View from CBA - July 17, 2015

Antonakes to Leave CFPB
The CFPB announced on Thursday Deputy Director Steven Antonakes will return to Massachusetts full time. Antonakes' insight as a career examiner brought valued credibility to two important roles at the Bureau: Deputy Director and Associate Director for Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending. He struck the right balance between the safety and soundness of a bank and consumer protection. We wish him all the very best as he returns home to his family in Massachusetts and his deflated New England Patriots.
 
Cordray/Yellen Hearing Tidbits
Both CFPB Director Richard Cordray and Fed Chair Janet Yellen testified on Capitol Hill this week. Here are some key takeaways:
 
Corday:

  • Coming in the next few months, the CFPB will start the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) process on arbitration.
  • The changing economy makes it more difficult to qualify for a mortgage, and the agency needs to take a fresh look at the mortgage rules as a result.
  • The agency intends to revisit the income-verification standards under the Ability-to-Repay Rule.
  • People demand small dollar credit, "We can't choke off supply." However, he remains concerned about consumers entering a debt trap. He did not indicate which financial products would be the "right" ones for consumers. 

Yellen:

  • The economy is still improving, but there is still "some slack" in the labor markets, as indicated by low wage growth and a low labor force participation rate.
  • Inflation continues below the Fed target rate of 2%.
  • She is open to a "modest" increase of the SIFI threshold.
  • If the economy continues to grow as expected, the Fed will raise its Fed Funds Rate in order to move towards normalized monetary policy. However, the Fed will continue to take a "highly accommodative" approach to monetary policy going forward.

CBA Members Meet in DC
This week, CBA's Deposits and Payments Committee convened in Washington, D.C. for its second in person meeting of the year. Several members of the Committee met with Congressional offices concerning the upcoming rulemaking activity on overdraft (OD) services. The team divided into three groups and conducted more than a dozen meetings in the House and Senate. The meetings where timely as many on Capitol Hill seem to be unaware of how OD services operate, including how regulatory changes to Regulations E and DD have preserved consumer choice and improved transparency.

Deposits and Payments Committee members visit Capitol Hill this week.
(L to R) Brian Carson of Huntington, CBA's David Pommerehn, Christy Merecka of Frost and Dawn Price of PNC.
July 13, 2015

CBA also teamed up with the Bank Insurance and Securities Association (BISA) this week to kick off our joint wealth management working group. A group of 10 bankers met in Washington for a welcome dinner followed by a very lively and inclusive discussion on the issues financial institutions face when building and growing their wealth management business.

Wealth Management Working Group meeting in Washington, D.C.
July 14, 2015

Member Visits
I was on the road again this week visiting our bankers at HSBC in New York to discuss the evolving needs at branches, small businesses and in the regulatory environment. Thank you to Bill Brown, Executive Vice President, U.S. Head of Network; Mark Luppi, Executive Vice President, Head of Business Banking; and Jim Riley, Senior Vice President, Fair and Responsible Banking Compliance Officer, for taking the time to share your thoughts and meet with me and Liz Terry.
 
CBA Welcomes Synovus to the Family
CBA is proud to welcome Synovus as our newest Corporate Member! Wayne Akins, Executive Vice President, Chief Retail Banking Officer at Synovus, will join the CBA Mid-Tier Retail Executive Forum, comprised of 12 fellow retail leaders in the mid-tier range.
 
Lagniappe
Jackie Yoon has been named president of Bank of America's St. Louis market.
 
Former J.P. Morgan official Blythe Masters has been named Nonexecutive Chairwoman of Santander Consumer USA Holdings, the subprime auto lending unit of the bank.
 
Lars Anderson, formerly with Comerica, has been hired by Fifth Third as its Chief Operating Officer.

Members of Team CBA headed to Greenville, S.C. this week to prepare for CBA Executive Banking School, taking place July 19-29, 2015.