View from CBA September 12, 2014

Home Depot Breach Verified – Brace for Impact

This week we learned what many of us had feared -- the mother of all breaches is upon us with the verification of Home Depot's lapsed security. Already many of our banks have identified patterns of behavior consistent with a data breach in certain geographical areas. While fraud seems limited at this moment, cyber-criminals could begin dumping consumer data on the internet at a moment's notice. CBA has issued a Consumer Alert to inform consumers of steps to take if they believe they are victim of a data breach or fraud on their credit or debit cards. CBA continues to monitor the situation as this develops.
 

Apple Debuts Payments Platform

Many of us were glued to our iPads and TV screens to see the unveiling of the new iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch. Apple announced at the same event the launch of Apple Pay. Many have dubbed this move "the death of the credit card." Apple Pay will allow users to pay for commercial transactions and transfer cash with just their iPhone or Apple Watch. For many consumers, mainly millennials, this will be a game changer. Millennials are less likely to use credit cards or carry cash, but the vast majority has access to a smartphone. The iPhone accounts for 41.4% of the American smartphone market share according to comScore's Report for April 2014. Add this to the way both mobile and consumers are transforming banking.
 

CBA Launches PrivateStudentLoanFacts.com

CBA launched PrivateStudentLoanFacts.com this week, a microsite to help tell the story and success of the private student loan industry. This coincides with a social media ad campaign and hill visits by our Education Funding Committee, who met with financial regulators and Members of Congress.
 

Board of Directors, Committee Chairs in Washington

CBA's Board of Directors and Committee Chairs will be in the Nation's Capital next week as we transition leadership for 2015. CBA's government affairs team has already secured a number of key meetings with regulators and lawmakers. In addition, they will hear from Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza on the upcoming midterm elections and what impact they could have for the retail banking industry. All of CBA's members will have an opportunity to hear from Chris in late October via a membership call. Details of the call will be announced in October.
 

Keeping Up with Elections News

Many of you have asked how to keep up with the latest developments in key Senate and House races across the country. Real Clear Politics is a great source for the latest polls, opinion pieces and news. It is updated twice daily and is a great resource for granular information and inside the beltway baseball. They operate many other sites as well, including Real Clear Markets which focuses on financial and economic news.  Another great resource is  Sabato's Crystal Ball, operated by the University of Virginia (UVA) Center for Politics, offers non-partisan analysis of voter trends and polls on all of the key races across the country. This includes political analysis from highly regarded UVA professor Larry Sabato and his team of researchers.
 

CBA Committee News

Staci Glenn Short of Huntington Bank will become Vice Chair of the Fair and Responsible Banking Committee, and will take over as Chair in October of 2015.
 

 

Lagniappe

BB&T plans to create a new banking region encompassing northern Kentucky and the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The unit will be overseen by Andrew Hawking, Head of Commercial Lending at the Bank of Kentucky, which BB&T recently purchased.
 
Fifth Third has named Michelle Van Dyke as President of its Mortgage Division.
 
Banco Santander SA has appointed Ana Patricia Botín as Chairman, succeeding Emilio Botín, who passed away this week.