Retail & Commercial

Branches are being closed at a record pace because of mergers and financial reasons. If a closed branch is in a good location and meets certain other conditions, it can represent a low-cost way for a community bank to expand.

The Dallas company, which has been in transformation mode for three years, recently took a series of actions to try to meet the profitability targets it set for itself.

The Minneapolis-based banking giant is enjoying its biggest year ever for 7(a) lending, with volume up 40%, as borrowers "are still coming to us," its SBA chief said.

After hikes pinched profits across the industry, a move in the opposite direction could be the start of a more promising trend. But bankers caution that the immediate effects of a September rate cut figure to be small.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to protect borrowers from unscrupulous loan servicers. The goal is laudable, but the agency's methods are misguided.

Prophecies about a wave of bank failures caused by sickly CRE loans haven't yet come true. But there are still plenty of caution signs in a saga that will take years to play out.

The inquiry, which is focusing on the nation's four largest airlines, aims to protect consumers from potentially unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive practices.

The deal to buy the First of Long Island Corp. would create a $14 billion-asset bank with $11 billion of both loans and deposits.

A survey of 135 financial services companies conducted by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a subsidiary of LexisNexis, found that a vast majority reported increased levels of fraud in 2023.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said some non-profit hospitals are failing to provide assistance to low-income consumers, while landlords may be illegally charging fees to pay rent through online portals.