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What a couple days?  So when we posted our Weekly Crib Sheet of events this past Monday we noted that you needed to watch for two things:  “1) More detailed reporting on regulatory reform and 2) a closer look at the health of the TARP banks.”  And, although we like to keep our posts limited to our Weekly Crib Sheet calendar and a few key overlooked business stories – we think it is worth a pause to look at a few pieces we had hoped would break through.

MBA readers HERE’S WHY YOU CARE:  1) The Wall Street Journal’s Kara Scannell has a terrific piece giving a window into the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amidst the regulatory reform deck chair shuffling that is going on around Washington, DC.  Read her piece because it, a) shows how much the SEC wants to prove it can play cop, and b) offers hints as to the different agency roles once the reform structure is unveiled next week.  2) The health of the TARP banks continues to be fleshed out – a) see the New York Times’ Eric Dash on Citi, and b) see the Wall Street Journal’s Michael Crittenden on Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis’ testimony today on the Merrill Lynch deal (as we also noted on our Weekly Crib Sheet at the start of the week).  THAT SAID, the one story we think is being overlooked is the Washington Post’s Neil Irwin on a new Federal Reserve report shedding light on the Fed’s lending practices.  The report shows the types of loans and collateral, but as Irwin points out it doesn’t name the banks.  The Fed has a good counterpoint, and it is worth a read.

MBA wannabes HERE’S WHY YOU CARE:  In our Weekly Crib Sheet posting we noted that “every time you hear ‘regulatory reform’ think policing the financial industry regarding things like the oft-reported-on credit default swaps or bundled mortgages on the balance books.’”  And that’s EXACTLY what Ms. Scannell’s SEC article is all about.  We hope you’ll see more stories like this, and it is a good primer for what will happen next week by giving you context.