"We're Not Looking to Fleece Our Neighbors": Week's Best Quotes

September 10, 2013 10:10 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: Thinkstock

On the CFPB's partial ban on home loans with balloon payments, which will prevent some banks from offering callable mortgages:

"The people who are taking out these loans are our neighbors. We're not looking to fleece them. We're looking to build relationships with them."

 Frank Hamlin 3rd, president and chief executive of Canandaigua National in N.Y.

On why the number of community banks will continue to decline unless policymakers ease the regulatory burden:

"Will there be 6,000 [banks]? 4,000? Who can say? But without change, it will be a smaller number and, with sensible changes, it'll be a larger number."

 Eugene Ludwig, CEO of Promontory Financial Group

Customers Bancorp's (CUST) Jay Sidhu on what he told the board of Atlantic Coast Financial (ACFC) in Jacksonville, Fla., when it tried to sell the company for $5 per share:

"I said to the board, 'There's no darned way you belong in corporate America if this is your attitude. You are ripping off people's wealth.'"

On why the lead bidders for banks in bankruptcy auctions are starting to face competition:

"We knew stalking horses wouldn't always be so lucky in the future. It just took longer than I expected."

 Van Durrer, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Image: Thinkstock

On how the proposed qualified residential mortgage rule could undermine the Dodd-Frank Act's requirement that banks retain some risk:

"It's the exception that ate the rule... For single family mortgages, risk retention becomes a non-event."

 Edward Pinto, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute

Image: Thinkstock

On whether private-equity investors seeking to exit a bank investment will make more money selling their shares or seeking a sale of the whole bank:

"If you can influence the sale of the company and you have a marketable commodity, you're far better off selling the whole company."

 Stephen Klein, a partner at Graham & Dunn

Image: Thinkstock

Paul Aguggia on why he is leaving a big law firm to become the chairman and chief executive of mutual-thrift client Clifton Savings Bancorp in New Jersey:

"I took a chance to do something different."

On the growing compliance burden at community banks:

"The more the big banks get themselves into trouble, the more all of this regulation has filtered down to the community banks, which is very perplexing and frustrating."

 Douglas Manditch, chairman and chief executive at Empire National Bank in Islandia, N.Y.

On the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's warning that it plans to hold banks responsible for handling disputes regarding the customer credit information they provide:

"It's like a smoke signal to everybody. It signals that the CFPB is saying, 'Now we're going to be tougher and the industry is on notice that this is what we expect.' "

 Alan Kaplinsky, head of Ballard Spahr's consumer financial services practice

Image: Thinkstock

On why many mobile-banking applications are poorly designed or too complex:

"You can try to build as fancy a car as you want to, but if you can't find the steering wheel and the brakes don't work, what's the point? Banks and everybody else get misled into trying to do all sorts of things on mobile."

 Mike Stern, director of the financial services group at Xtreme Labs

Image: Thinkstock

One why data encryption alone does not make a bank's transactions secure:

"Pretty soon, any moron on the street will be able to encrypt Encryption is only half the security story, and it has to be paired with authentication."

 Joe Sturonas, chief technology officer for the IT security company PKWARE

Image: Thinkstock