Retail & Commercial

A combination of higher interest rates and increased vacancies — especially in office buildings — are leading to more apprehensions in commercial real estate.

The company has long been criticized for its lagging financial performance and its complexity. CEO Jane Fraser is pushing through Citigroup's most recent transformation plan, but will she succeed where her predecessors have failed?

The Long Island bank is trying to come back from a month-long spiral that sunk its stock price some 80%.

In a study posted weeks after it raised concerns about "junk fees," the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau noted that the amount of borrowers paying discount points doubled from 2021 to 2023, with the increase larger among consumers with lower credit scores.

First Busey closes acquisition of Merchants and Manufacturers Bank; Stax co-founders launch a new credit-scoring tool; UMB's marketing chief takes on consumer banking; and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

Based on the pace of deals through late March, the banking industry is on track for the most branch sales since 2021. Buyer interest has mounted alongside the need to acquire deposits, following hits to funding bases last year.

In an increasingly cashless society, having a basic bank account ought to be an inalienable right. Instead, we have a system that deliberately prevents millions of Americans from making even the simplest transactions.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Martin Gruenberg said the agency would prioritize urging banks to invest in underserved communities as part of a revised economic inclusion plan unveiled Thursday.

The Tupelo, Mississippi, company announced a management simplification plan in which several executives, including the president and the chief financial officer, are gaining new responsibilities. Most of the changes took effect April 1.

The decision to approve the fintech's application to make 7(a) loans came nearly a month after Funding Circle's U.K.-based CEO hinted it is considering a sale of its U.S. operations, alarming some members of Congress.