Retail & Commercial

Citibank and the online marketplace lender Lending Club, with the help of Varadero Capital, will provide $150 million in loans geared toward fulfilling Citi's community reinvestment obligations.

Wells Fargo & Co., the most valuable U.S. bank, said low interest rates pushed first-quarter lending margins below 3 percent for the first time since the 1990s.

Sound Financial Bancorp in Seattle has selected a former Fannie Mae executive to join its board.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest U.S. bank, said first-quarter profit climbed 12 percent on rising revenue from fixed-income trading.

Even small U.S. banks can end up doing business with institutions all across the world, but here are some jurisdictions were doing so is either outright forbidden or requires additional scrutiny.

MBank in Gresham, Ore., has decided to cease providing banking services to the marijuana industry, just one year after it began serving such clients.

General Electric's plan to sell most of its financing arm has been hailed as a sign that financial reform is successfully persuading "too big to fail" firms to break up. But the end of GE Capital just means that the conglomerates left standing are even more homogeneous and risk-prone.

When Apple releases its smartwatch next week, there will be apps available from at least five banks — and four of them are community banks. Bankers see the apps as a way to get in early on a new platform, make banking more convenient and drive digital engagement.

Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., said Monday that first-quarter profits fell 5% from a year earlier, to $61.1 million, as net interest income fell and expenses rose.

Local governments have historically relied on selling bonds to finance operations. But low interest rates and the rising costs of taking bond issues public are making traditional loans a more tempting option.