An overhaul of the bank regulatory system is past due, but the urge to start tearing up the rule book must be resisted in favor of precision and the thoughtful application of some basic principles.

Small lenders produced net interest margin expansion in the fourth quarter, thanks in large part to interest rate cuts in the second half of 2024. Festering inflation, however, threatens to lead to rate increases that could stall their momentum.

The San Francisco-based bank announced that another consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has been terminated. The six-year-old order was related to the bank's risk compliance management and certain loan practices.

The biggest decline was a 9.9% drop in deposits quarter-on-quarter as of Dec. 31.

The Trump administration's nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Jonathan McKernan, is seen as an institutionalist with a deep knowledge of policy. But whether he keeps the bureau shuttered or rebuilds it is uncertain.

An order permitting CSBH LLC in Powhattan, Virginia, to acquire a controlling stake in Industry Bancshares promises to give the Texas company a fresh start in one of the country's most attractive banking markets.

For the first time since the Eaton Fire erupted more than a month ago, Altadena has a bank branch that's open for business.

Michael formerly led tech groups at Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Lloyds.

Joseph Otting, who is leading Flagstar's turnaround, said potential buyers may be interested in acquiring the regional bank once it gets past certain challenges.

In his semiannual testimony before the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the effective shuttering of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau leaves no federal regulator in charge of policing large banks for consumer protection law compliance.