Retail & Commercial

RBS Citizens Financial Group is expanding its private student loans business across the contiguous United States, the company announced on Tuesday.

MetroCorp Bancshares (MCBI) in Houston has commenced a public stock offering to raise $40 million of common equity.

One drawback with most envelope-free automated teller machines is that checks and cash have to be deposited separately, but that could soon change for customers of Fifth Third Bank (FITB).

Banks are facing a Wild West atmosphere as they invest in a patchwork of new payments technologies, from prepaid cards to mobile payments, without any guarantees that they will pick the right one.

At least two bank advisory firms are structuring pools of nonperforming assets for community banks. The pools give the sellers a better chance of attracting buyers, who generally prefer buying assets in bigger lots.

Some 15 years after the first EMV chip cards appeared, less than half of all payment cards worldwide conform to the EMV chip card standard, underscoring the slow, gradual speed EMV card deployments generally require.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will give its next update on the health of the banking industry on May 24.

On the whole, large banks appear to have primed their books for a rebound in rates: levels of short-term assets relative to short-term liabilities are now higher than they have been during roughly the past decade. The postures of individual institutions vary widely, however.

The mobile payments venture Isis has already signed some major banking companies to its smartphone-based payment system. Its newly announced merchant roster likewise features big-name participants.

Grand Bankshares in West Palm Beach, Fla., has been ordered by the Federal Reserve Board to serve as a source of strength for its struggling bank subsidiary.