Fintech

The all-stock acquisition of Mountain Commerce Bancorp in Knoxville marks the Arkansas-based company's first M&A foray since 2022.

Federal Reserve watchers expect a board of governors vote in February to reappoint the 12 regional Fed bank presidents — which is typically treated as a formality — to be the next flashpoint in the White House's effort to bring the central bank to heel.

The state is requiring merchants to accept cash denominations of $20 and under and prohibits them from charging extra to accept cash. The law, which goes into effect in March, comes as merchants are responding to the Trump administration's abrupt cancellation of penny production.

The Canadian bank is determined to grow its U.S. business organically, CEO Darryl White said Thursday. But with so much excess capital, analysts wondered about the bank's appetite for M&A.

The card network is making a digital wallet push following the Digital Markets Act, which dilutes Apple's control over mobile payments technology.

Royal Bank of Canada now expects to achieve an annual return on equity of at least 17% by 2027, executives said Wednesday, up one percentage point from the bank's earlier goal.

As federal watchdogs step back from regulating "Buy Now, Pay Later" loans, state authorities are stepping in. This week, the attorneys general from California and several other blue states joined the fight.

Financial institutions see an opportunity to nab scale after years of tepid dealmaking, but investors are pushing back against such efforts out of concerns about shareholder value.

The Wisconsin-based regional bank plans to acquire American National Corp. in an all-stock transaction valued at $604 million. It is Associated's first acquisition announcement since Andy Harmening became CEO in 2021.

Chris Ward of TD Bank and American Banker reporter Allissa Kline talk about challenges and opportunities in banking small businesses.