Wells Fargo creates unit to satisfy regulatory demands

A Wells Fargo bank branch at night in New York.
It is designed exclusively to address concerns of regulators who have complained about the bank's lack of progress in recovering from a series of scandals.

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U.S. Bank employee fired after blowing whistle on sales scheme, lawsuit says

Branch of U.S. Bank, US Bank, U.S. Bancorp.
Signage is displayed at a US Bancorp branch in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Thursday, July 12, 2018. US Bancorp is scheduled to release earnings figures on July 18. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
A former call center worker says he lost his job last year after reporting that employees were given incentives to market credit cards to ineligible borrowers.

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BB&T, SunTrust clear key hurdle on road to merger

Signage for BB&T and SunTrust banks.
Concerns about job losses and political blowback still loom, but the two banks made it through a second day of public hearings hosted by the Fed relatively unscathed and with significant local support.

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What BBVA's new U.S. CEO has on tap

Javier Rodriguez Soler, BBVA's U.S. CEO.
In his first extensive interview since taking the job this year, Javier Rodriguez Soler talks about banking as a service, how to keep customers happy and where he sees AI and other tech innovations heading.

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Alternative core-technology providers catch the eye of venture capital firms

servers-bloomberg
Digital storage and servers stand at the Iron Mountain Inc. data storage facility in Boyers, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. The underground data center, located in a former limestone mine, stores 200 acres of physical data for many clients including the federal government. Photographer: Stephanie Strasburg/Bloomberg
Aging tech systems have become a "pain point" in financial services, and VC firms have backed newcomers trying to push aside traditional vendors and win over banks and credit unions.

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Florida bank is biggest to be sold to a credit union

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MidFlorida Credit Union has agreed to buy the $730 million-asset Community Bank & Trust of Florida in Ocala.

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The Fed's Lael Brainard stands alone

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lael Brainard
Lael Brainard, governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, listens during a Federal Reserve Board meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, April 8, 2019. The Federal Reserve Board today is considering new rules governing the oversight of foreign banks. Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed wants foreign lenders treated similarly to U.S. banks. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
As the central bank board proceeds with reforms easing the post-crisis regulatory regime, the Obama-appointed governor has not shied from opposing the agency's course.

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'Mini CFPB' won't solve California's bank regulation problems

CFPB Director Richard Cordray
Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), listens during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, April 7, 2016. Testimony from Cordray today may shed light on the status of several regulations that could curtail revenue from payday loans, prepaid cards and other financial products. At a March 16 hearing, Cordray hinted that a rule to limit prepaid cards won't be finished until June. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Richard Cordray
The state should overhaul its Department of Business Oversight, but proposals to create a statewide financial protection bureau miss the mark.

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Mergers stir up competition in Denver banking market

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The Mile High City has been disrupted by a number of big M&A deals, providing an opening for other banks to benefit.

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Congress is closer to reforming AML, but will banks be satisfied?

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.
Representative Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. The chief executives of some of the U.S.'s biggest banks should get ready for hostility as they're about to serve as political-theater targets at a House committee hearing, analysts say. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Lawmakers are poised to advance a bill requiring that commercial customers identify their beneficial owners — taking that burden away from their financial institution — but the anti-money-laundering reform arguably most favored by banks has fallen off the radar.

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