
Victoria Finkle
BankThink EditorVictoria Finkle is deputy Washington bureau chief and editor of American Banker's op-ed blog, BankThink.

Victoria Finkle is deputy Washington bureau chief and editor of American Banker's op-ed blog, BankThink.
The bank continues to battle a series of negative headlines such as erroneous foreclosures, but public and investor reaction has been muted.
To listen to candidates on the campaign trail, populist anger is back. But some question whether it's really a top issue with voters.
A look at how Dodd-Frank has affected the banking industry, and what other forces are at play.
The fight over the Dodd-Frank threshold for enhanced regulations is the first big legislative battle for a loose coalition of regional banks.
Support for fully exempting community banks from the Volcker Rule continues to grow, but advocates fear it could be waylaid by a larger fight in Congress over changes to the Dodd-Frank Act.
A new push by President Obama to tighten cybersecurity at banks and other businesses could help light a fire under some firms that have historically been slower to react in the wake of a data breach and help financial institutions dealing with a tangle of confusing state laws.
Lawmakers could simply raise the level to, say, $100 billion, but that would only help a small handful of banks and not address the underlying concerns.
Bank of America must pay a record amount for mortgage-related claims, but the accord still leaves questions about tax liability and other banks in the government's crosshairs.
Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and David Vitter, R-La., continued to press their case over "too big to fail" in the wake of a new government report that raises fresh questions about the size of a market subsidy for the largest institutions.
A highly anticipated government report due to be released July 31 is expected to say big banks received less of a subsidy from the perception that they are "too big to fail." But it remains uncertain whether that would continue to be true in a future crisis or if market conditions change.
The Justice Department's $7 billion deal with Citigroup is likely not the last big government maneuver to penalize banks for faulty mortgage-related practices leading to the financial crisis.
The Justice Department likely hopes that Credit Suisse's guilty plea to a criminal charge will squash the idea that some large institutions are too important to the economy to prosecute. But experts say the issue is more complicated than that, arguing that the debate will live on. Here's why.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's new book details the Massachusetts lawmaker's dramatic rise from humble Oklahoma roots to bookish Harvard law professor to liberal juggernaut, and includes some behind-the-scenes insights to the formation of the CFPB and its agenda.
Members of the Senate Banking Committee and others are raising concerns about the credibility of a pending watchdog report analyzing whether some banks are still "too big to fail," suggesting some experts it relies on may be too closely tied to Wall Street.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., reintroduced legislation Tuesday to break up the largest financial institutions. The bill was light on details, however, and did not spell out how a breakup should be done.
Sen. Richard Shelby introduced two bills on Tuesday aimed at fixing technical errors in the Dodd-Frank reform law and requiring regulators to complete rigorous economic analysis when crafting new rules.
Observers say it's unlikely Congress will be able to strike a deal to stop across-the-board budget cuts from going into effect, raising concerns for bankers and regulators alike.
In her first extensive interview since becoming the lead Democrat on the House banking panel, Rep. Maxine Waters says she has learned a lot from watching former Rep. Barney Frank's leadership and will strive to emulate his example.
The banking industry is expected to benefit marginally from the deal to avert the fiscal cliff, but looming fights over tax reform and the debt ceiling remain.
House Republicans continued their attacks on the Volcker Rule on Thursday, arguing it was unnecessary and overly complex just a day after Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled regulators were close to finalizing it.