'It's Like They Want to Build the Next AOL': Comments of the Week
December 18, 2015 7:30 AM
American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.
In response to a startup that aims to partner with central banks to issue digital currency:
"The bankers are in way over their heads and it's far too late for them to start over with something new. It's like they want to build the next AOL or CompuServe to compete with the internet."
Related Article:
In agreement with an op-ed supporting the return of Glass-Steagall:
"Financial behemoths that want to operate like casinos should certainly be allowed to do so they just need to drop the charade that they are consumer banks and give up their FDIC Insurance."
Related Article:
On the CFPB readying a regulatory proposal for payday loans:
"Be afraid. Be very afraid! When CFPB regulations make payday lenders sneeze, overdraft protection and small-dollar commercial bank loans catch cold.
Related Article:
On TD Bank being criticized by a New York City official for lending to a gun manufacturer:
"I certainly sleep better knowing a [Smith & Wesson] is within an arm's reach. I can't imagine protecting myself and my family with a butter knife. Oh, and S&W's stock has more than doubled in the last 12 months, so good luck cutting off their borrowing power."
Related Article:
In response to a startup pitching tech that would enable central banks to issue digital currency (via <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3wzs3c/big_banks_to_create_ecurrency_to_rival_bitcoin/cy0952n" target="_blank">Reddit</a>):
"I would like this. It would make purchasing bitcoins cheaper and faster."
Related Article:
A reaction to an op-ed on how the U.K. government is welcoming startup banks:
"This stands in stark contrast to the U.S. where the government protects the Too Big To Behave Banks and the Banksters that run them, discourages new bank charters, and closes smaller banks for regulatory problems that receive de minimis punishment at bigger banks."
Related Article:
In response to an op-ed on sexism in fintech:
"How nice it would be if people could be as forward-thinking and innovative with regard to their social attitudes as they are with regard to technology."
Related Article:
On the chairman of a Kansan bank being named <em>American Banker</em>'s 2015 Innovator of the Year:
"We've all been trying to envision a future for the banking industry and game out how fintech will impact it, and the future is already here
in Kansas, of all places. Who knew?"
Related Article:
