Retail & Commercial

The KBW Bank Index posted a strong gain after a government report showed employers added 216,000 jobs in December. The labor market strength bodes well for lenders' credit quality but may delay highly anticipated interest rate cuts that would lower banks' funding costs.

As the CEO of First Union Bank, Crutchfield struck more than 80 deals, riding the consolidation wave of the 1980s and 1990s. When he retired, First Union was the sixth largest bank in the country.

The appointment of Lynne Biggio Herndon as chief credit officer marks the final step in the Phoenix-based bank's leadership reorganization.

In the news this week: A consumer group filed a complaint against Starbucks over its mobile app and reloadable gift cards, Apple Pay added a new payment tech firm, The Clearing House hired Amanda Stewart as its new marketing chief, and more.

Reading Cooperative Bank and Queensborough National Bank and Trust are among those that see value in being close to fintech startups.

Southern Bancorp in Little Rock, Arkansas, plans to put $250 million in equity capital it received from the Treasury Department to good use making mortgages and acquiring banks.

In comment letters to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concerning its proposed rule to allow consumers to share their banking data with third-party providers, banks worry about implementation costs while fintechs fear the rule will stymie innovation.

One of the smallest banks in the country hasn't consistently made a profit since 2007 and has been the subject of enforcement actions. The FDIC's public rebuke against it indicates a last-ditch effort to figure out a less messy solution than receivership.

In the wake of the disgraced financier's downfall, executives at JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Deutsche Bank have continued to draw the ire of federal regulators and weather millions of dollars in fines and settlement costs.

But this week the 30-year fixed rate mortgage average increased for the first time in two months.