Retail & Commercial

The Mortgage Bankers Association now predicts a Federal Reserve rate hike to arrive in 2027, as housing price growth also slows over the next two years.

Sens. Ed Markey and Ron Wyden argue that the Small Business Administration neglected to warn small firms of the risks of merchant cash advances and closed off a key "escape route" from the resulting debts.

In a move seen to bolster his 2028 presidential run, California Governor Gavin Newsom named Rohit Chopra, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to lead a new oversight agency; a Pine Bluff, Arkansas, bank employee was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for bank theft; a Fairfax, Virginia, security administrator has been charged with allegedly stealing more than $6.6 million from his employer; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The Mississippi lender's pending acquisition of OFB Bancshares, the parent company of One Florida Bank, offers an entry point into the fast-growing Orlando market.

Fund managers are seeking to change the way banks think about Community Reinvestment Act investing.

Given new government rules on payment processing, giants like Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo would benefit immensely from acquiring proprietary debit card networks. Why they haven't done so already is a mystery.

Every business needs a competitive advantage. But for banks their core product, money, is by definition commoditized. So where do banks find an advantage?

Unlike several other large banks, neither Citi nor Citizens Financial Group is interested in expanding their retail branch presence beyond their existing footprints. Both say they see plenty of growth opportunities in those markets.

The neobank put its multi-use card in the hands of even more consumers in the first quarter, reaching 5 million users. That has resulted in increased membership fees and average revenue per consumer compared with non-card-wielding customers.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. waived through the Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler manufacturer's application to conduct banking activities. While banks have opposed ILCs in the past, other charters pose more pressing competitive threats at the moment.