Jon Prior

The nation's largest bank is hiring former prisoners for entry-level jobs and funding a policy center whose mission will be to help adults with criminal histories reenter the workforce.

Count Citizens Financial’s Bruce Van Saun among those who think interest rate cuts could halt by mid-2020. The key, he says, is to focus on delivering services customers are willing to pay fees for and to skillfully reprice deposits until then.

Commercial lending provided a boost for some regional banks in the third quarter, but further rate cuts and a slowing economy could challenge future growth.

The Pittsburgh company’s “branch lite” approach to retail and middle-market banking in new markets will break even sooner than expected and has had a noticeable impact on loans and deposits.

CEO Michael Corbat said he “wouldn’t rule out” building branches to keep the momentum going.

Two new surveys have found that most consumers would prefer to stash their cash in traditional banks. But there's one group of savers who would be very comfortable opening accounts with tech giants if given the opportunity.

The Minneapolis bank said it will provide $8.2 million in grants to nonprofits that arm potential workers with cutting-edge skills and promote small-business growth. Banks say the investments will help them and their commercial customers close the skills gap.

The rise in prices caused by the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil installations should help banks recoup some losses from the 2016 downturn. Harder to gauge is the impact the price volatility will have on U.S. energy production and, in turn, loan demand.

Muneera Carr, Comerica's CFO since 2017, will leave in October and James Herzog, who had been the bank's treasurer, will serve as interim CFO until a successor is named.

Native American tribal leaders are hoping foreign banks might step in to provide added assistance if regulators act on a plan leaders have put forward to designate Indian country as its own area under the Community Reinvestment Act.

Banks are taking back more farmland through foreclosure than at any point in the past three years as low crop prices, epic flooding and the Trump administration’s trade spat with China have left many farmers struggling to pay their debts.

It hasn't stimulated loan demand in ways banks hoped it might, and some CEOs fear future rate cuts might cause companies to hunker down.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said at an investor conference that the Trump administration's plan for Fannie and Freddie would provide more opportunities for financial institutions. He also called for an end to the U.S.-China trade war and weighed in on the prospect of interest rates falling to zero.

Seeking to expand financial services access, tribal officials and some firms want regulators to award Community Reinvestment Act credit to any bank that funds projects in Native American communities.

A J.D. Power official says supplemental benefits — many centered on travel cards — need to be pared down. His comments followed the company’s release of survey data that showed these hard-to-understand benefits were a drag on customer satisfaction.

Recent studies offer a dire outlook for water levels in drought-prone states. Some banks are bracing for this risk with changes to underwriting of real-estate-related loans.

The company withdrew an earlier bid to become an ILC after regulators identified problems with its application. It is seeking a Nevada bank charter because it wants to add deposit management services and expand into small-business lending.

President Trump is expected to sign legislation soon that would expand the number of farmers who could file under the more lenient Chapter 12. Ag lenders are worried because farm bankruptcies recently rose and the trade war with China could worsen.

It’s hard to time the next economic slowdown. But lenders, many with lingering memories of the financial crisis, are taking steps now to limit exposure in commercial real estate, construction and other loan segments.

Rakuten joins a growing list of fintechs trying to enter the regulated banking sector. All have faced their share of obstacles.