New Research Charges Retailers With Pocketing Interchange

Dec 15

Editor’s Note:  The study, Where’s the Debit Discount? Durbin Price Controls Fail to Ring Up Savings for Consumers, is attached below.  The InfoGraphic summary of the study may be found here.

From: Credit Union Times

By David Morrison

Contrary to assurances made during the debate running up to the Durbin amendment, new research from the Electronic Payments Coalition charges that merchants have not been passing debit interchange savings on to consumers.

The Durbin amendment, named for its chief sponsor, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), capped debit card interchange for card issuers with over $10 billion in assets.

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The Critical Role of Civil Servants

Dec 12
Historically, federal civil servants played a critical role in developing and implementing federal policy. The attached article in the Administrative Law Review, published by the American Bar Association in conjunction  with the Washington College of Law of the American University, sets forth in Section D on page 54  the critical role career federal employees had in the establishment of centralized regulatory review in the White House Office of Management and Budget.
 
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Will the FSOC Be a Bully or a Band of Equals?

Dec 07

From: American Banker

The Financial Stability Oversight Council, the newest, largest, and surely the most unusual multi-member agency ever to be created by Congress, has begun its work. Comprised of ten voting members — the secretary of the Treasury, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, the heads of the independent financial regulatory agencies, and a presidential appointee with insurance expertise — and five “advisory” nonvoting members, the FSOC has been given the mission, broadly stated, of protecting the financial stability of the United States.

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Frank says new voting map edged him out

Nov 30

From: Boston.com

WASHINGTON — US Representative Barney Frank yesterday accused Beacon Hill lawmakers of drawing the new congressional map in a way that shortchanged him in favor of fellow congressmen Edward J. Markey and Stephen F. Lynch. Had they done otherwise, said Frank, he might have run again.

“Markey and Lynch were protected, and the rest of us got what they didn’t want,” he said. Losing the chance to pick up some choice suburban towns for his district, Frank said, retirement became a more attractive option.

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Debit Card Fees Under U.S. Justice Department Review

Nov 23

Editor’s Note:  Any antitrust evaluation of the debit card market needs to take into account the two-sided nature of the market.  Additional information may be found in CRE’s Working Paper, “Understanding Marginal Costs in Two-Sided Markets: Implications for Debit Card Interchange Regulation” found here.

Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Justice Department is conducting an antitrust review of statements and actions by banks and their trade associations over possible increases in consumer fees for using debit cards.

Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich described the review in a letter released today by Representative Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, who had requested an investigation.

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