Credit unions expanded perks and benefits for workers whose personal lives and jobs were rocked by the pandemic. The added costs are bearable and will be necessary to keep employees over the long term, executives say.

The all-stock acquisition of South Dakota-based Great Western would create a regional bank with $32 billion of assets and more than 300 branches in 14 states.

After exiting the business roughly 20 years ago, the San Antonio bank is working with tech consultant Infosys to help it build out a digital consumer lending business that will include home loans.

Executives at JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and U.S. Bancorp all spoke this week about plans to take on upstarts that offer interest-free financing on consumer purchases. The increased competition figures to result in tighter margins across the category.

The Cincinnati bank, which last month closed its purchase of the health care lender Provide, has raised its estimate for the unit’s 2021 loan volume.

The White House and key lawmakers want to allocate $4.5 billion for smaller 7(a) loans that would be made by the Small Business Administration. The financial services industry says the government should collaborate with the private sector rather than compete with it.