'Trump on the Serengeti': Comments of the Week
November 11, 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.
On the possibility of the Trump administration challenging net neutrality, while also championing cybersecurity:
"In my opinion, cybersecurity works best in an open internet. On the Serengeti Plain the hunted had the maximum opportunity to see the hunter. Same here. So if the new president wants to promote cybersecurity he will need to recognize the conflicts here."
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On whether Trump will follow through on using remittances as a way to force Mexico to fund a border wall:
"I think it's more likely he'll just buy the cement for the wall from Cemex and then stiff them on the bill."
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On how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will fare under President-elect Trump:
"The CFPB needs to be abolished. Its very existence represents extreme tampering by the federal government in what's left of our free market. When a government organization is allowed to 'shoot first and ask questions later,' as is the CFPB by posting complaints on its website against financial institutions without so much as even reviewing the file to see if they are legitimate, that is unacceptable. It's Chicago-style mob rule."
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On how Trump and the GOP Congress can address changes to bank regulation:
"If the bank regulatory system is to be reformed, I suggest that the lawmakers keep these two concepts in mind. One, keep a dual banking system. One super regulator would concentrate too much power in one set of hands. Just as in the commercial marketplace, competition among the bank regulators, with Congressional oversight, is a good thing. Secondly, the insurer of deposits should not be a primary bank regulator. By its very nature, an insurer is too risk averse."
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Rebutting the idea that customers find it too difficult to switch banks:
"You're forgetting competition among the nation's thousands of banks (not to mention credit unions). Banks are competing daily to get customers to switch accounts. They love nothing more than 'stealing' another FIs customer. Just look at the plethora of free 'switch kits' that walk potential customers through the process making it as simple as possible."
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On what regulators should do to reduce de-risking:
"As you already know, banks only 'de-risk' because government regulations make it such a pain (expensive and risky) to bank those institutions/individuals. Instead of adding more regulation (expense to banks) maybe they should try the other approach. It was regulation in the first place that led banks to 'de-risk.' That said, if we can't get some of these regulations removed the next best thing is to carve out exceptions."
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On government-mandated credit card disclosures' failure to inspire consumers to get out of debt:
"Consumer debt habits barely budge! Uh, news flash It's called human nature! You can't legislate human nature."
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Another reader reacts to the CARD Act failing to influence consumers' money habits:
"The nanny state foiled yet again!"
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