Consumer banking

A new app for people with a criminal past and a challenger bank "of immigrants for immigrants" are among the neobanks forging their own path in the banking world.

Many in Utqiagvik, Alaska, say they like banking with the country's fourth-largest bank. But they also want more banking options in their town, a reality that rural communities across the United States face.

The Mississippi bank would take a big hit to capital and income but avoid the risk of a bigger payout from a guilty verdict in litigation against banks that did business with Allen Stanford's disgraced financial empire.

Northeast Bank in Portland is putting capital earned from the Paycheck Protection Program to use, purchasing $1.1 billion of loans and launching a small-dollar Small Business Administration lending program.

At the start of 2022, banks sat atop a flood of deposits. But as the year progressed, they faced greater pressure to pay higher rates, and the trends that drove the rapid shift show no signs of abating.

The U.S. should look abroad for innovative solutions to the problem of assessing the creditworthiness of borrowers with little formal credit history.

Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said the bank is "not making rapid progress" and hinted at the possibility of additional restrictions. But analysts saw positives for Wells in the $3.7 billion consent order.