Britain Plays Chicken With HSBC And JP Morgan, Big Banks Win... For Now

From Forbes –

“Two of the largest multinational banking institutions operating in London threatened to decamp for the more tax-friendly pastures of Luxembourg earlier this month, claiming that Great Britain’s heavy tax levies on banks were making it too costly to continue operating in the region. I wrote about it at the time, explaining that although most high profile threats to relocate a business for tax reasons do not materialize, there has been a steadily growing chorus of companies pressing tax authorities to lower taxes… or else.”

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Basel III starts to dominate Top 1000 rankings

From The Banker –

“There has been an important departure in The Banker's methodology for the Top 1000 World Banks ranking this year, owing to the advent of Basel III and its adoption by nearly two-thirds of the banks in the ranking.

Almost two-thirds of the banks in The Banker's Top 1000 World Banks ranking for 2015 declared compliance with Basel III or transitional rules on the road to Basel III.”

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Why Bitcoin and PayPal Aren't Real Threats to the Big Banks

From The Street –

“As purchases with dollar bills give way more and more to digital transactions, are the country's banks at risk of experiencing the same fate as the vinyl-record stores of the 1970s and video-rental chains of the 1990s?

That was the question U.S. Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry posed Wednesday -- and answered firmly in the negative. The head of an office that oversees more than 1,600 banks with $10.9 trillion in assets, Currry argued that established U.S. banks will keep their competitive edge against online platforms such as PayPal and digital currencies like Bitcoin. Brick-and-mortar shops like Bank of America (BAC - Get Report), JP Morgan Chase (JPM - Get Report) and Wells Fargo (WFC - Get Report) can rest easy, he said.”

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