Finance

Calls for “reform” in times of high liquidity ignore the scalability of the system, and the need to have it around in times of trouble.

The San Francisco-based online lender originated more than $2 billion in personal loans during the first quarter, a big jump from a year earlier. The surge made up for softness in the company's home loan and student loan businesses.

The banks have reportedly facilitated trades of Russian sovereign and corporate debt. Two Democrats in Congress want more information, saying that the dealings, though legal, may undermine efforts to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for the invasion of Ukraine.

Deserve, a credit card technology startup, said it secured a $250 million credit facility from banks led by Goldman Sachs Group. 

The CEOs of both Upstart and Oportun said this week that while they will maintain their existing interest rate limits, some higher-risk customers will no longer qualify for their loans as borrowing costs rise.

Properly designed public banks would be safer than private banks while promoting economic growth.

Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures Management is leading a $185 million funding round for Canada’s Neo Financial Technologies, propelling it to a valuation of more than $1 billion as it plans expansion into mortgages.

Genesis Financial will use Nova Credit’s bank account data analysis to approve credit to applicants with little or no credit bureau files.

The Fed waited too long to address inflation. Now we can expect higher borrowing costs as well as inflation.

The San Antonio bank is preparing to offer all customers — not just those with direct deposit — a break on overdraft charges. But CEO Phillip Green explained in an interview why he’s not prepared to step away from the fees altogether.

First Citizens BancShares said its $2.2 billion acquisition of CIT Group, closed in the first quarter after months of regulatory delays, is finally coming together.

The recovery for airline and related spending has been robust — and thus far immune to geopolitical and inflationary pressures — according to the card network, following similar reports from Visa and American Express.

In a recent survey, just over half of community bankers expressed concern that the central bank will harm the U.S. economy by raising rates too fast in its quest to contain inflation.

Fewer new customers signed up during the first quarter as e-commerce sales momentum slowed and inflation rose, forcing the company to reduce its overall growth expectations for the year.

The country was a large part of the card brand's cross-border digital business, though expansion in other markets and new services will help offset the negative impact, according to CEO Alfred Kelly.

The combination of higher inflation and higher rates has caught up with bank stocks, now on course for their their worst monthly performance in more than two years.

More than two years into the pandemic, banks hit several turning points during the first quarter. On the positive side, commercial loan growth finally materialized, but there were also snags, particularly in fee income.

The Treasury’s latest tax collection may preview how the shrinking of the Federal Reserve’s $9 trillion balance sheet, or quantitative tightening, will unfold for the markets and global liquidity.

Technology moves at a breakneck pace that threatens to leave flat-footed organizations in the dust. But industry leaders are leveraging the bleeding edge to get ahead of the pack and never look back.