Retail & Commercial

The Senate Banking Committee met Wednesday to review central bank lending facilities such as the Main Street Lending Program, which provides bank-issued loans to middle-market firms. But some lawmakers on the panel said the focus of pandemic relief has been misplaced.

The bank's innovation group has developed a software tool for law firms. It hopes the project will help it speed products to market and attract top technology talent.

The industry saw small gains in many loan categories during the second quarter, but credit cards declined. A new study from WalletHub shows the biggest quarterly drop in credit card balances in over 30 years.

A pandemic-driven surge in bank deposits helped drive the agency's insurance reserves below their statutory minimum.

The final version of the amended rule, like the original proposal, makes fair-lending claims tougher to prove. But it does soften language that otherwise might have allowed mortgage companies to use algorithms to prove nondiscrimination.

Bank of Montreal's top executive says it's a "myth" that his company's commercial lending business is taking big risks and argues the bank will come through the recession with fewer loan losses than rivals.

Bankers and fintech executives want lawmakers returning to Washington to focus on streamlined forgiveness and a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses.

Only one of the 118 loans bought by the Federal Reserve through Aug. 31 was close to the $250,000 minimum in the rescue program, aimed small to midsize businesses hurt by the pandemic.

Bank of America announced how it plans to spend a third of its $1 billion commitment to address racial and economic inequities and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in communities of color.

The fintech and the Minnesota bank it acquired last week, renamed Mid-Central National Bank, intend to pioneer a new method of storing and moving money for consumers.