Polo Rocha is a Mexico-based freelance reporter who worked at American Banker from 2021 to early 2025, covering consumer finance and national banking trends. He previously covered the Federal Reserve at S&P Global Market Intelligence and state politics at WisPolitics.com. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has a master's in finance degree from Johns Hopkins University.
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Johnson, who currently heads a housing-finance industry group, will take over this summer from longtime president and CEO Richard Hunt.
By Polo RochaMay 3 -
During the pandemic, consumer lenders have found it easier to collect payments because the federal student loan moratorium has made many borrowers more liquid. A plan for blanket forgiveness reportedly under consideration by President Biden could sustain that trend.
By Polo RochaMay 3 -
Analysts were expecting Capital One’s marketing spending to slow significantly after it surged to nearly $1 billion at the end of the year.
By Polo RochaApril 27 -
The first-of-their-kind measures, urging banks to move more aggressively to curtail new fossil-fuel lending, garnered between 11% and 13% of the vote at Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Those totals were less than climate activists had hoped to garner, but high enough to clear certain thresholds for resubmission next year.
By Jon PriorApril 26 -
More than two years into the pandemic, banks hit several turning points during the first quarter. On the positive side, commercial loan growth finally materialized, but there were also snags, particularly in fee income.
By Kevin WackApril 25 -
The Wisconsin company is the latest bank to plan cutbacks in the fees. Its fee income is projected to fall by about 2% from its level last quarter.
By Polo RochaApril 22 -
A sell-off of technology stocks this year has helped dissuade firms from going public. But Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company, which counts many tech firms among its clients, says the pullback hasn’t spread to smaller startups and the venture-capital funds that finance them.
By Polo RochaApril 22 -
The New York bank is planning a broad launch of its new checking account later this year. Starting this week, more than 20,000 Goldman employees have a chance to try it out.
By Polo RochaApril 21 -
U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo both reported robust business loan volumes during the first quarter, while other large lenders reported smaller gains. Inflation is fueling more spending on technology, and companies are catching up on capital expenditures that they deferred earlier in the pandemic, according to bank executives.
By Polo RochaApril 14 -
California and New York were the first states to require the disclosure of certain pricing information to small-business borrowers. But as Utah, Virginia and other states add regulations for nonbank lenders, a fault line has emerged over the use of annual percentage rates.
By Polo RochaApril 12 -
Higher interest rates are generally helpful to the industry, but they are also leading to unrealized losses in banks’ bond portfolios. Trust banks such as Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Northern Trust may take relatively large hits when they announce their first-quarter results.
By Polo RochaApril 8 -
The Cincinnati bank is joining other large and regional banks in scrapping nonsufficients-fund fees. The move comes amid continued regulatory pressure on the industry to curtail overdraft fees and related charges.
By Polo RochaApril 7 -
A group of state attorneys general is asking JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp to scrap the controversial charges entirely, as competitors like Citigroup and Capital One have done. The four banks targeted have all announced significant changes that will likely reduce their overdraft revenue.
By Polo RochaApril 6 -
In his annual letter to shareholders, the JPMorgan Chase CEO wrote that although the U.S. economy remains strong, “we should prepare for the potential negative outcomes.” He also provided more detail about the megabank’s big spending plans.
April 4 -
The move away from the scandal-plagued London interbank offered rate is going smoothly, according to a new survey of lenders and corporate borrowers. But many customers still face operational challenges ahead of a mid-2023 deadline for switching older loans.
By Polo RochaMarch 20 -
Dontá Wilson, American Banker’s Digital Banker of the Year for 2021, succeeds Brant Standridge, who recently left the North Carolina company for a position at Huntington Bancshares.
By Polo RochaMarch 17 -
The credit card company said it will open a new office in the city and hire hundreds of product managers and engineers.
By Polo RochaMarch 16 -
Peter Johnson, who has led the company since 2007, will be succeeded by Chief Financial Officer Laura Clark.
By Polo RochaMarch 16 -
A group of religiously affiliated shareholders that had pushed the bank to write the report says it does not include the voices of key stakeholders. The report's recommendations, written by an outside law firm, touch on workforce diversity, customer remediation and preventing retaliation against employees.
By Polo RochaMarch 15 -
In a survey last month, only one in 10 chief executives identified mergers as their top priority, while 77% pointed to organic growth. The sparse interest in dealmaking may be due to volatile markets, along with slower approvals from regulators.
By Polo RochaMarch 14



















