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Payday lending
Slideshow

'Oscar for best lobbyists goes to ... regional banks': Comments of the week

ByVictoria Finkle
February 7, 2019 10:00 PM

Readers respond to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overhaul of its payday loans rule, debate reforms to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, consider regulatory exemptions for regional banks and more.

Deutsche Bank branch.
Deutsche Bank AG signage sits on the facade of a branch above a no entry sign, in Hamburg, Germany, on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. Deutsche Bank plans to buy back about $5.4 billion of bonds in euros and dollars as it seeks to allay investor concerns about its finances. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
On news that Deutsche Bank turned down a Trump Organization request for a loan in the run-up to the 2016 elections, in part due to reputational concerns:

"This is rich....a bank under investigation by the Fed for money laundering is worried about reputation risk."

Related: Deutsche Bank said to deny loan to Trump Organization in 2016
Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell addresses the Senate Banking Committee
"Inflation has eased notably over the past couple of years but remains above the Committee's longer-run goal of 2%," said Powell via written testimony.&nbsp;<br/>"The Committee has stated that we do not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range for the federal funds rate until we have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%."&nbsp;<br/>
Bloomberg News
On an announcement from the Federal Reserve that it will largely exclude regional banks from the 2019 stress tests:

"And the Oscar for Best Lobbyists goes to....Regional Banks! While I agree that the system is $700 Billion dollars stronger than at the onset of the great recession, it's ridiculous to imply a $100 Billion Bank such as these 16, cannot efficiently model stress scenarios. Tweak the scenarios not the participants."

Related: Fed exempts most regional banks from stress testing in 2019
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Donald Trump, 2016 Republican presidential nominee, speaks during a campaign rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. As the U.S. presidential race heads into its final weekend, Trump is showing strength in Iowa and Ohio pre-Election Day voting, while Hillary Clintons advantage in early balloting looks stronger in North Carolina and Nevada. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
On considerations around whether President Trump's calls for bipartisanship during the State of the Union will extend to the debate over the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

"The CEO's are gone. The inertia should be less. Fire the unwilling. Focus all energy on Common Securitization Platform."

Related: Will Trump's call for unity lead to bipartisan GSE reform?
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House for sale
Monkey Business Images/Monkey Business - stock.adobe.com
Another reader responds to chatter following the State of the Union and possible support for a plan outline by Chairman Mike Crapo who has proposed using Ginnie Mae to backstop the mortgage market:

"Any solution that considers GNMA as a backstop is sorely lacking in an understanding of GNMA. It is woefully understaffed and lacks the expertise to manage the risk."

Related: Will Trump's call for unity lead to bipartisan GSE reform?
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On an analysis that large banks have cut staff and reduced their lending since the Trump tax law went into effect:

"Yes, those tax breaks have really devastated the economy and led to low job market participation. Oh...wait. Just the opposite. Isn't that interesting. It's almost like private companies and shareholders put money to better and more productive uses than vote-harvesting, career politicians. Fancy that."

Related: U.S. banks won $21 billion tax windfall then cut staff, lent less
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CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
On the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau revising its payday lending rule to remove previous ability-to-repay provisions:

"This is legal grafting and bribery from an industry in need of regulation to politicians to fix their game. Another example of why political expenditures should be more heavily regulated. The industry donated over $7.5MM to politicians in 2017 and 2018 to fund this reversal in policy! Consumers will ultimately be harmed by this roll back."

Related: CFPB takes big step toward unwinding payday lending rule
Victoria Finkle
BankThink Editor , American Banker
Payday lending Policymaking Stress tests Regional banks Tax cuts Trump tax plan Deutsche Bank CFPB News & Analysis
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