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Readers weigh in on the in-store branch model, how community banks hone their message, the difficulty cash-strapped consumers face in finding bank loans, and more.
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Variety of organic apples in baskets on wood table.

A retort to praise of the in-store branch model:

"If we think that Banking in supermarkets is such a great concept, I am wondering why Banks are not letting supermarkets sell apples in their lobbies?"

Related article: Guaranty Bank failure was not an indictment of in-store branch model
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On how to hone and communicate the message about what community banks offer:

"I think the bulk of the problem is simply letting people know what we already do and have done all along. We don't tout our importance to our communities quite enough."

Related article: People still don’t get community banks. Let’s help them understand
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Hand choosing a hanging key amongst other ones.

Disagreeing with the premise that the Federal Reserve’s paying banks interest on excess reserves leads banks to hoard money rather than lend:

"10 times out of 10 a bank would rather make a loan than have the funds parked at the Fed. Of course the loans have to be of the quality that the bank would expect the borrower to be able to repay the loan."

Related article: Fed must stop rewarding banks for not lending
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In response to an op-ed arguing how financially-strapped Americans struggle to get loans from banks and therefore resort to payday loans:

"In your article you said about banks 'We're glad to make money off your money, but we don't really want to help you.' Just so you know a bank makes much more off of a loan then a pathetic checking or savings account. Yes, a bank is in the business of making money. The problem with people today is they want everything and they want it now and don't care or think about the future. You should educate people about budgets and saving since you are an educator. It's not glamorous but is greatly needed."

Related article: Consumers are from Mars. Banks are from Venus
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Weighing in on the risk of ransomware freezing ATMs in cases where banks are running old versions of Microsoft Windows:

"Most if not all ATMs don't really house any valuable information and should be segregated from other systems so if they were targeted by ransom ware the institution would just need to swap out the computer within the ATM."

Related article: Are ATMs sitting ducks for WannaCry-style cyberattack?
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In response to an op-ed warning of the threat of regulatory arbitrage resulting from countries racing to deregulate:

"When I first read the title I thought it said 'threat to regulatory arbitrage' which would make more sense. What's wrong with competitive deregulation and market discipline, so long as governments stop the bailouts?"

Related article: Deregulation poses global threat of regulatory arbitrage
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