideas die a natural death at the hand of more efficient solutions; in government they become institutions."Related Article: Minnesota Lawmaker Wants Revamp of Mortgage Interest Deduction (Image: Shutterstock )
On the Senate confirmation process sidelining an FHFA nominee:
"The blanket failure of the Senate to confirm nominees in key agency positions prevents the public's interest from being served."Related Article: Confirmation Process Likely to Sideline Next FHFA Nominee (Image: Shutterstock )
On the benefits of mobile banking:
"It may seem strange to you guys living in the U.S., but checks are very old technology. The rest of the world has moved on."Related Article: Mobile Banking Will Help the Poor Prosper (Image: Shutterstock )
On a Wells executive advising against self-service at branches:
"Service providers need to use customer satisfaction as competitive differentiation."Related Article: Wells Exec Guards Against Self-Service as Disservice (Image: Thinkstock)
On foreclosure protesters disrupting a speech from Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf:
"A good way to bring attention to an issue won't you say? Granted the lady hadn't paid her mortgage in 2 years, but she may have been ignored if she had cried out for help at the start of her ordeal as most people are."Related Article: Foreclosure Protesters Disrupt Wells CEO's Speech (Image: Bloomberg News)
On a looming crackdown in auto lending:
"Very large banks will be able to survive this. If they have to pay a fine, they will do so … A couple of regional or small banks will get hit with a proportionally heavier penalty which will result in most regional and small banks exiting the auto lending business."Related Article: Banks Brace for Looming Crackdown in Auto Lending (Image: Shutterstock )
