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Images from American Banker's top ten stories for the week ending March 23, 2018.
SunTrust's new IT chief preaches collaboration; will CRE securitizations return to haunt?; Amazon here, there and everywhere; and more.
Scott Case, chief information officer at SunTrust.

New SunTrust IT chief weighs open banking, AI, fintech partnerships

Banks should adopt a more collaborative process to usher in innovation and refine digital strategy, says SunTrust CIO Scott Case.

(Full story here.)
amazon-bl-122617.jpg
Signage is displayed in at an Amazon.com Inc. Pop-Up store inside the Lakeview Whole Foods Market Inc. store in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. Amazon.com Inc. is betting that people shopping for discounted organic Thanksgiving turkeys at Whole Foods this week may decide to pick up an Echo digital assistant as well. The company is using the holiday moment and its broader brick-and-mortar presence to further a lead in the emerging market for voice-activated smart home speakers. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Amazon is the least of banking's problems

Banks need to figure out how to provide more value to customers or nonbank financial services companies could displace them.

(Full story here.)
Amazon, Walmart comparison, tale of the tape

Are bankers underestimating Amazon?

More than a decade ago, bankers fought Walmart tooth and nail as it made forays into banking. But with Amazon making more moves into financial services, the reaction is very different.

(Full story here.)
List of CRE CLO issuers

CRE bridge lending is white hot. What could possibly go wrong?

Nonbanks are originating more commercial mortgages on fixer-uppers in response to a sharp drop in the cost of funding in the securitization market. These deals are said to be "vastly different" than other CRE instruments that sustained big losses in the crisis — so far.

(Full story here.)
Flow chart on how IdentityX would authenticate bank customers who want to send payments over Alexa.

Is Amazon's Alexa ready for person-to-person payments?

The main problem is that Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri and Google Assistant can't yet verify a person's identity. But there are already workarounds for that issue — and the tech giants may solve it soon.

(Full story here.)
stevens-melissa-fifth-third.jpg

Fifth Third latest bank to enable cardless ATM access

The bank will enable customers to access its 2,500 ATMs via mobile banking.

(Full story here.)
Mobile game revenue stats

Saving money is not a game (but it could be)

One fintech has a new twist on gamification — tie savings contributions to achievement in the most popular games.

(Full story here.)
Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla.
Representative Dennis Ross, a Republican from Florida, speaks to reporters after a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. House Republicans are looking for ways to both keep the government running past Dec. 11 and also send a strong message to President Barack Obama that they reject his authority to stop deporting some undocumented immigrants. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Dennis Ross
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

A CFPB commission will never fly

Critics of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have long sought to convert its leadership structure from a single director to a five-member commission. Here's why the idea is dead on arrival.

(Full story here.)
Blockchain graphic, distributed ledger graphic

Could blockchain tech help prevent bank fraud?

Employees at the second-largest Indian bank falsified documents in a scheme that ultimately cost the institution at least $2 billion. Some argue a distributed ledger would have helped prevent or minimize the fraud.

(Full story here.)
Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting
Former OCC chief Joseph Otting's CRA proposal was finalized in 2020. However, acting Comptroller Michael Hsu rescinded that in favor of the joint proposal.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

OCC once wanted payday lenders to 'stay the hell away' from banks. No longer

The agency's decision to lift a 2002 consent order against Ace Cash Express could lead to a revival of partnerships between national banks and payday lenders.

(Full story here.)
Fintech Disruptors CRE Payday lending Amazon Fifth Third CFPB News & Analysis OCC Fifth Third Bancorp
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