• The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s 100-page complaint against Wells Fargo & Co. cited dozens of instances of employees’ frustration and fear related to the bank’s fake accounts scandal, released as the agency imposed a record $59 million in fines on the bank’s former leaders, including ex-Chief Executive John Stumpf, who is now barred from the industry. One military veteran who worked at Wells Fargo said there had been “less stress in the 1991 Gulf War than working for Wells Fargo,” according to the report. (Bloomberg) 

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon made 1.6 percent more in 2019 than the prior year, reaching $31.5 million. The bank posted the best year on record with a profit of $36.43 billion. (The Wall Street Journal) 

• New York City’s City Council approved legislation that requires businesses to accept cash, following similar measures in New Jersey, Philadelphia and San Francisco. First-time offenses could result in a $1,000 fine, and $1,500 for each additional offense. (The New York Times) 

Trump to sign USMCA trade deal Wednesday at the White House – source
Jeff Mason, Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada on Wednesday during a ceremony at the White House, an administration official told Reuters on Thursday. Invitations had been sent out and the White House location would allow lawmakers from all over the country to attend, the official said.

Bernie Sanders Taunts Jamie Dimon Again After CEO Jabs Socialism
Michelle Davis, Bloomberg

Bernie Sanders and Jamie Dimon don’t seem like they’re going to agree anytime soon. The Vermont senator lashed out at the JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief on Twitter after Dimon criticized socialism in an op-ed published earlier this week in Time magazine. 

Fed Repos Add $74.2 Billion, But Net Liquidity Declines Modestly
Michael S. Derby, The Wall Street Journal

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York intervened on Thursday with two temporary additions of liquidity that nevertheless amounted to a modest reduction in the overall amount of temporary liquidity the central bank is adding to financial markets. The Fed added cash to money markets by a total of $74.2 billion via $44.15 billion in overnight repurchase agreements, or repo and via a $30 billion 14-day repo operation.

Killing the CFPB Would Harm States, Attorneys General Tell Court
Evan Weinberger, Bloomberg Law

States’ ability to enforce financial laws would be severely hampered if the U.S. Supreme Court chooses to do away with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Democratic state attorneys general said in a new filing.

Lagarde Warns Markets Not to Assume ECB Policy on Autopilot
Paul Gordon and Francine Lacqua, Bloomberg

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned investors not to assume that current monetary policy is locked in for the foreseeable future just because officials are focused on reviewing their strategy. “To those who think it’s on autopilot, that’s ridiculous,” she said in a Bloomberg Television interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

Stocks Jump, Futures Rise as Virus Fears on Hold: Markets Wrap
Constantine Courcoulas, Bloomberg

Stocks jumped in Europe while U.S. index futures edged higher as investors digested the latest corporate news and economic data, setting aside for now fears over a deadly virus spreading from China. Oil fell for a fourth day.

Bank of America CEO: Bank regulators need to get ‘calibrations right’
Brian Cheung, Yahoo Finance

The head of the second largest bank in the United States says regulators have room to tweak post-crisis regulations on the banking industry. Brian Moynihan, the chairman and CEO of Bank of America, told Yahoo Finance’s editor-in-chief, Andy Serwer, that regulators need to get the “calibrations right” on large banks.

Barclays investment bankers face double-digit cuts to bonus pool
Stephen Morris and David Crow, Financial Times

Chief Jes Staley squeezes pay to hit profitability targets after activist criticism.

Morgan Stanley launches ‘a modern alternative to banking’
Penny Crosman, American Banker

Morgan Stanley has launched a brokerage account that looks and feels more like a bank account. In fact, the bank calls it “a modern alternative to banking.” It is the latest example of the convergence of brokerage, banking and wealth management that has created more nonbank competition for traditional banks.

Shrinking Bank Branches Leave NYC With More Retail Space to Rent
Natalie Wong and Nic Querolo, Bloomberg

A bank, a drug store, another bank: Odds are, a stroll down a random Manhattan avenue devolves quickly into a retail snoozefest. New Yorkers have complained for years about the disappearances of their beloved family-owned restaurants, their hole-in-the-wall hardware stores, their bars. 

JPMorgan Sweetens Rewards on United Cards After Airline’s Gripes
Jennifer Surane and Justin Bachman, Bloomberg

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. sweetened rewards on their credit cards as the companies continue to renegotiate the terms of their longtime partnership.

Is the American Dream of homeownership best left to landlords?
Julian Hebron, HousingWire

Homeownership backlash is starting now that we’re far into an economic expansion and close to an election. Does homeownership undermine growth, fairness and public faith in capitalism as The Economist suggested this week?

It May Be the Biggest Tax Heist Ever. And Europe Wants Justice.
David Segal, The New York Times

They made quite a team. One was an Oxford-educated wunderkind who handled the complicated math behind the transactions. 

Union pushes for more IRS funding ahead of tax-filing season
Naomi Jagoda, The Hill

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents about 70,000 IRS employees, on Thursday issued a call for more funding for the agency, as the tax-filing season is set to begin on Monday. “Make no mistake, IRS employees are committed to delivering a smooth, successful filing season and helping individuals and businesses file quickly and correctly, but that job, once again, will be difficult this year,” NTEU National President Tony Reardon said in a news release.

Biden Tax Plan Raises Majority of Money From Top 0.1% of Households, Study Finds
Richard Rubin, The Wall Street Journal

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s tax agenda would generate more than half its money from the top 0.1% of U.S. households, raising their average tax bills by more than $1 million and reducing their after-tax income by 14%, according to an estimate released Thursday from the Penn-Wharton Budget Model. In all, the Democratic presidential contender’s tax-increase plans would raise $2.6 trillion over a decade before accounting for economic changes, the study said. 

Central Banks Warm to Issuing Digital Currencies
Anna Isaac and Caitlin Ostroff, The Wall Street Journal

More than one-fifth of the world’s population could have access to digital money issued by central banks to pay for groceries, movie tickets and even homes in the next few years, as these institutions accelerate plans to issue official cryptocurrencies. One in 10 central banks surveyed in 2019 said it was likely to offer digital currencies within the next three years, covering about 20% of the world’s population, according to a report from the Bank for International Settlements. 

Tech budgets offer a clue about which banks will survive the next financial crisis
John Detrixhe, Quartz

CEOs, whether they run a financial firm or sell mattresses, seem to want the world to believe they’re really and truly running a tech company. When it comes to banking, at least, new research shows that technology can make a difference when times get tough. 

Weakened Labor Movement Leads to Rising Economic Inequality
Heidi Shierholz, Morning Consult

The basic facts about inequality in the United States — that for most of the last 40 years, pay has stagnated for all but the highest-paid workers and inequality has risen dramatically — are widely understood. What is less well-known is the role the decline of unionization has played in those trends. 

The Revolution Comes to Davos
Tim Wu, The New York Times

Everyone at Davos this year really wants you to know that the corporate world is cleaning up its act. Yes, O.K., maybe they’ve said things like that before, but this year they mean it. 

Trump Is Abusing His Tariff Power, Too
Paul Krugman, The New York Times

So here’s the story: Donald Trump has abused the powers of his office to threaten a U.S. ally. His threat is probably illegal; his refusal to produce documents about his decision process is definitely illegal.

The Rich Are Different From You and Me. They Pay Less in Taxes.
Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic

The tax code is progressive. Economists and analysts and politicians agree on very little when it comes to economic policy, but on that they broadly concur.

Medicare and the Geography of Financial Health
Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham et al., The Federal Reserve Bank of New York

We use a five percent sample of Americans’ credit bureau data to study the effects of public health insurance on the geography of consumer financial health. Exploiting the nearly universal eligibility for Medicare at age 65, we find a 30 percent reduction in the level of debts in collections with limited effects on other financial outcomes.