The Department of Justice appoints Jonathan Mayer as its first chief AI officer, HTLF's CEO Bruce Lee plans to retire, Wilmington Trust's Doris Meister will step down in May, and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

The USDA forecasted farm profits will plunge 26% this year, potentially creating credit quality challenges for lenders.

The two companies in the largest bank merger since the 2008 financial crisis released details of their agreement. It leaves the door open for Discover to field better offers, though the payments company would pay a break-up fee of 4% if it accepts one.

MainStreet Bancshares in Fairfax says it can succeed where others have run into some thorny regulatory problems by cutting out the middleware and linking fintech partners directly to its core.

Lenders collected an estimated $25 billion in additional interest income last year by raising the average margin on annual percentage rates, or the amount above the prime rate, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The credit card lender's blockbuster acquisition of Discover is not guaranteed to get across the finish line. But co-founder and CEO Richard Fairbank appears to see the rewards that would come from controlling a payments network as outweighing the potential downside.

The application deadline for this annual ranking is May 10.

The top five banks and thrifts have combined total deposits of more than $7 trillion as of September 30, 2023.

Capital One Financial's proposed acquisition of Discover Financial Services would create a credit card behemoth with its own payments network. The deal is likely to draw tough regulatory scrutiny, though analysts say there are many compelling strategic reasons for the combination.

The median interest rate that large credit card issuers charged consumers with good credit in the first half of 2023 was 28.2%, compared with 18.15% at smaller banks and credit unions, according to a study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is on a campaign against excessive fees.

Community Bank System in Syracuse faced claims it failed to properly pay some branch-level employees, making it one of a growing number of banks forced to confront compensation-related disputes in recent months.

Buying North Shore Bancorp in Peabody, Massachusetts, would give Hometown nearly $6 billion of assets and a higher profile in New England.

The regulator's action indicates that — after years of overhauling its operations — the bank has finally shown it's in compliance with the agency's standards on sales conduct.

Financial institutions need to reconsider the logic and intuitiveness of their website design. They could also introduce free credit scores and capitalize on generative AI, experts say.

After focusing on cost control throughout much of 2023, including a round of job cuts, the Pittsburgh company has announced plans to expand in high-growth markets like Texas and refurbish more than 1,200 existing offices.

In all, the Denver-based bank plans to sell nine branches to two buyers as part of a decision to exit the state and invest more in technology and other markets where "it has the greatest growth potential."

New regulations involving cryptocurrency and the results of key elections will impact the industry's success this year.

Senior loan officers recently told the Federal Reserve that loan demand weakened and underwriting tightened last quarter, but both at a slower pace than three months earlier. They anticipate demand for credit will improve, especially in the back half of the year — provided rates begin to fall.

French payments company Worldline may cut 8% of its workforce, Moneygram advances its digital strategy by hiring four new leaders, Fed issues enforcement action against Peoples-Marion Bancorp and more in our weekly banking news roundup.

Federal prosecutors allege that Shan Hanes, the former CEO of the now defunct Heartland Tri-State Bank, illegally took money from customers to fund cryptocurrency investments. He could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.