View from CBA September 5, 2014

Possible Home Depot Breach Bigger than Target? The end of the Labor Day holiday came with some unsettling news – a possible massive breach of consumer data at retailer Home Depot. According to KrebsonSecurity, the breach may have impacted data from all 2,200 stores across the U.S. We all recall the breach at Target earlier this year, which resulted in the compromising of 40 million payment card numbers and 70 million other pieces of consumer data. Target has 1,797 stores, and our members replaced 17,206,844 credit and debit cards related to the breach. We are awaiting confirmation of this latest retailer data breach, but are working with our industry partners to present a unified front. The cost of the many retailer data breaches this year are adding up for financial institutions, and it is time retailers begin to shoulder the burden of those tremendous costs.
 

Cash Is Not King with Millennials

According to a recent survey by CreditCards.com, Americans under the age of 30 will use their debit or credit cards 51 percent of the time, including purchases under $5. Contrast this with 77 percent of Americans older than 50, who will pay in cash for transactions less than $5. All consumers, regardless of age, prefer debit cards to credit cards 2:1. With the movement by consumers from cash to plastic, the next logical step is from plastic to mobile payments. We all are watching the upcoming release of the iPhone 6, which is expected to include a significant mobile payments platform. This is yet another great reason for banks to continue investing in digital channels.
 

Congress Returns to Washington...But not for Long

The U.S. House and Senate return to Washington, D.C. next week and start a sprint to finish their remaining agenda items before September 30, 2014. Among the business for consideration is approval of a continuing resolution to keep the government operating beyond the end of the fiscal year. In addition, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) student loan refinancing bill is expected to be on the Senate floor again in two weeks. The bill previously failed to pass a cloture vote in the U.S. Senate this past spring. Expect some grandstanding in the hearing as well, as lawmakers look to remind constituents of their effectiveness with the midterm elections set to take place on November 4, 2014.
 

CBA Committee News

Next week kicks off the beginning of in-person meetings for CBA's committees. First up is the Education Funding Committee, which will meet in Washington, D.C. September 9-10, 2014. The Committee has scheduled meetings on Capitol Hill to discuss the excellent performance of the private student loan market, amongst other issues.
 

CBA Member News

We are proud to welcome WesBanco as CBA's newest and now 59th Corporate Member. Special thanks to Mark Erhardt of Fifth Third Bank for introducing CBA to WesBanco's President & CEO, Todd Clossin.
 
Visible Equity joins CBA as our third new Associate Member for FY 2015. They provide loan portfolio analysis, which helps financial institutions analyze their data. Learn more about them here.
 

Lagniappe

First Niagara Financial Group will combine all of its consumer-facing businesses. The Retail Banking and Consumer Finance groups will be merged into one Consumer Financial Services team under the leadership of Executive Vice President Mark Rendulic, who serves on CBA's Board of Directors.
 
Comerica has promoted Rhonda Davenport Johnson to National Director of Retail Sales and Service for its bank unit.
 
Did you know the beloved Louisiana hot sauce Tabasco was created by a banker? It wasn't until 10 years after his death that the sauce became popular thanks to marketing by his sons. I believe Tabasco is the second best product to come out of the great state of Louisiana, right after boudin.