Isabel Casillas Guzman, administrator of the Small Business Administration, wants the agency to get involved in direct lending, a practice that was discontinued during the Clinton administration. Congress has not embraced the idea, to put it mildly.

Extensive partnerships with third-party service providers, fintechs and other partners are the banking equivalent of a supply chain, and bankers need to be clear-eyed about assessing the risk associated with them.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is arguing that Colorado has the right to establish an interest rate cap that all state-chartered banks must follow. Three industry groups are suing the state in an effort to stop its attempted crackdown.

The Philadelphia-based bank's parent company, Republic First Bancshares, had been roiled by a yearslong proxy battle involving activist investors groups and its former CEO.

Mississippi's Renasant names its next CEO; environmental fintech Aspiration Partners spins out its consumer brand; the OCC adds five weeks to comment period for Capital One-Discover merger; and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

The Wisconsin banking company forecasted loan growth of 4% to 6% for the full year, driven by an expansion into new commercial and consumer credit lines as well as enduring economic strength in the Midwest.

Branches won't succeed without significant investment in mobile and in-branch technology; but failing to invest in bankers themselves is just as big a problem.

Liberty Bank in Salt Lake City had been "structurally unprofitable" since 2008, according to its regulators. Experts criticized the FDIC for allowing the bank's demise to play out in slow motion.

The Jackson, Mississippi, company will use proceeds from the sale of its Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance unit to restructure its investment portfolio, moving $1.6 billion of low-yield securities off the balance sheet.

The store-branded card issuer is raising annual percentage rates and adding fees for paper statements to compensate for lost revenue. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new regulation is scheduled to take effect on May 14.

Brendon Falconer, finance chief of the Indiana company since 2019, faces felony child molestation charges. But CEO James Ryan says management is focused on the CapStar integration and organic growth.

As recently as a few months ago, many observers predicted a surge of bank mergers this year. But longtime obstacles to dealmaking are still there and have been joined by new ones.

Truist Financial's top executive leadership team announces departures; First Horizon's chief credit officer is retiring; Ferry teams with Highnote to roll out a new Visa-branded payroll card; and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

The Detroit-based company is exploring ways to make more consumer auto loans without running afoul of stricter capital standards that are expected from the Federal Reserve. Possible approaches include more securitizations and the use of credit risk transfers.

FedNow emerges as a key component of our industry's digital transformation, filling the void in our payment infrastructure and paving the way for a new era of banking.

The Office of the Attorney General in New York says the bank violated the state's Exempt Income Protection Act, illegally transferring customers' money to debt collectors.

Rising deposit costs have plagued banks in general, and the Tennessee bank had to pay up to bolster liquidity after its failed merger with TD. But First Horizon retained customers in the first quarter while not paying them the special rates they got last year.

Net charge-offs at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank increased by more than 80% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. BofA executives say that the rising losses were in line with the bank's risk appetite.

Should the all-stock transaction close as planned later this year, Wintrust Financial in the Chicago area would gain about $2.7 billion of assets.

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, R.I., decried the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's suit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's credit card late fee rule, saying the suit is an example of the kinds of frivolous litigation it opposes elsewhere.