WASHINGTON, D.C. - (08/29/05) The Hispanic Alliance for Progress, anon-profit organization based here, said it received a grant fromthe U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development FinancialInstitution Fund (CDFI Fund) for the development of products thatwill give economically disadvantaged consumers an alternative topayday lenders. A spokesperson for the Hispanic Alliance forProgress said credit unions are not yet involved as the program isin its formative stages, but she expects CUs will play a role. TheAlliance submitted a thesis entitled Bridge toBanking to the CDFI Fund that proposed a range of products:from low-cost emergency loans to micro-enterprise loans. Inaddition, the group hopes to provide financial education services.The Alliance said the grant will allow the deeper analysisof the proposed target market roll out, and full development of itsunderwriting, risk and portfolio management.
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Synovus Financial demonstrated at an industry conference how it is using Microsoft's Copilot to help its staff address customers' concerns.
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The U.S. arm of Spanish banking giant Santander has hired Swati Bhatia to oversee retail banking and its digital transformation efforts. Bhatia joins at "an inflection point" for the company, which aims to be "a digital bank with branches," CEO Tim Wennes said.
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Mariya Rosberg is named Americas head of banking and financial services at Marsh McLennan's Oliver Wyman unit; startup ZayZoon raised $15 million in a new funding round; and more in the weekly banking news roundup.
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Last year, the Raleigh, N.C.-based Integrated called off a deal to sell itself to MVB Financial after bank stocks took a hit in the aftermath of the regional bank failures. Capital hopes to expand its government-guaranteed lending with the transaction.
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Once a prominent figure spurring financial institutions to engage in cryptocurrency, Bankman-Fried's downslide began with the collapse of the digital asset exchange FTX in late 2022 and hit rock bottom with his sentencing to 25 years in prison.
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But the 30-year fixed rate mortgage is still near 7%, and that remains the overhang on the housing market, Freddie Mac said.
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