The top stories of 2018

December 30, 2018 10:12 PM

The year saw anxiety over how banks would respond to record consumer debt, disruptive glitches at TD Bank and SunTrust, ongoing scandal at Wells Fargo, and much, much more.

Charting the U.S. personal savings rate from 1970 through 2018.

Consumer debt is at an all-time high. Should banks be worried?

As memories of the financial crisis fade, consumers are back to their old spending and saving habits — and that could be a big problem.

(Full story here.)

Signage is displayed at a U.S. Bank branch in downtown Chicago.

Regulators fine U.S. Bank more than $600M for AML errors

U.S. Bancorp has agreed to pay $613 million in penalties to state and federal authorities for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and a faulty anti-money-laundering program.

(Full story here.)

Despite careful planning, TD Bank fumbles online banking upgrade

Scores of customers have been unable to use digital channels to access accounts for more than a week, and many have taken to social media to voice their displeasure with TD's response to the outage. The lesson for other banks: Test new platforms, and test them again, before making them live.

(Full story here.)

SunTrust Banks Inc. signage hangs above an automated teller machine (ATM) at a branch in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. SunTrust Banks Inc. announced plans in Aug. to hire as many as 200 people for its investment bank to expand businesses including capital markets and stock research and add expertise targeting the energy and health-care industries. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

SunTrust glitch takes down online, mobile service

The bank chalked up its outage to "a normal system upgrade that experienced technical difficulty."

(Full story here.)

Why point-of-sale lending is hot right now

Banks are capitalizing on changing consumer habits — and satisfying a pressing need to diversify their loan portfolios — with a spate of instant point-of-sale loans for everything from iPhones to home improvements.

(Full story here.)

Not just Wells Fargo: OCC finds sales practice abuses at other banks

An inquiry into the sales practices of more than 40 banks launched in the wake of the Wells scandal found several systemic issues and hundreds of problems at individual institutions. The OCC completed the review in December but is not making the results public.

(Full story here.)

Abstract illustration of a blockchain, showing blocks of binary code (1s and 0s) linked together.

Don't believe the hype: There are no good uses for blockchain

After 10 years of development, nobody has come up with a use for blockchain that has been widely adopted.

(Full story here.)

estimate of job losses to AI, by bank job category

How artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs in banking

More than 1 million jobs will be lost to AI by 2030, according to one estimate. But new jobs are also being created. Are banks and their employees ready?

(Full story here.)

Bank reputations fall for first time in five years: 2018 survey

Bank reputations are backsliding as consumers look for evidence of good corporate citizenship. But new data shows that a highly visible and vocal CEO — who talks about more than just the earnings report — can provide a major boost.

(Full story here.)

A man uses a Wells Fargo ATM inside a branch in New York.

A man uses a Wells Fargo & Co. automated teller machine (ATM) inside a bank branch in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, July 12, 2016. Wells Fargo & Co. is scheduled to release earnings figures on July 15. Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg

Eric Thayer/Bloomberg

Wells Fargo was hit with more scandal. But does anyone care?

The bank continues to battle a series of negative headlines such as erroneous foreclosures, but public and investor reaction has been muted.

(Full story here.)