Retail & Commercial

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.

Several bankers left a high-profile meeting with the Financial Accounting Standards Board feeling more comfortable with a plan to change reserve accounting. The meeting was thrown into an abrupt recess after a FASB director and a bank lobbyist clashed over recent statements by FASB's chairman linking community banks to the financial crisis.

The House passed a bill Thursday 250-169 that would limit regulators' ability to force banks to cut ties with certain businesses despite Democratic fears that it could hamstring the Justice Department's ability to prosecute bankers responsible for the financial crisis.

Developers will now be able to access much of Visa's technology and services as the card network looks for ways to meet the demands of consumers increasingly relying on connected devices to transact.

Rather than partner with a startup, 45-year-old Equitable Bank in Canada created a separate brand, EQ Bank, to acquire customers who are ready for an account without a debit card.

Financial companies from SunTrust to SoFi will be advertising in Sunday's game — a rare sight in recent years — despite the estimate $5 million price tag.

A number of bankers used quarterly earnings calls to assure investors that they are carefully monitoring their exposure to commercial real estate at a time when regulators are expressed concern about eroding underwriting standards.

First Resource Bank in Exton, Pa., has received federal regulatory approval to exit the Small Business Lending Fund program.

The CFPB stepped up efforts Wednesday to encourage banks to offer simple checking and savings accounts, but many institutions said they are already taking steps to try to reach the underbanked.

Home sellers realized an average price gain since purchase of 11% ($20,378) last year, the biggest average price gain since 2007, according to RealtyTrac's Year-End 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report.