'The Rich Get Richer': Comments of the Week
February 12, 2016 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 support of Sen. Bernie Sanders' plan to cap interest rates at 15%:
"The rich get richer isn't that how it goes in America? That's why 20 people in the USA have more wealth than 60 million families combined. 20 people."
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A retort to an op-ed that lays out steps for killing the Dodd-Frank Act:
"First, the 2008 crisis was blamed on the Community Reinvestment Act. Now it is blamed on FNMA and FHLMC. Being no fan of Fannie and Freddie, I shudder to leap to their defense. Alas, I need not. The real culprit are bankers so in love with leverage (I'm talking to you Lehman Brothers) that they would risk burning down the town for the sake of their own vanity."
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In response to a story on the Obama administration's efforts to encourage more small-dollar loan products:
"Most companies test products before they are put into the marketplace. The regulatory agencies should also do the same with their rules. Test and see the results. There are too many working families that need credit. Now is not the time to experiment with their lives."
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On concerns that regulations may encourage de-risking:
"One of the sad things, is that in many cases it seems that the regulators do not even realize they certainly do not acknowledge that they are promoting de-risking."
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On how payday lenders have drawn fewer complaints than other industries in the CFPB's consumer complaint database:
"Perhaps the writer should spend some quality time in the neighborhoods these lenders serve, and collect some first hand accounts from those who would prefer an account with a standard bank, and terms they could afford to live with."
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Reacting to criticism of the CFPB's fair lending enforcement of indirect auto lenders:
"Seems to me the rub is in the conflict between maximizing profit for the dealer but not discriminating on a prohibited basis. We in the mortgage business have been more or less finding that balance for at least the past 50 years. Why is it so problematical for auto dealers?"
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