The Week's Best Quotes: Holder's 'Too Big to Jail' Cop, Big-Bank Influence
March 12, 2013 8:00 AM
The most notable quotes from American Banker stories of the previous week. Readers are encouraged to add their own observations in the Comments fields at the bottom of each slide. (Image: Fotolia)
On whether the Treasury Department should have sought harsher punishment for HSBC over its money-laundering violations:
"What does it take, how many billions of dollars do you have launder from drug lords and how many economic sanctions do you have violate before someone will consider shutting down a financial institution like this?"
- Senator Elizabeth Warren (D. - Mass.)
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(Image: Bloomberg News)
On how Treasury works with the Justice Department on prosecutions:
"I understand that you cannot dictate to the Department of Justice that they prosecute cases…but you can be a very strong voice. You can either [say], 'Here's the case and good luck,' or, 'Here's the case, we will help. We strongly urge and encourage you and if you just decline it, we are going to ask serious questions of you as to why you declined to prosecute this case.'"
- Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D. - N.D.)
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On Attorney General Eric Holder's statement that the largest banks' size makes them hard to prosecute:
"It's pretty much an admission that Dodd-Frank didn't end too big to fail."
- Mark Calabria, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute
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(Image: Bloomberg News)
On the influence that large banks have over lawmakers:
"It's not so much about corruption. It's just listening too much to large financial institutions and the people who represent them and not enough to the people out on Main Street who want this fixed."
- former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair
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(Image: Michael Chu)
On the challenges that banks face from nonbanks:
"Is this an inflection point that looks like Blockbuster and Netflix? If so, what do we need to do today to prepare for five to ten years down the road?"
- Bryan Jordan, chairman and chief executive of First Horizon (FHN)
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On the future of brick-and-mortar banking:
"Physical branches will become irrelevant. I think you'll continue to see a role for small branches on the business banking side, but we're a totally consumer banking company, so we don't see any need for that."
- Carlos Minetti, president of consumer banking and operations at Discover Bank
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(Image: Thinkstock)
On why community banks will continue to resist pressure to consolidate:
"Community bankers are a certain breed - they are fighters. They have always found a way to work through their challenges, and many will find the key to success again."
- William Loving, chairman-elect of the Independent Community Bankers of America
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On why a new wave of bank consolidation is unlikely:
"If the boards have decided to carry that cross this far, then they are going to wait."
- Richard Davis, chairman and CEO of U.S. Bancorp
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(Image: Bloomberg News)
On how the due diligence process can deter potential buyers:
"Due diligence is wildly different today, because it is so complex and so costly… We're out if something goes to a true competitive-bid situation. We'll let the private-equity guys have those."
- David Gaines, chief financial officer of Park Sterling
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(Image: Thinkstock)
On what Regions Financial (RF) has learned from the financial crisis and its aftermath:
"We understand concentration limits like we never did before."
- David Turner, chief financial officer of Regions Financial
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(Image: Thinkstock)
On why Renasant Bank in Tupelo, Miss., is willing to run off higher-cost CDs:
"We felt it was important to not necessarily grow but to improve the profile" of the bank's balance sheet."
- Robin McGraw, CEO of Renasant
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