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Small Business Administration lending is an arena where community banks and nonbanks compete favorably with some of the largest U.S. financial institutions. Here are the biggest SBA 7(a) lenders based on the value of approved loans.

At first blush, the deal might provide evidence that the bank doesn't shun the oil and gas industry as the label suggests. In fact, Bank of America has been named by environmental groups as one of the biggest financiers of fossil fuels in the world.

A recent effort by Citigroup to nudge certain customers toward digital-only statements was well intended but too punitive, observers say. The key, they argue, for banks seeking to cut costs or achieve other goals is to offer incentives to those with ingrained habits.

The bank is adding fintech-style buy now/pay later lending to other recent payment upgrades at its merchant acquiring unit.

UBS joined rivals such as HSBC in allowing clients in Hong Kong to trade some crypto-linked exchange-traded funds amid a push by the city to foster a digital-asset hub.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson is pushing for a quick launch of pilot programs at the 11 Federal Home Loan banks to help underserved communities after its report this week prescribed major reforms to the system.

The technology, which has its roots in cryptocurrency, could make corporate transactions more flexible.

Los Angeles-based Lendistry — in less than two years — became the largest Black-run 7(a) lender. Its CEO credits a concerted effort by the Small Business Administration to reach out to minority lenders and businesses, whose participation in the lending program is growing.

The amount of money that investors are parking at a major Federal Reserve facility dropped below $1 trillion for the first time in more than two years.

The release of ChatGPT a year ago prompted banks to hire for AI-related positions and begin testing uses for generative AI, which can summarize documents, write emails and churn out clever responses to users. JPMorgan is hiring and moving more aggressively than most banks.

Citigroup didn't admit any wrongdoing in its settlement of allegations by regulators that employees denied credit cards to people in Southern California suspected of being of Armenian origin.

Citi's global commercial bank head talks about why understanding your clients is critical for bankers.

The brokerage's managing partner talks about AI in wealth management, inflation, and her work on the St. Louis Fed board, in conversation with American Banker Editor-in-Chief Chana Schoenberger.

Aarthi Murali, M&T's chief customer experience officer, is now in charge of employee experience as well. Murali said she is focused on the "human experience" at all levels.

The new rules also expand the use of "proven protections," such as multifactor authentication, according to Adrienne Harris, superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Michael Hsu is voicing concerns about the increasing disintermediation of accountability for banking services as more banks collaborate with nonbank entities. In an interview, he also addresses industry concerns about the Basel endgame proposal and notes banks' growing interest in tokenizing real-world assets.

Meta, Apple, Alphabet and other companies that offer digital wallets and payment apps would fall under U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau supervision under a newly proposed rule aimed at treating nonbanks more like traditional counterparts.

Goldman, which oversees $267 billion in fee-earning alternative assets, is trying to bring compensation more in line with rival investment firms as it moves toward third-party capital to fund its investing activities instead of relying on its own balance sheet.

Banks have been working to sell portfolios of commercial-property debt as they seek to manage their exposure to the sector. Soaring borrowing costs have weighed on valuations, with commercial real estate prices slumping 16% in September from a peak in March 2022, according to real estate analytics firm Green Street. 

This week the Small Business Administration followed through with a controversial policy change by granting access to its flagship 7(a) program to three additional nonbank lenders. These new participants vowed to ramp up their small-business lending efforts.