Finance

As opportunities grow for private student lending, Sallie Mae has entered a multiyear "strategic partnership" with the world's largest private equity firm.

Two government-sponsored enterprises are looking into expanding mortgage transfers between borrowers, according to the head of their oversight agency.

Barwick Banking Co. will have the wherewithal to accelerate its expansion in Georgia and Florida after a $50 million investment from a new venture capital platform.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said emerging stresses in housing and private credit markets warrant a reduction to short-term interest rates. While preferring a 50 basis point cut in December, Miran said he would settle for a 25 basis point reduction.

President Trump and housing regulator Bill Pulte are considering introducing a 50-year fixed rate mortgage that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would purchase.

Consumers' and merchants' penchant for 0% loans are boosting the buy now/pay later lender in its first fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, as gross merchandise volume hit a record.

The payment and commerce company's stock fell as much as 12% in afterhours trading on Thursday after the fintech missed Wall Street's earnings estimates, despite posting growth in all lines of business and increasing its full year guidance.

The digital neobank is expecting spending to stay strong through current economic conditions, and a new credit card is projected to bring in increased revenue.

Despite record loan applications, Upstart's AI pulled back, causing a revenue miss and raising "incremental uncertainty" about its core underwriting model.

Large banks seem comfortable paring back their capital positions while they await an updated proposal on the so-called Basel III endgame. The rules are widely expected to be more lax than what was proposed during the Biden administration.

With the U.K. and U.S. giving a green light to the company's $22.7 billion scale-building deal to buy Worldpay, Global Payments has begun its integration strategy.

In her first public appearance since President Trump moved to fire her from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Fed Gov. Lisa Cook reiterated her commitment to bringing inflation under 2% and said that the labor market remains "solid."

The buy now/pay later firm, which reports earnings Thursday, has inked deals with Worldpay to expand potential borrowers and with New York Life to obtain more capital for future lending.

The Tacoma, Washington-based bank, which has completed two mergers since 2023, said Thursday that it will buy back up to $700 million of its own shares over the next year.

The head of the government-sponsored enterprise's oversight agency said the cuts were made to positions that weren't central to mortgages and new home sales.

The Billings, Montana-based bank finds itself in the crosshairs of a high-profile activist investor. On Thursday, it stuck to its organic growth plan and said it isn't interested in using its excess capital to restructure its securities book.

Top SBA lenders are warning about the impact of a prolonged shutdown. NewtekOne skipped providing fourth-quarter guidance after its CEO said the situation was too cloudy to forecast.

During Thursday's earnings call, CEO Michael Miebach said the payment company is partnering with large technology firms and offering consulting for the emerging form of artificial intelligence, attempting to expand a strategy to draw revenue beyond card processing.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to reduce interest rates by 25 basis points Wednesday, but the emergence of dissents on the committee makes the chance of another quarter-point cut in December less certain.

American Banker's 2025 Small Business Banking conference yielded lessons about the need for speed, simplicity and safety in small-business lending. Other key takeaways included the significance of digital payment options and the importance of continuing to process SBA loan requests during the government shutdown.