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New Report Sheds Light on Wall Street Inequity
New Report Sheds Light on Wall Street Inequity I highly encourage community bankers to read this week’s report from Bloomberg Markets Magazine on the financial assistance provided by federal...
Outrage
Outrage Wall Street Gets the Gold; Main Street Gets the Shaft! We all suspected this, and now it is public. More than 1,000 community banks suffered severe damage as a result of their GSE preferred...
Underdog Champs as Gritty as ICBA
Underdog Champs as Gritty as ICBA Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fanatic St. Louis Cardinals fan. So I was in baseball heaven last Friday night. And it got me to thinking about the Cardinals...
It’s About Community Banks
It’s About Community Banks Do you all recall the now-iconic Bill Clinton 1992 campaign slogan—“It’s the economy, stupid!”? Well, at ICBA, it’s the nation’s community banks, and it always will be....
Community Banks Are Our Business, Our Only Business
Community Banks Are Our Business, Our Only Business I was reviewing some legislative and regulatory items the other day, both from the recent past and current, and I noted several issues where ICBA...
Community Banks Are Financial First Responders
Community Banks Are Financial First Responders “Community banks remain a critical component of our financial system and our economy. They help keep their local economies vibrant and growing by...
Remember This: A Long History of Credit Union Mission Creep
Remember This: A Long History of Credit Union Mission Creep In case you’d forgotten, the nation’s credit unions have been making the rounds in Washington in recent weeks. There were about 5,000...
The Courage to Speak Out
The Courage to Speak Out The statement below made by the eminent economist J.K. Galbraith refers to the excesses on Wall Street that preceded the Great Depression, but it could have been made in...
Watergate and Regulatory Burden
Watergate and Regulatory Burden What do the infamous Watergate scandal and overwhelming regulatory burden on community banks have in common? “Follow the Money.” Many of us remember this quip from...
Heroes
Heroes Hero is defined as a person who has performed a heroic act or service and is regarded as a role model. On Monday and Tuesday of this week in southern Indiana, I looked into the eyes of and...
Credit Union Debate a Matter of Equity
Credit Union Debate a Matter of Equity Regarding the credit union push to more than double their commercial lending authority—TAX FREE—let me offer these examples. Two financial institutions sit...
It’s Not the Trade, It’s Too-Big-To-Fail
It’s Not the Trade, It’s Too-Big-To-Fail Many of us recall the now-famous campaign slogan from the 1992 Clinton campaign—“It’s the economy, stupid.” Bill Clinton used it to great effect. Recently,...
A Different Perspective
A Different Perspective I hold no animus toward anyone or any group that defends its members’ best interests. After all, that is the fundamental reason why associations are formed. That is why ICBA...
Déjà Vu All Over Again
Déjà Vu All Over Again As Yogi Berra said, “Its déjà vu all over again.” JPMorgan Chase recently announced that it lost more than $2 billion in trading complex derivatives. The news of reckless...
JPMorgan Redux
JPMorgan Redux I have gotten hundreds of emails from community bankers commenting on JPMorgan Chase’s $2 billion trading blunder. Below is just one example of an email I received from one of our...
Transaction Account Coverage an Urgent Issue
Transaction Account Coverage an Urgent Issue At ICBA’s recent Washington Policy Summit, I told community bankers gathered in the nation’s capital that our industry is full of passionate advocates....
Small Business is Our Business
Small Business is Our Business Community bankers have a positive story, and we love to tell it. So it’s always a pleasure when others help us get the word out about how community banks contribute...
Here They Go Again
Here They Go Again I’m sorry, but if you repeat a lie often enough, it still doesn’t make it the truth. That hasn’t stopped Wall Street apologists from continuing the stale assault that the...
Trillions for Wall Street, but not one cent for Main Street
Trillions for Wall Street, but not one cent for Main Street “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.” When Robert Goodloe Harper uttered that famous statement he was referring to...
The Antidote to Deposit Concentration? TAG
The Antidote to Deposit Concentration? TAG I recently wrote that extending full FDIC coverage of noninterest-bearing transaction accounts is a matter of urgency. And it is. Congress has to act by...