Retail & Commercial

Banks that are heavily involved in commercial real estate lending may shy away from buying institutions with similar concentrations.

A federal regulatory plan detailing how to unwind a failing uninsured national bank provides some tantalizing clues for how the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency may craft a charter for fintech companies.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

A relatively soft summer for the banking industry softened even more in August, sending American Banker's Index of Banking Activity (IBA) to its lowest level since January.

The IBA Composite Index dipped to 53.2 in August from a 55.4 reading in July. The August reading is the second-lowest since the IBA was launched in 2012, topping only the 52.7 level posted in January of this year.

Nearly every one of the IBA's components linked to the lending business gave up ground in the month. Components that track loan applications and approvals moved lower both on the consumer and commercial sides of the business and barely held above the 50-point mark. (The IBA is a diffusion index and scores above 50 indicate expansion.)

Also noteworthy in the August data was a sharp decline in respondents' local business conditions. The score for that component, which has not flashed a contraction in the history of the index, fell to 51.0 from 56.5 in the month.

The IBA has now posted three consecutive relatively tepid scores. September's survey could resolve whether those reflect a seasonal swoon or the start of a more challenging period for the industry.

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Mixed messaging on fin tech doesn't just emanate from the halls of Congress. It can also be found at the regulatory level as well.

Unity Bancorp in Clinton, N.J., has registered to sell up to $50 million in securities over time.

The $5 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that due to market demand it increased the principal amount of the fixed-to-floating subordinated notes from $75 million to $100 million.

Nicolet Bankshares in Green Bay, Wis., plans to close six branches later this year following its acquisition of Baylake in Sturgeon Bay.

F.N.B. Corp. in Pittsburgh has selected more executives from Yadkin Financial in Raleigh, N.C., to take on leadership roles for its new markets in the Carolinas.

The scorcher at Wells is giving some community bankers an opening to differentiate themselves from larger institutions that seem fee-dependent or "too big to manage."