Commercial lending

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's decision to offer a special-purpose charter for fintech firms may entice more players than expected, including mortgage lenders and even some payday lending shops.

Even in a digital era, human connections still matter. That is one big disadvantage for fintech startups and increasingly for banks as customers stop making regular branch visits. So it is instructive to hear SoFi's thinking on how to overcome this challenge. It is trying some unorthodox tactics to better understand the people behind the data and to create meaningful connections with them.

From Dimon's campaign against earnings guidance to the bottom-line implications of rising rates, here are more of our favorite stories of the year. (See part I here.)

Kenneth Mahon, the new CEO of Dime Community Bank, wants to reduce the 152-year-old institution's multifamily exposure by diversifying into other asset classes. But finding new business amid already fierce competition could be an immense challenge for Dime — and other community banks — in 2017.

The Rural Housing Service is expanding its manufactured housing loan guarantee program to include more refinancings of used or existing manufactured homes.

The commercial-and-industrial loan space is overheated, higher rates could stifle mortgage refinancings, and subprime auto delinquencies are on the rise. Bankers could be fighting these fires and more in the new year.

Green Bancorp's aggressive plan to attack its credit quality troubles and do what few Texas banks once would have dreamed of – quit energy lending – make it a subject of debate and a community bank to watch closely in 2017.

Chemical CEO David Ramaker has a wide range of options — diversify business lines, expand organically in several Midwestern states, pursue M&A or all of the above — following his recent acquisition of Talmer. But new challenges accompany Chemical's higher profile, too.

Congress wants to put federal flood program on sounder financial footing, encourage the development of private flood insurance market and stop the insanity of rebuilding properties subject to repetitive flooding.

Stephen Gordon has long been known as an entrepreneurial banker, which helped him expand his California bank aggressively over a five-year period. A spike in chargeoffs that led to a third-quarter loss spurred Gordon to beef up credit oversight. The question is whether that effort will stymie loan growth.

From the election's policy implications for banking to deep analysis of the Wells Fargo scandal, here are some of our favorite stories of the year. Stay tuned for Part II.

Lenders should be braced for some potential headaches as oil-related bankruptcies are expected to continue at a steady clip in 2017 and various market and political forces could influence oil supplies and prices.

Now that the OCC has proposed a limited-purpose bank charter for fintech companies, a host of innovative new banks will soon flood the market — or maybe not.

The National Credit Union Administration acted appropriately, within its legal authority, when issuing its member business lending rule.

The Federal Reserve Board has banned two former Regions Financial executives from the banking industry following their indictment on charges of defrauding the Birmingham, Ala., company.

Scandal, business models gone awry, missing money and executive shake-ups — 2016 had it all. Here are the financial services executives or groups of them who took the heat and will be looking for better times in 2017.

Citizens Financial Group in Providence, R.I., said Tuesday that it expects to start offering digital small-business loans in mid-2017.

Female entrepreneurs who apply for loans online and are evaluated by an automated system get a bigger share of online credits than they do traditional in-person bank loans. It could be a sign that automated credit decisions are fairer.

Ameris Bancorp in Moultrie, Ga., has entered into a consent order with regulators tied to the Bank Secrecy Act.

Just weeks after it shook up its executive ranks and suspended efforts to pursue new customers, the New York-based business lender confirmed Friday that it is eliminating dozens of jobs.