Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Business models that ignore human relationships tend to make banks' moral compasses go haywire, according to Ed Clark, the recently retired head of TD Bank.

American Banker has named online marketplace lending the Innovation of the Year. Matt Burton, CEO of Orchard Platform, explains how this booming business evolved out of peer-to-peer lending and whether alternative finance firms are competing with banks.

Orchard Platform CEO Matt Burton discusses how online marketplace lenders use data and technology to speed lending and improve transparency.

Online marketplace lending, a mushrooming business in the U.S. and the U.K., could take hold elsewhere, says Matt Burton, whose Orchard Platform is looking to expand its lender-support and analytical services internationally.

The number of mutuals is shrinking, but those committed to the charter still have options. Attorney Kip Weissman of Luse Gorman discusses the possibilities of charter conversions for those looking to throw in the towel and potential regulatory moves that could help the ailing charter class.

The hunt for scale has long been one of the chief reasons for dealmaking, but Jimmy Dunne, senior managing principal of Sandler O'Neill, says that today's operating and regulatory environment shows the true need to find efficiency through size.

The regulatory environment for small deals is improving as regulators see how consolidation can help move the industry further away from the crisis, says Jimmy Dunne, senior managing principal of Sandler O'Neill.

Stephen Platt, a forensic investigations consultant and author of Criminal Capital: How the Finance Industry Facilitates Crime, explains why bank directors' fear of revealing their ignorance is dangerous for financial institutions.

Dumping entire categories of clients is a crude and inappropriate reaction to large fines, says Stephen Platt, author of Criminal Capital: How the Finance Industry Facilitates Crime." However, he says, regulators should hold a dialogue with banks and attempt to accommodate businesses that carry high risk but whose services are desperately required, such as remittances to war-torn Somalia.

Stephen Platt, regulatory investigations consultant and author of "Criminal Capital: How the Finance Industry Facilitates Crime," explains his misgivings about the idea of a shared know-your-customer registry for the industry.