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Fed Board Proposal a ‘Travesty,’ Banker Says
Posted on May 28th, 2010 No commentsA Senate proposal to remove bankers from Federal Reserve boards “is an overreaction to a particular unique situation, and to have bankers removed from these boards is a travesty,” said Mark Hewitt, chief executive of Clear Lake Bank and Trust Co in Iowa and a director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Read the Reuters news story.
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Opinion: Feingold Right to Oppose Reform Bill
Posted on May 23rd, 2010 No commentsWisconsin’s U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold was right to vote against the financial reform bill in Congress, writes Capital Times editor John Nichols. “Feingold wanted real reform. And the American people should recognize that they are not getting it in the legislation the Senate passed,” he wrote in an opinion piece.
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WBA: Financial Reform Bill Needs Work
Posted on May 21st, 2010 No commentsThe financial regulatory reform overhaul passed by the U.S. Senate yesterday fails to address the root causes of the housing collapse and subsequent financial crisis, according to the Wisconsin Bankers Association in a news release posted on WisBusiness.com.
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Gov. Doyle Bans Auto Title Loans
Posted on May 19th, 2010 No commentsGov. Jim Doyle banned auto title loans in Wisconsin by using his partial veto power to cross out parts of a payday lending bill so that it read: “No licensed lender may make a auto title loan.” The new law limits payday loans to $1,500 or 35 percent of the applicant’s monthly income, whichever is less, and borrowers may only roll over loans one time. Read the Associated Press article.
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Combined Reporting Raising Business Tax Bills
Posted on May 14th, 2010 No commentsWisconsin Rep. Leah Vukhmir (R-Wauwatosa), who is running for state Senate, called for a special session of the legislature to repeal combined reporting. Many businesses, including Brown Deer, Wis.-based Bank Mutual Corp., Harley Davidson and Rockwell Automation have seen their tax bills increase as a result of the 2009 law. Bank Mutual saw its effective tax rate increase by 6.1 percent, said CFO Michael Dosland. Read the Small Business Times article.
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Opinion: Re-Regulate Wall Street
Posted on May 9th, 2010 No comments“The [financial reform] legislation moving through Congress will prevent future bailouts by eliminating the idea that some financial institutions can become too big to fail. It establishes a middle ground between bankruptcy and bailout with an orderly liquidation process, in case Wall Street firms once again run themselves into the extreme distress that forced taxpayers to save them in 2008,” writes Viterbo University Professor Keith Knutson in the La Crosse Tribune.
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ATM Fee Limit of 50 Cents Proposed
Posted on May 6th, 2010 No commentsU.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced an amendment to the federal financial reform package that would cap ATM fees to 50 cents per transaction, the Small Business Times of Milwaukee reported.
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Legislature Passes Bill Limiting Payday Lending
Posted on April 25th, 2010 No commentsWisconsin could soon regulate payday and auto-title lending. Members of the state Legislature passed a bill that would restrict borrowers to one loan at a time, limit borrowing, including fees and interest to the lesser of $1,500 or 35 percent of gross monthly income, and require reasonable repayment terms. Gov. Jim Doyle is expected to sign the bill. Read the Oshkosh Northwestern article.
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CU Commercial Lending Debate Rings Familiar
Posted on April 17th, 2010 No commentsThe banking industry opposes a proposed change in federal law that would allow credit unions to increase commercial lending to 25 percent of assets, up from the current 12.25 percent cap, on the grounds that it is unnecessary and risky. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Wisconsin enacts IRA changes
Posted on March 16th, 2010 No commentsWisconsin Governor Jim Doyle signed a bill into law that brings the state treatment of Roth IRA conversions into line with federal treatment. In January, federal guidelines were changed, allowing those who earn more than $100,000 per year to convert IRAs to Roth IRAs. Read the Small Business Times article.