Links in “Banks”

Superbowl advertiser Quicken Loans promoted its "Rocket Mortgage" service, which supposedly makes it super easy and super fast for buyers to get a mortgage. Here's the ad as well as some of the criticism it got after it aired. [2/9/16]

The Corkow virus has infiltrated 250,000 computers worldwide and infected more than 100 financial institutions. Last year, it placed more than $500 million in orders at non-market rates, resulting in a rate swing that cost one Russian bank more than $3 million. It may have been a test to prepare for future attacks, and could be heading our way. See also here. [2/8/16]

They walked away from their underwater mortgages, even though they could still afford them. Now they're back, this time as prospective borrowers. The question is, are lenders ready to lend to these boomerang buyers? [2/8/16]

For some, banking isn't "fun" anymore, and one primary driver of interest in selling banks is regulatory headwinds. [2/8/16]

The CFPB's concerns about unbanked and underbanked consumers are noble, but fail to appreciate what has caused the problem: over-reaching regulations from the CFPB and other agencies implementing Dodd-Frank. Pre-Dodd-Frank, 76% of all bank accounts were free to the consumer. In 2013, only 38% were. [2/5/16]

An item in the "Your Money Adviser" section of the New York Times is putting the spotlight on how some consumers who are reported to frequently overdraw their accounts are thwarted in their efforts to access mainstream bank accounts. [2/5/16]

The use of big data in making credit decisions may present fair lending issues if its use causes disparate impact, according to this CFPB official. [2/5/16]

You get home. You realize you don't have your debit card. You can't remember where you left it. You log into your account on your phone, select "manage debit card settings," an image of your card appears, and you swipe the on/off switch. You're happy. Your bank is happy. The bad guy's not so happy, but two out of three's not bad. [2/4/16]

There's no law that says you have to, but the CFPB, in that special way that only it can do, suggests you should. ABA says thanks for the suggestion. So does the CBA. [2/4/16]

Signaling what could be start of an industry-wide clamp down, the CFPB sent a letter to the big retail banks encouraging them to offer accounts that make it harder for frequent overdrafters to overdraft their accounts, such as prepaid accounts or accounts that don't permit overdrafts. It also raised concerns about consumer "blacklists" that make it difficult for frequent overdrafters to open accounts and warns that inaccurate reporting about frequent overdrafters could result in penalties. [2/3/16]