Jackie Stewart is the executive editor of American Banker Magazine. Previously, she covered breaking news, community banks and mergers and acquisitions for American Banker before being named as the managing editor of the Credit Union Journal. After graduating from Northwestern University in 2006, Jackie taught for two years in the Bronx, N.Y., through Teach for America.
Receiving Wide Coverage ...Sweet Partial Victory: Bankers were mostly happy with a revision that softens the criteria for qualified residential mortgages. A provision of the Dodd-Frank Act requires banks and other lenders to retain 5% credit risk of loans they sell on the secondary market that don't fit QRM requirements. However, regulators revised the definition of the QRM exemption and it is so broad that 98% of loans last year would have been covered, the Wall Street Journal said.
Traditional bank M&A in Georgia has been nearly dead in recent years, but Hamilton State Bancshares' deal this week to buy Cherokee Banking suggests that the Peach State may be primed for consolidation.
Community banks brace for limited selection, but embrace one-stop shopping, as consolidation takes place among IT firms.
Regions Financial is sponsoring the college football museum that opens next year in Atlanta, a priority market for Regions.
Despite better-than-expected returns so far, industry observers believe that the Treasury Department will take larger haircuts at is unloads less desirable stakes in banks.
Doral Financial in Puerto Rico is aiming its philanthropic work at women entrepreneurs to improve the fortunes of its community and its own.
Sellers will say rising rates makes them more valuable. Buyers will say the same trend makes sellers less valuable. Add this impasse to the list of complications for bank M&A.
The Spokane, Wash., bank could not rename its two retail operations in California "Sterling" because of legal matters, so executives turned to their French-English dictionary for a unique substitute: "Argent."
TowneBank bought a minority stake in a security firm to help protect its commercial customers and boost revenue.
The Chevy Chase, Md., network completed two loans totaling $40 million that were secured by long-term care facilities in California and Ohio, BancAlliance said Thursday.
The bank wants to make acquisitions in central Florida, but CEO Michael Micallef keeps hitting snags with loan books, cultural fit and deal structure.
Improved loan quality is allowing banks to reduce provisions, but industry experts believe that option may soon be tapped out.
Outsiders were as excited as executives of the Columbus, Ga., bank after it repaid its Tarp funds, said CEO Kessel Stelling, who received scores of well-wishes.
Bankers must do a lot of homework when a vendor is sold in order to prepare for the transition and potentially take advantage of the change.
EverBank Financial (EVER) in Jacksonville, Fla., reported higher second-quarter earnings and said it would shut its wholesale-mortgage business.
Synovus Financial, which endured a drubbing from the economy while overcoming massive challenges, has a large to-do list if it wants to regain relevance.
Slowly but surely, community banks have been lending out more of the deposits they take in, a healthy sign for the industrys profitability.
BNCCorp in Bismarck, N.D., has appointed an interim leader after Gregory Cleveland, the $798 million-asset company's chief executive, died Tuesday after a sudden illness. He was 65.
Community banks are once again considering offering credit cards after retreating from the product after the financial crisis.
Synovus Financial (SNV) in Columbus, Ga., will raise roughly $125 million through a preferred stock offering.