Banker of the Year, Wells Fargo shake-up, credit union nemesis: Top stories of the week

December 6, 2019 4:28 PM

Banker of the Year: Citizens Bank's Bruce Van Saun

Once struggling to remain relevant, the Providence, R.I., bank is now an industry standout. Inside the story of its resurgence.

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Matthew Guillory

Shake-up continues at Wells Fargo with poaching of Santander's CEO

Scott Powell, who resolved numerous regulatory problems as the head of the Spanish bank's U.S. operations, will face similar challenges at scandal-plagued Wells. As the bank's chief operating officer, Powell will report to CEO Charlie Scharf, a former colleague at JPMorgan Chase.

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Charles Scharf, chief executive officer of Visa Inc., speaks during the Institute of International Finance G-20 Conference in Shanghai, China, on Friday, Feb. 26, 2016. The conference runs through Feb. 26. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Charles Scharf

Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Wells Fargo to refund checking fees after lawmaker flags issue

CEO Charlie Scharf said in a letter to Congress that a review is underway to determine how many customers were affected by confusion over monthly fees and that the bank will begin issuing refunds next year.

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Cutler Dawson, former CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union

The Navy commander behind the credit union banks love to hate

Navy Federal Credit Union is Exhibit A in banks' case to tax the credit union industry. But it wasn't always seen as the powerhouse it is today. Meet Adm. Cutler Dawson, the man who changed that.

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Signage stands on display outside a BB&T Corp. bank branch in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O'Connor cut his ratings on BB&T Corp. and PNC Financial Services Group to hold from buy as he's become "more selective" on large regional banks. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

How one storage unit became one big mess for BB&T, Hitachi

A 15-hour shutdown of online banking, mobile banking, ATMs and wire transfers was caused by a single data storage unit. BB&T's lawsuit blames the vendor, but the bank may have left itself too exposed to equipment failure.

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Will Schwab use TD Ameritrade deposits to fuel banking expansion?

In search of new sources of revenue now that it has slashed fees on stock trades, the brokerage giant could use the influx of deposits it will get from acquiring its rival to grow its loan portfolio and add new banking services.

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JPMorgan Chase signage is displayed at a bank branch in New York.

JPMorgan Chase signs data sharing agreement with Envestnet Yodlee
The largest U.S. bank will share data through application programming interfaces with a sometimes-controversial data aggregator.

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Credit unions' bank buyout spree snags biggest fish yet

Apollo Bank's agreement to be sold to a credit union has bankers worried there will be larger such sales in 2020.

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COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 27: Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and 2020 presidential candidate, speaks during the 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum in Columbia, South Carolina, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. The forum asked each participant to focus on what's next now that the First Step Act has been passed. Photographer: Logan Cyrus/Bloomberg

Logan Cyrus/Bloomberg

Warren releases plan to overhaul bank merger approval process

Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill to require CFPB approval for certain bank merger applications in the wake of regulators' approval of a deal between BB&T and SunTrust.

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Spence Mullis, CEO of Morris Bank of Dublin, Ga.

Community Banker of the Year: Morris Bank's Spence Mullis

Mullis has thrived as a traditional community banker, leading the redevelopment of historic buildings in a small, struggling Georgia town and successfully growing Morris Bank in a mostly rural market.

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