http://www.northwesternfinancialreview.com/blog Straight talk on the industry Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:53:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The FDIC reported that bank lending in the second quarter was off by 1.4 percent, a decline of $107.5 billion. Also, the FFIEC recently published this note about a decline in lending to farms and small businesses in 2009. Reporters often assume this means banks are tightening credit standards and are turning ... http://www.northwesternfinancialreview.com/blog/?p=1549 Although overall industry earnings in banking were much better in the second quarter of 2010 than they were in the second quarter a year ago, there remain challenges in the Upper Midwest. The FDIC notes that the percentage of banks reporting losses declined across the country, but it actually increased in the Upper Midwest. In the 14-state ... http://www.northwesternfinancialreview.com/blog/?p=1546 Fewer banks are losing money. That's the word from the FDIC this morning as the agency releases second quarter earnings figures for the industry. Here's the FDIC announcement. This statement from ABA's chief economist, Jim Chessen, provides a little more perspective: Today’s report indicates that the banking industry continues to regain its ... http://www.northwesternfinancialreview.com/blog/?p=1542 I have read several summaries of the Dodd-Frank Act, but this is the first I've heard about a rule requiring companies to publish their CEO's salary in relation to the mean salary atthe company. I am trying to figure our the merit of this requirement. Clearly, the author of this rule ... http://www.northwesternfinancialreview.com/blog/?p=1538