Kevin Wack is American Banker's national editor, and is based in southern California. He was formerly the publication's consumer finance reporter and its Capitol Hill correspondent. Earlier, he worked on financial policy in Washington. He has also reported for the Associated Press and worked as the investigative reporter for the Portland Press Herald in Maine.
-
The Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are suing a real estate developer over an alleged bait-and-switch land-sale scheme near Houston. The developer used TikTok and other social media sites to lure Hispanic immigrants into predatory loans, the government alleges.
By Kevin WackDecember 20 -
The Ohio Democrat is pressuring the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo to proactively provide financial benefits to active-duty service members. Those protections are enshrined in a 2003 law, but many service members do not seek them out.
By Kevin WackDecember 14 -
The five banks that went under in 2023 had nearly $550 billion of assets, the largest total in a single year. Here's a look back at how they unraveled.
By Kevin WackDecember 13 -
Top industry executives said this week that price increases are abating, even if they haven't yet fully abated. Their remarks reflect increased confidence that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady — or perhaps even cut them — in the first half of 2024.
By Jim DobbsDecember 7 -
Los Angeles-based City National Bank recorded a $247 million loss during a tumultuous final quarter of its fiscal year. But executives at the bank's Canadian parent company say they expect a return to profitability in the first quarter.
By Kevin WackNovember 30 -
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that has large stakes for bankers who get into hot water with their regulators. Conservative justices asked tough questions of a Biden administration lawyer who defended agencies' reliance on administrative law judges.
By Kevin WackNovember 29 -
The bank was recently sued by customers who say they were misled into thinking that their savings accounts were earning competitive rates. Capital One responded with a series of arguments for why the case should be thrown out.
By Kevin WackNovember 13 -
Longtime customers of Capital One's online banking arm thought they were getting the best possible rate, according to a lawsuit. Little did they realize, they say, that they needed to open a new account in order to benefit from interest rate increases.
By Kevin WackNovember 6 -
The student loan servicer said that it's open to settling a high-stakes lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration. It recorded a $45 million charge and said that the range of reasonably possible losses is between $0 and $250 million.
By Kevin WackOctober 26 -
Billy Beale joined the small Virginia bank in May, several months after its fintech partnership strategy landed it in hot water with regulators. "There's still a lot of just blocking and tackling that we've got to do to get the bank to work the way it's supposed to," he says.
By Kevin WackOctober 16