Financial Services Report
Staying Ahead of the Summons
Vol 5, No 2. Summer 2009
Inside
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2
Beltway Report
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4
Credit Card Report
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5
Preemption Report
Operations Report
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6
Mortgage Report
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8
Privacy Report
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9
California Report
Arbitration Report
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Editor’s Note
Award
Winning
Newsletter
MoFo Metrics
11.2 Trillions of dollars Americans lost in net worth, 2008
8 Number of women basketball players who have executed a slam dunk
300 Organizations oering eco-seals on consumer products
60 Top speed (in mph) achieved by competitive U.S Lawn Mower racers
800 Rounds of golf played by Pres. Eisenhower during his presidency
7.50 Average cost per customer of a live customer service representative, in dollars
2.35 Average cost if outsourced to another country, in dollars
.32 Average cost for automated phone response system, in dollars
Scoop Alert: Treasury Secretary Geithner and Fed Chief Bernanke appeared at a March hearing
before Rep. Barney Frank wearing the same necktie. ink about that. What message should we
draw? at next to this fashion pas de deux, rescuing the free world’s banking system is simple
choreography? Product placement for struggling clothing retailers? Civil service camouflage?
Maybe it was just political cravat-ness.
e mainstream press missed this, but the gents selected a conservative striped tie, a line graph
declining sharply from left to right. Why couldn’t they have chosen a nice paisley or a J Garcia®
tie-dye? Something that says “Follow me! I am blazing a new trail.” at might have boosted con-
sumer confidence. As it was, they looked like they were wearing January’s stock chart as a noose.
e theme of this issue is Capitol Punishment. As in Washington D.C. Between stress tests and
credit card reform, mortgage cram downs and executive compensation, you’d think Congress and
the regulators have been reading the CIA’s top secret witness interrogation manual. All of this
news was starting to harsh our mellow.
Credit cards took center stage, with President Obama signing into law a law ominously titled
“Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights,” which is even more restrictive and takes effect sooner than the
Fed’s December overhaul. It signals a sharp detour from risk-based pricing. ere were also new
case decisions on default-pricing class actions. Mortgages weren’t far behind, with lots of devel-
opments in the courts and in Washington. e developments in the financial crisis are enough
to make our Inbox explode, too many to chronicle here in full. So, in many instances we give a
brief description and invite those so inclined to check our online Client Alerts at www.mofo.com.
As we told the congressional oversight committee, this is a newsletter, not Tolstoy.
Until next time, watch for our daily tweets about Bo, the Portuguese water dog, declare group
hugs, and have a great summer.
William L. Stern, Editor
Financial Services Report
Staying Ahead of the Summons
Award
Winning
Newsletter
Vol 5, No 2. Summer 2009
Editor’s Note
Scoop Alert: Treasury Secretary Geithner and Fed Chief Bernanke appeared at a March hearing
before Rep. Barney Frank wearing the same necktie. Think about that. What message should
we
draw? That next to this fashion pas de deux, rescuing the free world’s banking system is simple
choreography? Product placement for struggling clothing retailers? Civil service camouflage?
Inside Maybe it was just political cravat-ness.
The mainstream press missed this, but the gents selected a conservative striped tie, a line
graph
2declining sharply from left to right. Why couldn’t they have chosen a nice paisley or a J Garcia®
Beltway Report tie-dye? Something that says “Follow me! I am blazing a new trail.” That might have boosted
con-
sumer confidence. As it was, they looked like they were wearing January’s stock chart as a
noose.
4
Credit Card Report The theme of this issue is Capitol Punishment. As in Washington D.C. Between stress tests and
credit card reform, mortgage cram downs and executive compensation, you’d think Congress
and
5the regulators have been reading the CIA’s top secret witness interrogation manual. All of this
Preemption Report news was starting to harsh our mellow.
Operations Report Credit cards took center stage, with President Obama signing into law a law ominously titled
“Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights,” which is even more restrictive and takes effect sooner than
the
6Fed’s December overhaul. It signals a sharp detour from risk-based pricing. There were also
new
Mortgage Report case decisions on default-pricing class actions. Mortgages weren’t far behind, with lots of devel-
opments in the courts and in Washington. The developments in the financial crisis are enough
8to make our Inbox explode, too many to chronicle here in full. So, in many instances we give a
Privacy Report brief description and invite those so inclined to check our online Client Alerts at www.mofo.com.
As we told the congressional oversight committee, this is a newsletter, not
Tolstoy.
9
California Report Until next time, watch for our daily tweets about Bo, the Portuguese water dog, declare group
Arbitration Report hugs, and have a great
summer.
William L. Stern,
Editor
MoFo Metrics
11.2 Trillions of dollars Americans lost in net worth, 2008
8Number of women basketball players who have executed a slam
dunk
300 Organizations offering eco-seals on consumer
products
60 Top speed (in mph) achieved by competitive U.S Lawn Mower
racers
800 Rounds of golf played by Pres. Eisenhower during his
presidency
7.50 Average cost per customer of a live customer service representative, in
dollars
2.35 Average cost if outsourced to another country, in
dollars
.32 Average cost for automated phone response system, in
dollars
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