Retail & Commercial

The San Antonio bank says it will open 17 new financial centers in the Austin region by 2026. It's the latest step in a physical expansion strategy that has led to dozens of new branches in Houston and Dallas.

Wells Fargo leads $70 million funding effort targeting credit-challenged entrepreneurs; PayPal adds Tap to Pay for Venmo, Zettle; Amex names new CFO to succeed retiring veteran finance chief and more in this week's banking news roundup.

CCFNB Bancorp and Muncy Bank Financial, which said they were combining forces in April, have opted for a bigger rebrand.

With LIBOR's long-awaited sunset, the future of interest rate benchmarking must be defined by choice.

Some pandemic-related gains have been ceded to depositories, national numbers from last year's Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting confirm.

PeoplesBank in Massachusetts and others have developed digital brands that cater to younger customers' demands for smoother technology and mobile experiences.

In June's roundup of American Banker's favorite stories: Attempts to steal consumer data target a growing number of banks, credit unions secure deposits outflowing from other financial institutions, Citizens recruits 50 former private banking employees of First Republic and more.

Banks are simultaneously looking to shed their obligations under laws like the Community Reinvestment Act and begging the government for more support in the form of higher deposit insurance limits.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, challenged the idea that credit card late fees serve as a deterrent to delinquency, instead saying issuers told her office that some of them earn tens of millions of dollars collecting late fees.

Under a 2-year-old program, homebuyers receive grants of up to $5,000 for down payments and closing costs. JPMorgan Chase said the latest expansion — to some new 3,000 census tracts in 16 U.S. markets — may help an additional 1,000 customers obtain mortgages.