Financial Institutions

President Barack Obama has vowed to reform financial regulations and tighten oversight of banks to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis that has plunged the U.S. economy into deep recession. It's a promise that must be kept because it is vital to re-establishing the trust of the American people in the stability of the financial institutions that provide the lifeblood of commerce. Members of Mr. Obama's economic team are expected to propose stricter federal rules for hedge funds, credit rating agencies and mortgage brokers, and greater oversight of the complex financial instruments that have contributed to the current economic crisis.

Dunbar Armored has been in the armored-car business for nearly 90 years. But the Hunt Valley-based company now is branching into a new way to protect banks' and businesses' money and valuables: cybersecurity. The company is launching a subsidiary, Dunbar Digital Armored, early next year to tap into the growing need to protect online transactions for its thousands of bank and retail customers. Dunbar will focus its cybersecurity products on small and mid-size companies that are looking for tech-savvy solutions but don't have the deep pockets or cybersecurity expertise of the big banks.

WASHINGTON -- With the blessing of the federal government, some of the world's largest financial institutions reached an agreement yesterday to try to set their own industry-wide standards in the huge and volatile market of complex securities known as derivatives.By setting its own voluntary guidelines, the industry hopes to both prevent recurrences of the problems that have arisen in the derivatives markets and keep stricter regulations from being imposed by Washington. But previous attempts at self-regulation in the derivatives markets have met with limited success.

Few people on the street may be familiar with the World Bank. Yet, it plays a critical role in the U.S. effort to engage the world through its contribution to economic development in poor and post-conflict societies. As current World Bank President Robert Zoellick steps down this summer, the bank will soon have a new leader. In the past, as per an unwritten convention, the U.S. — the largest single majority shareholder of the bank — got to select the president. Although the bank at its core is a development institution, it was, surprisingly, never led by a development professional.

Like the crew of a ship taking on water in the middle of a fierce storm, President-elect Barack Obama's financial advisers are facing a new threat that could derail or significantly impede their efforts to spark an economic recovery. The "too big to fail" financial institutions stabilized at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars last fall are facing trouble again, and members of Congress are hesitant about funding possible future rescues. Many lawmakers are angry, and they have a right to be - management of the first bailout has been sketchy and lacked accountability.

The Bush administration lightens regulation of financial institutions as it moves toward a decision on whether to extend a 90-day moratorium on government regulations that expires Tuesday.

A bill in Congress would get rid of the current student loan system and replace it with a system in which colleges and universities would act as lenders and the Internal Revenue Service would collect payments. Banks and other financial institutions stand to lose out on a $4.8 billion operation.The Evening Sun would like to know what you think. Is the college loan program in need of reform? Does the proposal go too far by excluding banks and other financial institutions? To register your opinion, call SUNDIAL at 783-1800 (or 268-7736 in Anne Arundel County)

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve announced last week that it was weighing new rules that would require financial institutions to hire certified appraisers to review real-estate related transactions worth more than $50,000.Currently, state-chartered banks and other financial institutions must obtain appraisals in cases of real-estate related transactions above $100,000.The Fed said it had set the $100,000 level after much discussion and in response to "concerns about increased costs and burdens imposed on small financial institutions and consumers seeking real estate loans."

WASHINGTON - The government yesterday lowered the terror alert level for five high-visibility financial institutions in Washington, New York and Newark, N.J., citing improved protective measures at the buildings. The institutions affected are the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, both a few blocks from the White House; the New York Stock Exchange and the Citigroup Center in New York; and the headquarters of Prudential Financial Inc. in Newark. Computer files seized in Pakistan this summer had identified the facilities as being under surveillance by al-Qaida.

Dunbar Armored has been in the armored-car business for nearly 90 years. But the Hunt Valley-based company now is branching into a new way to protect banks' and businesses' money and valuables: cybersecurity. The company is launching a subsidiary, Dunbar Digital Armored, early next year to tap into the growing need to protect online transactions for its thousands of bank and retail customers. Dunbar will focus its cybersecurity products on small and mid-size companies that are looking for tech-savvy solutions but don't have the deep pockets or cybersecurity expertise of the big banks.

If our largest banks are the "one-percenters" of American capitalism, small business is our 99. And, just as our largest corporations are ruling the roost in Washington, so too do they rule in Annapolis. In fact, Maryland's politics have become so lopsided over the last decade that support for Maryland's small businesses has degenerated into a mere talking point - "backbone of our economy," "the engine of economic growth," etc. Here's Exhibit A. In spite of all the talk from big business groups about taxes and regulation in Maryland, the top issue for small businesses is lending.

Going to the bank used to be sort of fun. Lollipops for the little ones. The local manager you had known for years. Depositing your paycheck with the same tellers every Friday afternoon. Such patterns provided a rhythm to daily life and also helped to create a sense of virtuous wealth-building. How different it is today. When we think of "bankers" now, we are more likely to think of bean-counting downsizers, who don't know us and never will, receiving gargantuan bonuses each year.

On Capitol Hill, some lawmakers treat Elizabeth Warren as if she were Public Enemy No. 1. That's what happens when you're charged with setting up an agency whose purpose is to protect consumers on financial matters — a job that brings you up against supporters of banking interests. But in Baltimore, where the Harvard law professor spoke at a town hall meeting held by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings last week, she received rock-star treatment. In fact, she was called a "rock star" a few times and received two standing ovations from the overflowing crowd at the Enoch Pratt Free Library auditorium.

The evidence mounts that the current economic troubles were set in motion because of systemic fraud. I keep thinking about Bernard L. Madoff's comment when F.B.I. agents were about to arrest him. Asked if he could explain what he had done in his Ponzi scheme, he replied, "There is no innocent explanation." Fact is, there is no innocent explanation for the actions of the financial elites and their bought-and-paid-for political lackeys. It's one thing for people like me to speak or write about the crimes that set this collapse in motion, but it's another and far more damaging thing to have well-placed experts in finance point the accusing finger at those responsible for the financial crisis.

The Obama administration is proposing the most far-reaching reforms of the financial industry since the Depression - including measures that would for the first time regulate hedge funds and give government the power to seize and dismantle companies deemed a threat to the economy. The measures, which must be approved by Congress, come in the wake of last fall's near-meltdown of the global banking system and in advance of next week's meeting of the Group of 20 economic powers. The key measures outlined by Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on Thursday include: * Giving the Federal Reserve or another agency the authority to oversee the entire economy for signs of "systemic risk."

President Barack Obama has vowed to reform financial regulations and tighten oversight of banks to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis that has plunged the U.S. economy into deep recession. It's a promise that must be kept because it is vital to re-establishing the trust of the American people in the stability of the financial institutions that provide the lifeblood of commerce. Members of Mr. Obama's economic team are expected to propose stricter federal rules for hedge funds, credit rating agencies and mortgage brokers, and greater oversight of the complex financial instruments that have contributed to the current economic crisis.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, on a 5-2 vote, approved a new financial standard yesterday that will force banks and other financial institutions to report profits or losses when the market value of many bonds in their portfolios changes.The board also moved toward issuing another standard, one that would require banks to take losses when they renegotiate loans with troubled borrowers. It is hoped that final action on both rules will be completed by June 30, when the terms of two board members expire.

Like the crew of a ship taking on water in the middle of a fierce storm, President-elect Barack Obama's financial advisers are facing a new threat that could derail or significantly impede their efforts to spark an economic recovery. The "too big to fail" financial institutions stabilized at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars last fall are facing trouble again, and members of Congress are hesitant about funding possible future rescues. Many lawmakers are angry, and they have a right to be - management of the first bailout has been sketchy and lacked accountability.

A FGHANISTAN - The country, the conflict, the casualties overtook Iraq as the war on everyone's mind this year. With the death toll among Americans rising at an alarming rate and the Taliban forces resurgent, a question keeps repeating: How do we win? B AILOUT - This fall, with America's financial infrastructure crumbling, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. persuaded Congress to appropriate $700 billion to help bail out troubled institutions. So far, $350 billion has been invested or lent to more than two dozen banks and financial institutions.