'Welcome to the Party, Pal': Comments of the Week
October 21, 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 new ABA chairman's concerns about regulators treating banks of all sizes the same:
"Of course the 'one size fits all' regulation approach does not work for community banking! I believe that the community bank associations have been yelling that out for many years. It would have been nice had ABA had that philosophy when we were trying to get the FDIC assessment formula changed or deposit insurance levels raised. But sadly they did not. I am happy that they seem to be coming around. So to ABA I say in the immortal words of Det. John McClain in the movie 'Die Hard,' 'welcome to the party, pal.'"
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On the rippling effects of the Wells Fargo scandal:
"I'm sure that all the federal banking regulators and bank risk officers will be reviewing their risk assessment processes to see if or how their systems could catch what happened. I have a sense that in spite of the compensation rules for mortgage loan originators, regulators and risk officers didn't apply that concept to other areas of the bank, looking at how compensation might affect employee behavior and what the red flags for that might look like. And as others have mentioned, if Wells was doing it, they probably weren't alone, so there are probably some other organizations out there trying to cover their tracks."
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On the CFPB making credit options tougher for consumers:
"Under the guise of consumer protection, the CFPB's actions are premised on the notion that individuals aren't intelligent enough to make financial decisions for themselves. The CFPB knows best and all financial institutions are inherently evil. Forget personal responsibility and free markets. Let's call the CFPB what it is: Big Brother of the consumer financial marketplace."
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On calls to reduce branches in the wake of the Wells Fargo scandal:
"The incredibly inconvenient truth for the everything-must-be-electronic pundits out there is that customers like branch access and continue to reward banks who provide it."
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On U.S. Bank matching the smartphone's geolocation to the credit card's location:
"So tell me again
why do I need the card? If my bank knows where my phone & I are, why can't I just use my phone to pay? (Hint: they can do this in come other countries)"
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Another reader weighs in on U.S. Bank's latest innovation (via <a href="https://twitter.com/NHighlandFIN/status/788377675849084928" target="_blank">Twitter</a>):
"Using mobile phone Geo-location to lower fraud. Great idea. Logical use of mobile reality."
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On Wells Fargo deciding to stop referring to its branches as "stores":
"Calling their branches 'stores' was always a questionable idea. As they admit, customers NEVER called them stores. They call bank branches...uh...branches. WF should have stopped that silliness long ago. They look pretty weak doing it now. But in the end, a good move."
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Agreeing with an argument on how the CFPB fails to help consumers:
"In the end, however, the 'less preferred alternative' is usually better, and we may need an agency to put the legalized sharks out to sea. The market does not always correct before the kneecaps are broken."
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