Retail & Commercial

The agencies are weighing a plan to reduce the scope of residential real estate transactions requiring an appraisal, but appraisers have warned that the proposal could have consequences.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency advanced the ball last year by collecting public feedback on modernizing the law, but all three federal bank regulators will have to reach consensus on a formal proposal.

Bob Mahoney, CEO of Belmont Savings, called Jack Barnes after People's United agreed to buy a Connecticut bank. The banks announced their own merger agreement five months later.

The advent of self-service apps has reduced the frequency of customer-employee interactions at banks, but that just makes face-to-face time all the more valuable.

By adopting faster payments, businesses have more flexibility to make last-minute payments and emergency payrolls, or gain a larger window for early-payment discounts.

Despite strong performance in the industry overall, analysts expect regulators to shutter more institutions in the years ahead.

Bank portfolios are chock full of loans to industries — think agriculture, tourism, real estate and energy — that could be particularly hard hit by warming temperatures. Some large banks are engaging in "scenario analysis" to mitigate the risk.

Banks need to stake out a presence on platforms that have nothing to do with banking.

A partnership between the mobile carrier and BankMobile could help stripped-down banking and deposit transfer services find a footing among U.S. customers.

A smooth integration of Access National could allow John Asbury, CEO of Union Bankshares, to move a step closer to building a regional franchise that stretches from Baltimore to Hampton Roads.