Retail & Commercial

Despite declining foot traffic, consumers still say they want access to a branch, and credit unions can make these spaces attractive with new twists.

Sensing a profitable opportunity in an underserved market, a variety of companies — ranging from traditional banks to fintech startups and even Amazon — are rushing into selling secured credit cards and other products designed for consumers with poor or thin credit.

Installment payments are catching on quickly with merchants and their customers, creating a fierce competition among rivals who are building competing technology and business models to approach the new market.

Lawmakers have just three weeks before their August recess to make a host of decisions on issues related to credit unions.

SunTrust, the lender merging with BB&T, said it won't provide future financing to companies that manage private prisons and immigration holding facilities.

Community banks need to focus more on how their employees talk about the bank and less on new competition moving in.

The bank will reduce its footprint to its German roots; U.S. banks are offering cash bonuses to keep customers from fleeing to higher-yielding accounts.

These programs are allowed in a majority of states, but only a small portion of credit unions offer them. That may change as the need for deposits grows and consumer expectations shift.

Much as the fintech wave has sparked investments and deal-making among legacy bank technology vendors and payment processors, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax are entering partnerships and making investments.

Questioning whether core-banking technology is nearing a 'big shake-up'; Capital One keeps closing branches, even as rivals open them; FASB chair defends CECL, saying 'the benefits justify the cost'; and more from this week's most-read stories.