Last year, IBM acquired Promontory Financial Group, a D.C.-based consulting firm led by former regulators and industry veterans, to bring Watson’s expertise to bear on financial regulatory compliance challenges. The sheer computing power of systems like Watson enables banks to bring enormous volumes of data, both structured and unstructured, into their compliance programs. (ABA Banking Journal)

Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen has prescribed an unusual remedy for the United States' aging, low-growth economy: harness the under-tapped pool of female talent. Yellen, the first woman to run the country’s central bank, said the lack of family-friendly work policies stifles women’s participation in the labor force and ultimately stalls growth. (Washington Post)

Social engineering wire transfer scams cost U.S. businesses nearly $1.6 billion between October 2013 and December 2016, according to figures from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center yesterday. One fifth of those losses came in the last seven months of 2016, indicating a huge surge in these crimes. (ABA Banking Journal)

For centuries, London has functioned as a critical artery for the flow of money around the world, comprising one of the greatest concentrations of financial companies on earth. But a large piece of London’s banking business depends on its inclusion in the European Union. Britain is now moving to exit the union, jeopardizing its status as a leading global financial center. (New York Times)

Since the financial crisis, bankers have largely and understandably left the student loan market behind. Around that time, the Department of Education began vastly increasing the federal role in the market, growing its portfolio of outstanding loans from $500 billion in 2007 to $1.2 trillion in 2016. Today, fewer than 10 percent of outstanding student loans are non-federal—that is, private. (ABA Banking Journal)

Each year, 10,000 girls from around 80 countries participate in a challenge called Technovation. They identify problems in their communities, and with mentoring, create apps to solve the problems. U.S. Bank backed six teams of girls, made up of Latin American and Somali immigrants as well as some from more traditionally white middle-class suburbs, to come up with financial apps for the competition. (Marketplace)

In response to the ever-increasing threat of data breaches and cyber fraud, ABA called on Congress this week to pursue national data protection standards for companies that handle consumers’ sensitive financial data. (ABA Banking Journal)

Investors and the Federal Reserve may have grown too comfortable with gradualism — raising interest rates at a pace that is not too fast, not too slow, but just right. The outlook could abruptly shift if global growth gains momentum and U.S. unemployment sinks much lower. (Bloomberg)

As the banking industry continues to work toward the goal of regulatory relief, ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said that such changes stand to benefit consumers most. "Ultimately, this is not about the banks," Nichols said in an interview on CNBC’s "Squawk on the Street." "This is about economic growth for bank customers, clients and communities. That’s really the folks that will benefit from rule recalibration that is sensible. Our interest is in helping the economy grow." (ABA Banking Journal)

President Donald Trump is weeks away from naming anyone to the board of the Federal Reserve, a White House official said, meaning it could be the fall before three currently empty seats are filled. The vacancies on the Fed's seven member Board of Governors include the position of vice chair in charge of banking oversight, a critical role in Trump's plan to revamp financial rules. (New York Times)

May 22-26
Enterprise Risk Management Advanced Professional Development Program
Washington, DC

June 1-8
Stonier Graduate School of Banking
Philadelphia, PA

June 11-14
Regulatory Compliance Conference
Orlando, FL

Jun 22-23
Payments Forum
Washington, DC