The combination of smarter consumers and likely CFPB action have, oddly enough, pushed banks, especially large ones, to raise overdraft fees in recent months.

Offering a new product or considering a merger may boost returns, but the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency says changes in strategy can be risky.

The management team at Bank of the Ozarks knows it has a dependency on commercial real estate. But they assert that sound underwriting, and efforts to diversify, are what really matters when assessing risk.

Banks are experimenting with apps and mobile features that are available to everyone as they search for new ways to connect with potential customers.

First Hawaiian Bank in Honolulu will be spun off rather than sold.

An industrywide springtime boomlet in business activity shed some of its momentum in June, according to the latest reading of American Banker's Index of Banking Activity. The IBA's composite index dipped to 54.9, down from 57.0 a month earlier. While that suggests an industry in modest expansion, it also is the weakest reading since January.

Most components of the index declined from their May levels and two of them — both of which track pricing on new lending — slipped below 50, suggesting that banks on balance lost whatever modicum of pricing power they had coming into the month.

In addition, respondents to the June survey were generally cautious about their consumer lending businesses (although a fair share of individual respondents remained upbeat, particularly with respect to auto lending).

All in all, the June results pointed to an industry more guarded in outlook, which is not surprising given the prevalence of concern that events at home and abroad (Brexit) would further postpone interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.

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Banks frequently blame "the rules" in shunning partnerships with fintech startups. However, compliance can be a positive force, not something that inhibits growth.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently dressed down the mortgage industry for failing to invest in technology. Here are 10 tech ideas from our colleagues at fellow SourceMedia publication National Mortgage News that could improve efficiency, margins and the industry's image among growing demographics. Some might sound farfetched, but so do most great inventions at first. Dream big.

Expect banks to pull back on energy lending in the near term, as regulators step up their scrutiny of oil loans and bankers approach the business with a "different attitude," says Mariner Kemper, chairman and chief executive at UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo.

The percentage of private student loans that were at least 30 days past due has plunged to its lowest level since the Great Recession. That is the good news for private lenders. The bad news is that the business is barely growing because the federal government continues to dominate the market.

WASHINGTON — The House approved a spending bill Thursday that would change the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and take away the Financial Stability Oversight Council's power to designate nonbanks as systemically important.

Small banks are trying to figure out how to provide the digital services today's customers want while still retaining the human touch that distinguishes them from larger rivals. A small bank in Cincinnati says it has hit on the right formula.

The $7.9 billion-asset holding company for Citizens Business Bank said David Farnsworth will start as credit chief of both entities on July 18. He will succeed James Dowd, who retired on July 1.

Comerica and Bank of America closed their downtown Dallas headquarters on Friday, amid an investigation into the fatal shooting of five police officers, which took place nearby.

Turmoil in marketplace lending has less to do with loan quality and more to do with how lenders price loans to meet supply and demand.

Fifth Third Bancorp has named Edward Robinson senior vice president and head of Fifth Third Mortgage.

Cathay General Bancorp in Los Angeles has agreed to buy SinoPac Bancorp from Bank SinoPac in Taiwan.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

The $5.2 billion-asset mutual said in a press release Thursday that Leonard Stekol had become its president. Stekol was also elected a trustee; he will remain chief operating officer.

At least eight small mutuals have agreed in recent years to merge with another institution rather than convert to stock ownership. More deals could be on the way.