Michael A. Lanotte, SVP/general counsel with the New York State Credit Union League, testified on behalf of the New York credit union movement at a public hearing on Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) at the Legislative Office Building here. The hearing was held by the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Banks. RALs are short-term loans of about two weeks that are secured by the taxpayer's expected tax refund. Fees for these loans translate into triple digit annualized interest rates, according to the New York league, which said that in addition to the RAL fee, major tax preparation firms charge additional fees such as "system administration," "document preparation," or "electronic filing" fees. Lanotte spoke in support of three RAL-related Assembly bills.
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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.
March 28 -
But the 30-year fixed rate mortgage is still near 7%, and that remains the overhang on the housing market, Freddie Mac said.
March 28