'Marijuana Is a Winner; Short-Term Lenders Are Losers': Comments of the Week
February 21, 2014 7:30 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.
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On the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's vow to crack down on mortgage servicers:
"It's the same same ... too little, too late, and the wrong solution."
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On the assertion that banks allocate capital rationally:
"Since when does a herd mentality produce a rational allocation?"
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On regulators' payday crackdown:
"The current conversation is more political than practical. Working families with poor credit need solutions."
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On regulators' payday crackdown:
"Indeed, we need to hear from all the interested parties
How about we invite a couple of hundred people chained to the payday lenders, paying usurious rates that could be used to buy new school clothes for their kids?"
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On Fincen saying banks can assist the legal pot businesses:
"Apply this same logic to DOJ's Operation Choke point against online lenders. This makes no sense whatsoever. DOJ picks marijuana as a winner but a federal law compliant small-dollar lender as a loser?"
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On whether banks have a future supplying short-term credit:
"Adequate, effective and fair lending to the poor and excluded will never happen until we can openly discuss how to create simultaneous value for both the borrower and lender."
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On whether subprime cards are banking's new frontier:
"Subprime cards were widespread before Dodd Frank, the CARD Act, and now Operation Choke Point. There is really nothing new about this market except that [it] is now underserved."
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On the American Bankers Association's Wayne Abernathy encouraging bankers to calmly engage regulators over differences:
"Did we miss something
? Didn't ABA sue regulators?"
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On the ABA's lawsuit against regulators over the Volcker Rule:
"We did not surprise the regulators. We carefully explained why time pressures
required the recourse to a lawsuit and emergency stay of action, if necessary."
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On small banks' use of social media:
"The message is only heard by those who have opted in to being a Twitter follower or a Facebook friend of the institution
Especially for smaller banks, the focus should be on building a more robust email or SMS channel than to begin a social media strategy. Sorry, but low impact, low reward."
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Image: Bloomberg News
On small banks' use of social media:
"Community bankers are the best at real time, face-to-face interaction so adding Twitter and Facebook works well."
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On the U.S. Postal Service offering financial services to the unbanked:
"Isn't this what credit unions were created for?"
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