The home buying process has undergone significant changes. The pandemic has profoundly altered the mortgage lending market. The continuation of remote work, relocation out of key urban areas, a growing preference for online possibilities, and the deployment of artificial intelligence applications are only a few trends that are shaping the industry. Join Heidi Patalano, Editor-in-Chief of National Mortgage News and Beth O'Brien, Founder and CEO of CoreVest Finance as they discuss how lenders can stay competitive and meet the needs of home buyers in the fast evolving mortgage business.

Lawmakers are seeking documents from two companies — Blueacorn and Womply — over concerns about the suspected scale of fraud in Paycheck Protection Program loans they processed.

Professional Holding CEO Dan Sheehan is dismissive of off-the-shelf bank technology. “Whatever we’re getting in a box, the next hundred competitors are going to be able to get.”

Republicans on the House Small Business Committee question the wisdom of having the Small Business Administration depart from its traditional model of backing loans made by private-sector lenders. But agency Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman says the plan is necessary to fill "large gaps" in credit availability to the smallest companies.

Acquiring the company, which has a namesake savings app, would allow the Silicon Valley lender to accelerate its plan to offer more consumer banking services. The deal comes less than six weeks after Oportun withdrew its application for a bank charter, which it plans to refile.

After more than a year of collaboration, the Minneapolis bank is buying the company to enhance its corporate expense and travel management offerings.

Patriot National Bancorp was exploring a digital pivot, and American Challenger Development Corp. had been seeking a bank charter in its quest to become open an all-digital bank. They decided it was quicker to join forces.

Mainstream lenders have long been reluctant to make short-term consumer loans because the costs involved make them expensive for borrowers. Upstart says its technology will enable partner banks to offer loans at annual percentage rates below 36%.

The data aggregator is recruiting partners such as Railsbank, Silicon Valley Bank and Marqeta for a project designed to make certain digital transactions easier to complete.

The bank is partnering with Anthemis to match investors with female entrepreneurs, who according to Findexable research attract just 1.5% of investment in the sector.

Northern Hills Federal Credit Union in South Dakota is one of several institutions testing tools that can deliver faster loan decisions, an edge they need against digital upstarts.

Hispanic adults are underbanked compared with their white counterparts, according to the Federal Reserve. Challenger banks such as Tend and Viva First are reaching out to this population with bilingual services and low-cost money transfers.

Digital upstarts like Square, Stripe and PayPal are invading community banks' turf by appealing to local merchants with a mix of electronic payments and lending. Small banks are fighting back by leaning into digital services while maintaining their personal touch.

With today’s generation of home buyers so rooted in a digital world, how will the financial services industry need to change to meet their needs? What new consumer technology will they need to adopt to meet consumers where they are? How will those approaches differ from how things have been done historically in the industry? Join us in a discussion with Blend’s Founder, Nima Ghamsari as we chat through how banks and financial institutions need to think through these questions.

Some big tech firms “have sought to gain greater control over the flow of money in our economy,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra told senators. His comments came after the agency demanded information from large tech companies about their payment offerings.

The California bank sued a former executive for allegedly taking trade secrets and using them to build a rival fintech. A recent interim ruling frees Aeldra Financial to move ahead with fundraising while the case continues.

Piermont Bank in New York expects to double its $347 million of assets in a year by extending working capital to financial technology companies. MainStreet Bancshares in Virginia is taking a different approach, hoping a new banking-as-a-service offering will help investors see it as more cutting-edge.

The state has a poor track record of managing customer-facing operations. It’s difficult to see an upside in the current push for a state-run bank — especially when neobanks are already offering the same services it would provide.