Rob Blackwell
American Banker
Washington, DC, United States
Contact Rob
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Past articles by Rob:
The difference during this crisis? Customers trust their banks.
Unlike in 2008, banks have become a steady force during the coronavirus pandemic. → Read More
Virus is Dodd-Frank's first real test
If banks are unable to weather the economic fallout from the outbreak, calls for more dramatic reforms could get louder. → Read More
Fannie, Freddie investors fighting profit sweep get key court win
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors won a victory in their long battle to reap benefits from their stakes in the mortgage giants with a court ruling letting them pursue claims that the U.S. sweep of the companies’ earnings is illegal. → Read More
Former Fed chiefs call on Trump to end Powell threats
Former central bank chiefs Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke said the Fed must be allowed to act "free of short-term political pressures and ... without the threat of removal or demotion." → Read More
HSBC CEO John Flint steps down after less than two years in role
Flint will be replaced on an interim basis by Noel Quinn, head of global commercial banking. The lender, which also released its latest quarterly results several hours earlier than scheduled, didn’t give a reason for the decision. → Read More
Equifax agrees to pay $700M to settle breach probe
Equifax Inc. agreed to pay up to $700 million to resolve U.S. federal and state investigations into the 2017 hack that compromised some of the most sensitive information of more than 140 million people. → Read More
Warren makes play to put banking in 2020 spotlight
Warren’s plan unveiled Thursday would be the most significant rewrite of financial services rules since the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. → Read More
Warren bill takes aim at private equity 'vampires'
A centerpiece of her “economic patriotism” bill is to transform private equity firms, which she said buy companies by “bleeding the company dry and walking away enriched even as the company succumbs.” → Read More
Waters calls for halt to Facebook's crypto plans
House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters and Rep. Patrick McHenry, the top GOP panel member, said Facebook must testify about Project Libra. → Read More
White House explored legality of demoting Fed's Powell
The White House general counsel’s office weighed the legal implications of stripping Powell of his chairmanship and leaving him as a Fed governor, the people said, in what would be an unprecedented move. → Read More
Sanders taunts Dimon over big-bank bailouts
Sen. Bernie Sanders lashed out at Jamie Dimon on Twitter after the chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase criticized socialism during an appearance in Washington. → Read More
Mnuchin says no to 'recap and release' plan for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was adamant that the Trump administration won’t just let Fannie and Freddie build up their capital buffers and then release the companies. He also said he backed an explicit government guarantee, something only Congress can do. → Read More
Judge rejects Trump effort to block Deutsche Bank, Capital One subpoenas
The House Financial Services and Intelligence panels had "legitimate legislative purpose" in requesting President Trump's financial records, the judge said. It is the second such ruling this week. → Read More
Treasury's point man on GSE reform stepping down
Craig Phillips, who has been developing the Trump administration's plan to help free Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship, will leave Treasury next month. → Read More
Florida’s top bank regulator placed on leave after sexual harassment complaint
State officials are looking into a sexual harassment complaint filed against Ronald Rubin, Florida's recently-appointed top banking regulator. → Read More
American Banker scores 11 major journalism awards
American Banker won 11 journalism awards during the past week, including its first Grand Neal, the highest of the honors announced at this year's Jesse H. Neal business journalism awards. → Read More
Trump considering Stephen Moore for Fed board: Sources
Moore is a founder of the conservative Club for Growth and served on the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal. → Read More
BNY Mellon shelves tighter work-at-home rules after staff uproar
The bank had told employees in November that it was reviewing their ability to work from home, but its CEO now says he has decided to “hit pause on implementing any changes," according to a report by Bloomberg. → Read More
Large grocery chain widens ban on Visa credit cards
The move by Kroger Co. comes in response to rising interchange fees on Visa's premium credit cards. The cards will be banned at 142 Smith's stores in the western U.S. → Read More
Another political storm is brewing for big banks
The 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are far more emboldened to offer radical reforms to the financial system than their predecessors — reforms that could ultimately take hold if one of them wins. → Read More