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John Tyson
CFO/SVP
Altamaha Bank & Trust Company
Vidalia, GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-30-2021 13:17
From: Barb Rehm
Subject: Weekly News Roundup
Will you get an Astro – Amazon's new home robot? Want to know more about this year's class of McArthur fellows? And can we celebrate the St. Louis Cardinal's 17-win-streak to secure a wild-card spot? Here's what else you might want to read this week.
"Bank Workers Notch Win in California - And Push for Another in D.C."
This is big news that may or may not amount to much, but workers at a California bank co-founded by former presidential candidate Tom Steyer have formed a union designed to beef up pay, add benefits, and provide protections. It's the first unionization of bank employees in 40 years, according to American Banker. What's more House Democrats are working on legislation – "Financial Services Worker Bill of Rights Act" – that would impose a fee on banks that pay their CEOs at least 100 times more than their median worker, ban both mandatory arbitration clauses in employment agreements and the use of predatory sales goals, and allow non-management workers to meet with bank examiners.
"'Radical' Biden Nominee Faces Backlash from Banks"
President Biden's pick for Comptroller – Cornell Law professor Saule Omarova – is already under fire as banking groups gear up to fight her nomination, Politico reports. Gibson Dunn law firm has scrutinized the key themes of Omarova's numerous articles on financial regulation while the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggests Senators who consider Omarova's qualifications should ask her why she opposes free enterprise. "Omarova envisions an ultimate 'end‐state' whereby central bank accounts fully replace-rather than compete with- private bank deposits," Cato writes. "Obviously, fully replacing private bank accounts with those at a central bank leaves no room for private banks." American Banker says Omarova may have trouble winning Senate confirmation.
"Banks Are Wrong to Fight Proposed New IRS Disclosure Rule"
Bloomberg has an op-ed you should read if you want to understand the arguments being made in support of the plan to close the tax gap by forcing banks to report to the IRS annual inflows/outflows of customer accounts above $10,000. One of the two authors is a former banker. They argue the requirement alone would prove a deterrent to potential tax dodgers, and that the data banks report would help the IRS do better-targeted audits. The news organization has a second story about how banks are enlisting customers to kill the plan.
"Dallas, Boston Fed Presidents Announce Resignations Following Controversial Stock Trades"
The resignations this week of Robert Kaplan and Eric Rosengren from the top jobs at the Fed banks in Dallas and Boston wouldn't be that big a deal if the whole Fed system weren't under so much pressure. In other words, the last thing the central bank needed right now is criticism over senior leaders trading stocks. In the wake of their resignations, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown announced he will introduce legislation barring individual stock ownership by Fed officials and, during a hearing Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Fed Chair Jay Powell he is "a dangerous man" and that she would not vote for him if he's renominated. Powell did not respond to the Massachusetts Democrat's criticism.
"Inside Truist's Painstaking Tech Integration"
Learn how Truist is combining the best of the systems that ran SunTrust and BB&T. American Banker has tons of details about the choices the nation's 6th largest commercial bank is making.
"'Developers Are the New Bankers': Wells Fargo Analysts Predict Wave of Job Cuts"
Mike Mayo is predicting massive right-sizing in banking with call center and branch employees bearing the largest brunt of the job cuts, Bloomberg reports.
"No Card Required: Mastercard Takes Buy Now/Pay Later to Bank Apps"
In yet another twist on buy now/pay later, Mastercard is building a bank-driven platform that allows borrowers to apply for loans via mobile banking, and then use a virtual card to pay the retailer, American Banker reports.
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Barb Rehm
Senior Managing Director
IntraFi Network
Arlington VA
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