Retail & Commercial

Readers react to Mick Mulvaney’s proposal to restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, opine on Community Reinvestment Act reform ideas, weigh in on emojis in digital banking and more.

Millennium Bank in Tennessee has quickened approval times on loan applications by using software that frees lenders from repetitive, manual tasks. The result: Loan balances have increased by more than 50% in less than two years.

KS Bancorp, which is trying to avoid a hostile takeover, may be facing a skirmish with an activist investor over one of its board seats.

Community banks are slowly warming up to the pricey technology to reduce their reliance on branches, speed up transactions and provide convenience for customers.

Research and consumer surveys aren’t the only tools to help banks understand what they need to do. Friends of executives can provide honest feedback as regular customers.

The agency’s acting director uses a reply letter to the senator not to answer her questions but to underscore that Congress lacks the ability to compel answers to such questions.

In addition to his highly publicized comments on trade and other political issues, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase used his annual letter to underscore the importance of job training for low-wage workers and call attention to an FDIC proposal that encourages banks to hire workers who have been convicted of minor crimes.

Online account opening and facial recognition features on mobile apps are among the technologies the bank intends to introduce or improve upon this year, CEO Jamie Dimon wrote in his yearly shareholder letter.

Traditional financial institutions would gain from adopting the innovative, consumer-focused mindset Amazon promotes. Hiring executives away from the e-commerce giant could help.

The San Diego company said the deal will bring in low-cost deposits and create a new source of fee income.