Retail & Commercial

The mortgage giants were criticized earlier this month for a plan to charge an "adverse market fee" to protect against losses resulting from the pandemic.

Afterpay has entered into an agreement with NBQ Corporate SLU to acquire Pagantis SAU and PMT Technology SLU for €50 million (about $59 million) to expand into France, Italy and Spain — a direct challenge to Klarna, one of the dominant European buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers.

The former SoFi chief’s latest startup, Figure, has created what it says is a transparent marketplace for buying and selling assets. Some banks have embraced the technology, but other blockchain projects have stalled because lenders don't want rivals to see their data.

The company will offer retail installment loans up to $40,000 through a partnership with Mastercard's Vyze unit.

The product, which is also aimed at community banks, includes a "take-back" option that allows consumers to withdraw extra funds they've paid that go beyond their monthly scheduled mortgage payment.

The $18.8 billion in net income was 70% less than a year earlier as the uncertain economic picture and new accounting rules drove a sharp rise in provisions for future losses.

If Congress wants to provide better access to banking services for low-income and rural Americans, it would be wise to consider financial services partners that operate under a not-for-profit model.

Whether the number of deals for 2020 can come close to last year's record-setting level will come down to one question: Can community banks generate strong enough profits in the second half to justify their independence?

The bank — which said it has been upgrading its loan operations platform after a review it undertook last year — said it mistakenly transmitted the payments after an employee didn't manually select the correct system options in its loan operation software.

Whether the number of deals for 2020 can come close to last year's record-setting level will come down to one question: Can community banks generate strong enough profits in the second half to justify their independence?