Category Archives: Publishing (Print & Online)

“We urge the Federal Reserve to pursue all legal means to mitigate the harm this decision will cause to consumers, community banks and all institutions that provide financial services to local communities. The Durbin Amendment and the court’s interpretation will … Continue reading →

‘The Fed didn’t have the authority to set a 21-cent cap on debit-card transactions’, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, rejected the Dodd-Frank imposed rules governing ‘swipe fees’, in a ruling today morning. In his 58-page ruling, Leon asserted, “The … Continue reading →

“Do they need the reams and reams and reams of data we’re having to provide to them? Don’t we have to find a healthier balance here?” Susan Faulkner, Senior Vice President, Bank of America, implored at the Conference of Consumer … Continue reading →

“Bitcoin is not the only digital currency, nor the only successful one. Gamers on Second Life, a virtual world, pay with Linden Dollars; customers of Tencent, a Chinese internet giant, deal in QQ Coins; and Facebook sells Credits. What makes … Continue reading →

The Durban Agreement and the Durbin Amendment have one thing in common. They are both working towards an ideal climate. The former regulates carbon emissions and hopes to reach a global climate agreement; the latter regulates interchange fees and hopes … Continue reading →

“People want to know that regulators are looking out for the American public, not the banks,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D. Mass asserted at the Senate Banking subcommittee hearing on April 11, 2013. The agenda was to review banks’ use of … Continue reading →

Around 11:45 pm, on a Friday night in 2011, Jay Leno gave me a fit of giggles as he mocked Bank of America’s plans to charge consumers a monthly debit card fee of $5, in his classic late night television … Continue reading →

No prescription seems to arrest the decline of Europe. No single prescription, at least. A capsule for solidarity, a tablet for a banking union, syrup for a deeper political and monetary union and an injection for sustainable and inclusive growth, … Continue reading →

Does democracy enhance or inhibit good governance? The question sits conspicuously in the minds that gathered on the 15th floor of the School of International and Public affairs at Columbia University on March 4th to launch, The Governance Report 2013. … Continue reading →

The third quarter earnings for General Motors reflects a change in most variables but an incorrigible consistency in one. It has failed to reverse close to $15 billion in cumulative losses that GM’s European operations have been plagued with since … Continue reading →