Last week we held the “Trends and Future Directions in Consumer Financial Services Colloquium” on the snowy Rochester Institute of Technology campus in Rochester, NY. The following is a wrap-up and links to the presentations of our dynamic presenters:
- First, Bob Manning, PhD, of RIT and our host for the meeting presented his thoughts on the competitive, regulatory, economic, social and operational pressures facing financial institutions today. Followed by Danny Schecter who is a journalist, television producer, and independent filmmaker. Danny presented opinions about the increasingly important and sometimes misleading role the media plays in this discussion. A summary of his thoughts can be found on his blog.
- Secondly, we delved into the potential impact Wal-Mart financial services could have on the world of consumer financial services with presentations by Bob Manning, Bill Hampel, chief economist of CUNA; Kathleen Keest, (Keest’s Presentation) senior policy counsel, Center for Responsible Lending; and Stephen LaGrou, professor in business legal studies, RIT. This panel examined the likelihood of entry of such firms into consumer finance and the potential impact on such traditional financial services players as credit unions and banks.
- Next, NCUF’s REAL Solutions National Field Director, Lois Kitsch, briefed the group on NCUF’s work with innovative and socially responsible credit union products. Additionally, Bob Manning gave us an overview of his Responsible Debt Relief program.
- Finally, Max Wolff, a professor of Economics at New School, shared his unique knowledge on the credit crisis and provided his outlook on the US and the world economy (and it doesn’t look good from where he is sitting). Finally, City of Buffalo Prosecutor Cindy Cooper presented the group with a case study of how Buffalo is dealing with the fallout of the foreclosure crisis. Prosecutor Cooper has been effective in identifying the legal “owner” of foreclosed homes (usually lenders and even international investors) and compelling them to maintain these properties in an effort to mitigate the financial distress on local neighborhoods.
We thank RIT and Bob Manning for providing a welcoming setting to discuss these very important issues. A summary whitepaper of the discussions is on schedule for a January 2009 release.
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