BankThink

Banks rely on fee income to a greater or lesser extent depending on business model, and the Biden administration is intent on cutting consumer fees across the economy. But that push might hamper another administration priority: financial inclusion.

As the Federal Housing Finance Agency considers revising Federal Home Loan bank membership standards, it should consider the benefits of scale that large member banks make possible.

Big national retailers will capture all the financial benefits from proposed reductions in swipe fees, while consumers will be left with fewer benefits programs and less secure transactions.

If Capital One successfully buys Discover Financial Services, it would create an entity with an enormous amount of power. That could lead to abuses of vulnerable consumers.

The decision will turn on whether regulators think the merged company would lessen competition or pose a significant threat to the broader economy if it runs into financial distress.

On both sides of the Atlantic, regulators have failed to live up to their promises about how they would approach bank failures. Until they do, the industry operates in legal limbo.

What's the point of regulatory capital rules that ignore demonstrated problems, like unrealized losses? We need to rethink what banks' disclose to investors and regulators.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering new rules covering the collection and sale of some consumer data. If it's not careful, the agency could be inadvertently assisting identity thieves.

The failure of Republic First isn't a systemic threat or even a surprise. But the conditions that led to its failure are not all that unique and may foreshadow a secular rise in bank consolidation — one that policymakers can either embrace or resist.

Though written before the internet era, the book about working at Salomon Brothers in the 1980s that launched Michael Lewis' writing career still holds important lessons about the true costs of success.