Community banking
Bank of the West is putting a big focus on small-business lending while waiting for the sluggish loan growth environment to improve, says Andy Harmening, a senior executive vice president and regional banking group head. Harmening spoke to American Banker at the annual Best Practices in Retail Banking Symposium.
-
As regulatory scrutiny of third-party vendors is increasing, banks must improve their research and monitoring of the business they outsource.
April 9 -
The traditional way of doing business in the branch network may be dead, but bank branches themselves will survive in some form, says Bank of the Wests Andy Harmening, a senior executive vice president and regional banking group head. Bank of the West has been able to open de novo branches without hiring any additional staff, thanks to advanced technology, to meet customer demand for in-store mortgages, small-business loans and investment advice. Harmening spoke to American Banker at the annual Best Practices in Retail Banking Symposium.
April 8
-
Many regional banks are too small to face the most onerous capital requirements yet big enough to grapple with the growing mountain of regulations. That, and some deft positioning, has left the group more profitable than its larger and smaller brethren alike. American Banker editors discuss the success of the regionals and the challenges they face.
April 4 -
Bank deal-making faces a new hurdle as a small group of attorneys challenges a large number of buyout offers. For the lawyers, even dubious challenges can result in big paydays. For potential acquirers, the added costs and hassles are another hurdle on the way to reinvigorating the still-struggling bank M&A market.
April 2 -
Bankers these days face the prospect of getting penalized for everything from "disparate impact" to the actions of auto dealers and other third-party partners. That raises the question of whether such regulation is effective, enforceable or fair.
March 26 -
Making bank buyouts work has long been a risky business. As the sudden ouster of First Niagara (FNFG) CEO John Koelmel shows, it may have gotten riskier still. Behind the perils are the complications of conducting due diligence, evaluating troubled assets, navigating regulations and pleasing dilution-averse shareholders.
March 21 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is planning a crackdown on the interest rate markups that auto dealers add onto the cost of car loans. Although it's dealers who originate the loans, the CFPB lacks the authority to regulate them directly. Bankers fear that as a result the agency will turn its focus to holding them accountable for monitoring loans made by the dealers with whom they work.
March 21 -
Lending to small and mid-sized enterprises and fee businesses like wealth management are the key to Zions Bancorp.'s growth plans, says its CEO Harris Simmons.
March 20 -
Top bankers went out of their way to praise the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its Director, Richard Cordray, at American Banker's Retail Financial Services Conference. Despite the happy talk, they stopped short of calling for the GOP to end its opposition to the bureau or for Cordray's directorship to be made permanent.
March 15
