Latest banking news

April 8, 2022 3:17 PM

A study found a good majority of banks are loath to venture into the metaverse, Citizens Financial closed its $3.5 billion acquisition of Investors Bancorp, and Chase and Dollar Bank unveiled new branch features.

Scroll through to see what you might have missed this week in banking, payments, M&A and more.

Most banks are hesitant to enter the metaverse

Several financial institutions — including JPMorgan Chase and American Express — are edging toward a presence in the metaverse, or virtual reality environments. But despite these big names making forays, most banks are hesitant. In KPMG’s closing survey of more than 700 banking professionals following its quarterly Banking Symposium at the end of March, it found that 2.4% of respondents planned to establish a presence in the metaverse within the next six months and 2.7% within a year. But more than 70% were unsure and nearly 20% had no plans to enter this online world. — Miriam Cross

JPMorgan Chase adds electric vehicle charging stations to select U.S. branches

Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg News

JPMorgan Chase, in partnership with the electric vehicle charging network EVgo, is piloting the addition of charging stations for at 50 of its U.S. branches this summer. The new eco-friendly initiative comes as part of the bank’s mission to make retail locations more environmentally sustainable, with plans to expand on-site solar power to 400 additional locations by the end of 2022. “We’re always listening and taking feedback from customers when it comes to the branch experience, and we know environmental sustainability is important to them,” Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, said in a press release Thursday. — Frank Gargano

Dollar Bank unveils video interactive branch

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Dollar Bank in Pittsburgh this week opened a branch in Chesapeake, Virginia, outfitted with terminals that let customers speak with tellers over video calls. The Personal Teller Machines, stationed inside the branch and at the drive-thru, also allow customers of the $11.5 billion-asset bank to make deposits and withdrawals. — Frank Gargano

Citizens closes Investors Bancorp deal ...

As regulatory and economic troubles build for BNPL lenders, Citizens is focusing on traditional installment lending items like home improvement and electronics.

Bloomberg

Citizens Financial Group in Providence, Rhode Island, this week completed its purchase of Investors Bancorp in Short Hills, New Jersey, a little over two weeks after the Federal Reserve approved the $3.5 billion deal. The acquisition, announced in July, expands Citizens’ Northeast footprint with the addition of more than 150 branches in the New York City metropolitan area, Philadelphia and New Jersey. In February, Citizens acquired 80 former HSBC branches, including 66 in the metro New York area. — Allissa Kline

... and hires data chief from JPMorgan

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Citizens Financial hired a JPMorgan Chase executive to fill the role of chief data and analytics officer. Ben Vinzant, who has been at JPMorgan since 2018, most recently as managing director and head of sales science, will join Citizens on June 27 and report to Beth Johnson, the Rhode Island company’s chief experience officer. Before joining JPMorgan, Vinzant spent more than a decade at Wells Fargo. — Allissa Kline

Cannabis banking company names investment chief

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News

Safe Harbor Financial, a cannabis banking company in Arvada, Colorado, hired Paul Penney as chief investment officer. Penney, who was most recently the investment chief at KreditForce Capital, will lead Safe Harbor’s lending strategy, investor relations and investment opportunities, and help with the company’s mergers-and-acquisitions strategy, it said. Safe Harbor, which was established in 2021 as a subsidiary of Partner Colorado Credit Union, announced in February that it would be sold to Northern Lights Acquisition, a special-purpose acquisition company, for $185 million in cash and stock. — Allissa Kline

Debit network may proceed with antitrust case against Visa

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Pulse Network, the ATM and debit network owned by Discover Financial Services, has been cleared by an appeals court to pursue an antitrust lawsuit against Visa over its debit card routing practices. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana on April 5 ruled that a U.S. District Court judge in Texas improperly dismissed Pulse’s original case in 2018. The three-judge appeals court ruled Pulse may proceed with two counts of its original case alleging that debit card network fees Visa set after the Durbin amendment took effect in 2010, along with preferential network-routing agreements Visa reached with certain banks and merchants, are anti-competitive. — Kate Fitzgerald

Washington Trust rolls out financial literacy program

Washington Trust Bancorp in Westerly, Rhode Island, is launching a financial literacy initiative that will see the $5.9 billion-asset company donate $165,000 to local nonprofit groups, make web-based financial education curriculum available to middle and high schools throughout Rhode Island, and unveil a financial wellness center on its website. “We believe financial literacy is critical in helping consumers, businesses and nonprofits become more money-wise, confident, and economically empowered,” Chairman and CEO Ned Handy said in a press release. — John Reosti

Oxford Commercial Finance acquires factoring firm

The commercial finance subsidiary of Oxford Bank in Oxford, Michigan, said it acquired the assets and certain unspecified liabilities of FSW Funding, a factoring firm based in Phoenix. The $751 million-asset Oxford recruited all of FSW’s employees and appointed the firm’s owner and managing member Robyn Barrett to oversee its working capital division as senior vice president and managing director. “OCF will bring the only missing piece to grow which is liquidity and capital,” Barrett said in a press release.

Embassy National in Georgia has a new president

Embassy National Bank in Lawrenceville, Georgia, named Steven F. Smith as its president. Smith joins the $118 million-asset bank from the $1.6 billion-asset CoastalStates Bank in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he was regional president for its North Georgia market, according to his LinkedIn profile. — Frank Gargano