Retail & Commercial

Holders of the card, issued by Synchrony Financial, receive 3% cash back on medical visits, veterinarian bills, gym fees and certain other health-related expenses.

Despite spending billions, many banks fail to deliver on the human aspects of the customer experience that deepen relationships and drive customers into action.

New research from American Banker and Monigle reveals which banks, credit unions and challenger banks are turning customers into fans — and which ones have work to do.

Cypress Bank & Trust is poised to open in Palm Beach, and longtime banker Stephen Gordon just launched Genesis Bank in Newport Beach. Meanwhile, two more groups have filed for de novos in August, bringing the list of pending applications nationally to 16.

Financial institutions will have until early October to weigh in about new risk-based capital requirements for nonbanks.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Housing Finance Agency, which supervises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, formed a pact to share information and coordinate investigations of potential fair-lending violations.

The billionaire entrepreneur, Dallas Mavericks owner and "Shark Tank" co-host has always been outspoken. In a recent interview, he shared his thoughts on the shortcomings of the Paycheck Protection Program, the problem with bank consolidation and the future of cryptocurrency.

Three credit unions have announced deals to acquire community banks in the past week. The latest is the Wisconsin-based Royal, which is buying the $441 million-asset Lake Area Bank.

Board diversity is one of the reasons that credit unions outperform banks in hiring women for the role of chief executive. “It starts at the top," says Jan Page, president and CEO of Community South Credit Union in Florida.

The agency developed measures taking effect Aug. 31 that, among other things, will allow lenders to prioritize foreclosures of the most impaired loans and then focus on modifying salvageable ones.