Pres. Obama Holds Conference Call With Absent Bankers

CEOs miss White House meeting



President Barack Obama’s plan to talk tough to bankers in a meeting at the White House Monday morning lost some of its punch when the executives at several top financial institutions could not make the sit-down due to bad weather.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack and Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons were all stuck on the tarmac this morning as their airplanes waited out fog delays. The executives were not in the room for Obama’s 11:10 a.m. meeting, but the White House said they would be piped in via conference call.

Obama kicked off his meeting with the rest of the CEOs by telling them: "I appreciate you guys coming in."

With JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett visible on camera, Obama spoke by speakerphone with Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons.

"Dick, I had a good time at the Christmas celebration with your successor at Time Warner," Obama said, referring to Sunday night's "Christmas in Washington" event, where Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes was in attendance.

Ironically, Blankfein, Mack and Parsons’ decision to fly commercial, a move that would shield them from potential criticism that they are out of touch with the economic hardship experienced by average Americans, was the reason they couldn’t make the meeting. Dimon, for instance, flew by private jet and was expected to be there on time.

Obama’s meeting in the Roosevelt Room, during which the president plans make a strong push for more lending from the financial institutions taxpayers bailed out last year, already lost some of its influence when Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit announced he would not attend but was instead sending its chairman, Richard Parsons.

Pandit’s decision followed a Citigroup announcement this morning that it will be repaying the government TARP money that it took during the financial meltdown last year.

"Mr. Pandit recognizes the extreme importance of today's meeting and regrets that he will be unable to attend due to today's announcement of Citi's actions for repaying TARP," said a Citi spokesperson. "Mr. Pandit has discussed the situation with the government, and Citigroup's Chairman Dick Parsons will attend on his behalf."

Obama has ramped up his rhetoric on financial institutions in recent days, telling CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview aired Sunday night: “I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat-cat bankers. ... What’s really frustrating me right now is that you’ve got these same banks who benefited from taxpayer assistance who are fighting tooth and nail ... against financial regulatory control.”

Others who are expected to be attending today's meeting include, according to an adminstration official:

Ken Chenault, president and CEO of American Express; Richard Davis, chairman, president and CEO of US Bancorp; Richard Fairbank, chairman and CEO of Capital One; Bob Kelly, chairman and CEO of Bank of New York Mellon; Ken Lewis, president and CEO of Bank of America; Ron Logue, chairman and CEO of State Street Bank; Jim Rohr, chairman and CEO of PNC; John Stumpf, president and CEO of Wells Fargo; and Gregory Palm, Executive Vice President and Chief Counsel, Goldman Sachs.

Also attending will be Rahm Emanuel, the president's chief of staff, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Christina Romer, chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers; and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers.




Pandit skipping W.H. meeting


Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit will not attend today's bankers' meeting with President Obama – the financial giant is sending its chairman, Richard Parsons, instead. Citigroup announced this morning that it will be repaying the government TARP money that it took during the financial meltdown last year.

"Mr. Pandit recognizes the extreme importance of today's meeting and regrets that he will be unable to attend due to today's announcement of Citi's actions for repaying TARP," said a Citi spokesperson. "Mr. Pandit has discussed the situation with the government, and Citigroup's Chairman Dick Parsons will attend on his behalf."


Sources: Politico

BOFA, Wells Fargo & Chase Change Their Crooked Overdraft Fee Policies...Pressure From Congress

(Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) questioning "Captains of the Universe" my bad, Bank CEOs.)




Big banks to lighten overdraft rules

As Congress considers legislation to crack down on bank overdraft fees, the industry is starting to scale back some controversial practices.

Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) plan to stop charging consumers who overdraw by small dollar amounts — respectively by $10 and $5 — and lower the number of times, to four from 10 a day, that consumers can get hit with an overdraft fee. Wells Fargo is still deciding when to roll out its changes. Most of BofA's changes take effect in October, but the bank is also axing a policy in June of automatically paying overdrafts for new customers — and charging them $35 each time.

Meanwhile, Chase (JPM) said it will start clearing debit card and ATM transactions in the order they occur, rather than by largest dollar amount first, which empties consumers' bank accounts faster. TD Bank made a similar move earlier this year. Chase will also stop approving consumers' debit card overdrafts — and charging a fee — if they haven't signed up for the service. The new policy takes effect in the first quarter of 2010.

The banks say they're trying to help consumers struggling because of rising unemployment and stretched household budgets. "It was time to make this change to help customers," says Brian Moynihan, president of Bank of America's consumer and small-business banking business.

The moves, by the nation's largest banks, come amid growing consumer outcry about the industry's overdraft practices.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., has sponsored legislation to crack down on bank overdraft policies. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., plans to introduce his own bill to reform overdraft fees.

The new policies are likely to put pressure on other banks to review their overdraft fees. Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, a trade group, says that banks are evaluating their policies "every hour of every day" in this downturn because they don't want customers to flee to competitors.

But critics question whether the changes are an attempt to stave off restrictions to a lucrative income stream. Amid the downturn, many banks have gotten more aggressive with overdraft fees. In 2009, financial institutions are expected to reap a record $38.5 billion from overdraft fees, according to Moebs Services, an economic research firm.

"Banks are feeling the heat," says James Sturdevant, a San Francisco attorney who has filed lawsuits against several major banks related to overdrafts. "They are trying to see what the lowest common denominator is that makes it acceptable for them to charge and collect these unconscionable fees."

Michael Moebs, the founder of Moebs Services, says banks' changes are a "positive" development. But he'd like to see banks lower their fees.



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Sources: USA Today, TPM, House.gov, Huffington Post, Youtube, Google Maps