Week's Best Quotes: Branches as Toast; Cloning Jamie; Crisis Prep

May 28, 2013 2:49 PM

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.

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On banks that managed to maintain Camels 1 performance ratings throughout the 2006-2011 period:

"Bankers told us 'The reason we did well wasn't because of any actions we took during the crisis. It was the policies and procedures we had in place before the crisis and we did not vary from those.'"

Andy Meyer, a senior economist at the St. Louis Fed

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Wells Fargo chief executive John Stumpf on why the financial system needs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

"Our balance sheets aren't big enough to put all these mortgages on our books."

(Image: Bloomberg News)

Stumpf on Wells Fargo's opportunity to cross-sell credit cards to its retail customers:

"All of our retail households have a credit card; they just don't have them with us."

(Image: Bloomberg News)

On a bipartisan bill to reform Fannie and Freddie that's taking shape under Sen. Bob Corker:

"I would expect if there is something introduced, it would track very similarly to what [Federal Housing Finance Agnency chief] Ed DeMarco is putting into place."

Ed Mills, financial policy analyst at FBR Capital Markets

(Image: Bloomberg News)

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on criticism that regulators have been slow to implement Dodd-Frank:

"From literally my first day as Treasury Secretary I have been putting an enormous amount of my time into stepping on the accelerator in the implementation of Dodd-Frank."

Related Article: Lew Faces More Questions on Dodd-Frank Rules, GSE Reform

(Image: Bloomberg News)

Rep. Maxine Waters on the Justice Department's decision to defer prosecution of HSBC for money laundering, even as ordinary Americans do prison time for drug crimes:

"These kids that go to jail for crack cocaine, you are telling me they are more guilty than the presidents of banks? I don't think so."

On evidence bank executives are more focused on meeting new regulatory requirements than expanding revenues, doing deals or other initiatives:

"Regulatory concerns were big last year, and it is just getting bigger."

Brian Stephens, national leader of KPMG's banking and capital markets practice

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On why too many banks have tellers working even when they're not needed:

"Sometimes it can appear that banks are working for their tellers, not the other way around."

JR Pimentel, vice president and human resources development officer at Bristol County Savings Bank in Taunton, Mass.

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On the JPMorgan (JPM) board's lineup of possible successors to CEO Jamie Dimon:

"We intend to have a competent and capable successor to Jamie [Dimon] but I hope that time is much into the future. ... I have no illusions that we will be able to clone Jamie."

Lee Raymond, lead director of JPMorgan Chase

Related Article: JPMorgan's Next Three Hurdles

(Image: Bloomberg News)

Penny Pritzker, President Obama's nominee for Commerce Secretary, on her role as a co-owner in the 2001 collapse of Superior Bank:

"I regret the failure of Superior Bank. I feel very badly about that."

(Image: Bloomberg News)

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rejecting calls to reinstate Glass-Steagall:

"Glass-Steagall is not the solution because as we saw in the crisis, investment banks [and] commercial banks, separately, got into serious trouble."

(Image: Bloomberg News)

On banks' practice of processing transactions from the highest to lowest in values, which tends to maximize overdraft fees:

"A lot of banks still post high-to-low. It does continue to be a big problem."

Rebecca Borne, Center for Responsible Lending

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On why more banks might take advantage of the hot IPO market to fund growth:

"There is a growing recognition for the garden-variety community banks of $300 million in assets, that it's hard to compete in this landscape."

James Bauerle, of Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch

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Umpqua Holdings CEO Raymond Davis on what banks must do to keep branches relevant:

"Those days [with tellers behind windows] are toast. [Branches] will have to evolve, and they will evolve into something much smaller in most cases and something more customer-centric."

On whether chip-and-PIN technology could have prevented the recent $45 million ATM heist:

"If every single one of those cards had been chip, it would have done nothing. We could have had chip-and-PIN everywhere and you would have ended up with the same results."

Chris McLaughlin, executive vice president and director of retail banking at First Bank in Clayton, Mo.

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On why more private-equity groups are likely to cash out of their investments in banks:

"The recovery has been slower than anticipated, and it is still a pretty tough environment. And a lot of them want out because they are not used to dealing with regulators."

Stephen Klein, a partner at Graham & Dunn in Seattle

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On why it's a good idea for some bankers to hire consultants to negotiate contracts with technology vendors:

"Bankers are at a disadvantage because they don't know how the game is played. Bankers really have no idea what they should be paying for their contracts."

Aaron Silva, president and CEO of consulting firm Paladin

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On the importance for bank management of detailing a strategy prior to annual meetings:

"More participation, especially with more knowledgeable retail investors, means that shareholders will be voting more on each side's strategy rather than maintaining the status quo. Articulating your message is more important now."

John E. Peck, president/CEO, HopFed Bancorp

Hancock Holding CEO Carl Chaney on why his company is closing branches in a number of large cities where it has low deposit market share:

"In markets where you have large market share, you can still be successful in retail banking. But in markets where you don't have market share, it's becomingly increasingly difficult to be successful."