By Christian Mullins
Executive Summary:
- In Washington State, $500 million asset Watermark CU and $30 million asset SHARE CU announced their intention to merge. The third merger for Watermark in four years, they cited “rising costs and increased regulation and compliance” as the reason for SHARE CUs absorption.
- A tangible backlash has begun to formulate against the regulatory overhaul introduced by Secretary Henry Paulson and the Treasury Department last month. These initial groups have taken the position that the only winner of this sweeping consolidation will be Wall St, which may benefit from the absorption of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Additional groups, including Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors are considering a forming an opposition coalition.
- According to a study by the Brookings Institution, several Texas cities, including El Paso, Ft. Worth, and San Antonio, have fewer bank and credit union locations than payday lenders, check cashers, and pawnshops. The number of payday lenders has increased from 22 active registered Texas locations in 2003 to 1,513, with $287 million in fee collection, in 2005.
- With several high profile scams originating from Canada over the past several years, any money that was lost over the border was assumed irretrievable, but the losses weren’t limited to the United States. Members of Parliament heard testimony Thursday on the loss of $32 billion worth of Canadians’ savings through financial fraud. With no law to cover the financial industry, there are no plans for any agency to investigate or prosecute the crimes.
Robbed:
- Nothing to report today.
Arrested, Arraigned, Charged, or Sentenced:
- Nothing to report today.
Posted by christianmullins
