News and Information from American Banker

From showing up authentically to understanding oxytocin, a session at this week's CAAFP held by The American College of Financial Services called into question some traditional industry approaches to planning.

A report released this week by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., shines a light on what is required of banks when high-net-worth clients engage in suspicious activity.

The latest consumer conditions study from the American Financial Services Association paints a less-than-rosy picture of how lenders expect the second half of the year to play out.

The American College of Financial Services is launching a certification program to train financial professionals on the ins and outs of donor-advised funds.

The neobank in the second quarter blew past Wall Street's expectations and posted its second quarter of GAAP profitability as its payments-centric business model continues to resonate with consumers and challenge incumbent banks.

The 3 basis point gain in the 30-year fixed comes as investors are now pricing in the likelihood of a Federal Reserve short-term rate hike in September.

Record lending drove a top-line gain on the year but one-time costs from reverse mortgage servicing sales and negative fair value changes hurt the bottom line.

The payment company's CEO says it's developing and shipping products faster despite cutting nearly half of its staff. It's a strategy he says can be replicated at other businesses.

Although many advisors choose to leave Wall Street mainstays in favor of firms offering greater independence, some find they're still most at home at another wirehouse. Just ask Todd Hatfield.

The bill, which is meant to free up housing supply locked in by high mortgage rates, does not include assumable mortgages which stick with the property.

Expanding fintech charters and workforces shrinking across the Fed, OCC, and FDIC require financial services leaders to assume the role of technical auditor to protect against systemic contagion.

The biggest barrier to effective adoption of AI within banks is not the capability of the AI systems themselves, but the failure to recognize that the technology is only as good as the underlying systems it helps automate.

Whether or not the CLARITY Act becomes law, cryptos have a problem protecting assets, and that problem is not going away.

The Trump administration is currently reviewing a soon-to-be-released proposal on consumer financial data rights.

The online lender said its national bank will become the "primary originator," displacing the banks that are lenders of record. Loan buyers keep their role.

Supporters of mutual banks are lining up behind a proposed regulatory overhaul. The Fed's plan would make it easier for depositor-owned banks to raise capital.

WTW Investments and SEI see enough of a market to develop private market offerings for U.S. defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) plans.

Having a trust bank will allow the stablecoin company to offer custody products and to have flexibility in where and how it issues its stablecoins.

The Federal Reserve governor said inflation is too high but said she ultimately voted last week to hold interest rates steady to give recent economic trends more time to play out.

It has been one year since the payments fintech launched Genius, its refreshed point-of-sale and payments platform, as a lynchpin in the company's attempted turnaround. Now, the company is looking to add more conversational AI features.

Speakers at The American College of Financial Services' CAAFP like investing legend John Rogers shed light on how people fuel long-term success in the industry.

Lifetime medical costs and ACA marketplace premiums are skyrocketing. Here's how advisors are helping clients keep their retirements on track.

Models, data and workflow are all important, but proprietary workflows create a competitive edge.

The fintech's network lets banks and fintechs share results of KYC and KYB checks, known bad-actor lists and other customer information. A key use case: helping sponsor banks monitor their fintech partners' compliance with banking regulations.

The latest in a new breed of bank competitors is Zaria, a servicer of traditional and digital asset-backed loans for institutions, which has requested a national trust bank charter from the OCC.

A new Federal Reserve Bank of Boston report shows bank lending to private credit has grown over the past decade, though insight into the opaque lending market is limited.

Congress has little time to move on the CLARITY Act before it breaks for recess. But even that bill won't ensure the future for stablecoins.

If the Federal Reserve wants to keep the U.S. dollar competitive in the 21st century it must move boldly to declare dollar-backed stablecoins equivalent to other forms of money.

Neither company would say how many patents the deal covers, whether either paid the other or whether USAA pressed its claims first.

Bond yields rose after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's second press conference last week, and bankers may have to accept higher rates as the price of a more parsimonious Fed.

Banco Santander's pending acquisition of Webster Financial got approval from the Federal Reserve Board about five months after the deal was first announced.

Brokerages are too dependent on the billions they make every year from clients' uninvested cash, industry analysts say. LPL is responding with a long-term review of its pricing.

The social media app has partnered with Cross River to manage tasks such as compliance and deposit insurance. But fintech experts say more work is needed before X can threaten traditional banks.

Big banks, including San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, are eager to defend themselves from the competitive threat posed by stablecoins, analysts say.

The remittance company and stablecoin payments platform Rain are launching Stablecard, a digital wallet and Visa secured credit card backed by Western Union's stablecoin, the U.S. Dollar Payment Token, or USDPT.

Two presentations at The American College of Financial Services' CAAFP discussed how successful careers in the industry require both technical and emotional skills.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced the launch of its Office of Supervisory appeals, which will be helmed by a panel of three officials with combined supervisory and banking experience and will review bank-led appeals of supervisory findings.

One advisor calls the expected transfer a mirage; others say it may simply unfold more slowly and require more intentional planning.

JPMorganChase, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank likely violated federal anti-money-laundering laws in connection with the finances of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a report by Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.

Opponents argued that Provident Bank, which bought Lakeland in 2024, had yet to disburse millions of dollars remaining on a mortgage subsidy fund.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins' effort to rein in the agency's bureaucrats is a welcome move. However, hundreds of firms damaged by unconstitutional prosecutions deserve public exoneration.

Looking at the competitive structure of the core-provider business illustrates why challengers have such a hard time winning business from the big three.

Consumers increasingly trust third-party AI tools nearly as much as their own bank, according to recent survey data. Industry experts lay out what banks need to do now to keep their edge.

A portfolio review initiated by BCB Bancorp's new CEO, Tom O'Brien, led to a spike in nonaccrual loans at the Bayonne, New Jersey-based bank.

The competitive and controversial leader, who will stay on the board, oversaw rapid growth but also a massive downsizing, and a notorious mass firing over Zoom.

RIA owners may feel a "moral dilemma" when considering selling their firms to private equity-backed acquirers. But that didn't prevent PE involvement from reaching a record high in M&A deals in the second quarter.

The deal bolsters Zions' ability to serve multifamily customers and creates a natural extension of its affordable housing lending program, management said.

The card network is buying behavioral fraud detection already running at three of the four largest U.S. banks, including Wells Fargo.

Trust protectors can help protect against irresponsible trustees and other dicey situations that could put grantors' wishes at risk, estate lawyers say.

In a webinar last week, Humanity Labs CEO Andrei Pop discussed "the transformative power" he said Mariner's new AI workforce will bring to the firm.

The frontier AI model provider confessed its agents broke out of their sandboxes three times to attack other companies' systems. The incidents are a warning for banks to remain vigilant while embracing the new technology.

The card network closed on a $1.8 billion deal to acquire a company that connects digital currencies and traditional money, a key bridge as more non-crypto natives embrace digital assets.

The second-largest U.S. bank provided an update to investors about the consent order issued by the OCC in 2024, saying a resolution may include monetary penalties.

Fintech founder Randy Fernando launched his latest startup, an AI-focused software provider for banks called Maximum, with $30 million in seed funding.

The Treasury's financial crime prevention arm said the Swiss firm's U.S. brokerage wing largely ignored a 2018 consent order to clean up its anti-money-laundering processes, leading to the historic settlement announced early in August.

Mark Paoletta, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's chief legal officer, has taken over as the agency's acting director. Russell Vought's term ended Aug. 1.

The investment is expected to bring a 40% increase to Chase Home Lending's mortgage capacity, with the addition of 850 new advisors, the company said.

The Fed chair attributed recent rising bond yields to a strong economy. However, investors are probably also responding to other factors, including Warsh's own comments about potential changes to inflation measures.

The neobank is the latest fintech to file a de novo trust bank charter application ahead of the GENIUS Act formally taking effect.

The CLARITY bill is still on Congress' to-do list before their summer break, but some of the more unusual provisions are causing a hold-up.

CISA's updated standard asks vendors for every component in their software, including borrowed code. Two researchers say today's tools can't produce it.

At a time of rapidly rising prices, a number of credit-card companies are offering perks for buying gas, groceries and other basic necessities. The cards represent an opportunity for issuers, but also potential pitfalls.

In line with broader trends, the GSEs have been putting new limitations on forbearance and putting more of an emphasis on mods.

A new survey found artificial intelligence was a top compliance-related priority for 85% of firms responding, while cybersecurity was only a concern for 37%.

Digital lender Chime and Visa this week became the latest firms to cite AI as part of a downsizing. While bots usually aren't directly replacing workers, machine learning changes customer access to financial products in a way that's increasingly making some work less necessary.

Fincen's Andrea Gacki will join Citi as global head of sanctions, BBVA promoted Gonzalo Rodríguez to chief financial officer, HDFC Bank penalized three senior officials for their role in a controversial deposit arrangement, and more in this week's banking news roundup.

A recipe of no securities, mostly adjustable-rate loans and a cheap rural deposit base made the Texas bank the top performer in the $2 billion-$10 billion asset class.

"Increase Bank is the bank I needed at Stripe," CEO Darragh Buckley said as he announced the rebrand of a community bank he acquired last year.

LPL saw its net income swell while considering price changes meant to lower payouts on client assets.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking for the Community Reinvestment Act that would tailor requirements for smaller institutions and monitor which groups receive community development grants.

The Federal Reserve is mulling changes to its Regulation O that would allow executives, board members and major shareholders to borrow more from their own banks.

In a new paradigm of anti-money-laundering compliance, success increasingly depends not on obtaining information faster, but on recognizing when machine-generated intelligence should not be trusted.

As a vote to invoke cloture on the CLARITY Act looms in the Senate, lawmakers are considering how and whether to offer banks' preferred language on stablecoin yield on the Senate floor.

JPMorganChase has recently teamed up with Ohio State, and SoFi has partnered with Notre Dame, in big-money deals that weren't allowed before this year.

Coastal Financial in Everett, Washington, is reshuffling its management team and abandoning an expansion plan. On Thursday, the bank reported a nearly $69 million credit expense sparked by a fintech partner's deteriorating financial condition.

Charitable remainder annuity trusts can be helpful, but advisors should be careful to follow new guidance issued by the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department.

The central bank banned two former bankers from the industry for misappropriating funds from elderly customers.

The American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association submitted comment letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission arguing that a proposed change to Form S-3 eligibility would make it more difficult for some banks to access the capital markets.

Prashant Mehrotra says he runs AI use case ideas through a disciplined framework before proceeding.

SEC data compiled by Paithos Research suggests that the massive growth of RIAs looks much different when compared to their small net new clients.

The mortgage technology unit of Intercontinental Exchange reported a return to profitability in the second quarter, as revenues continued their recent rise.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage is at its highest point in 51 weeks with a divergence in forecasts for what happens between now and the end of the year.

Banks, fintechs and card networks are vying for a share of revenue from the new form of artificial intelligence. Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach contends his firm has the tools in place and a product pipeline to take advantage.

Digital currency can be tracked and if stolen "burned," then reminted and given back to its rightful owners. That could be a powerful anti-fraud tool.

Community banks have long been reliant on — and constrained by — a handful of core-banking technology vendors. But enterprise artificial intelligence licenses offer the chance to transcend those limitations.

Prosecutors say a Bronx crew recruited homeless people and walked them into branches to open accounts. The controls it beat were mostly human ones, standing at a branch counter.

Banks that are new to the Texas market are pricing loans very aggressively, according to senior leaders at Houston-based Prosperity Bancshares.

By coordinating with a client's other financial professionals, such as lawyers and accountants, financial advisors have the potential to deliver even more value.

Summer meetings might pose a scheduling challenge, but financial advisors could help clients avoid costly mistakes by guiding them away from the common bias in a midyear meeting.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh acknowledged that his limited guidance might have been a factor in rising market rates, but said whatever increased volatility can be attributed to the changes is more than offset by the benefit of a more nimble central bank.

The lender reported a 40% increase in net revenue, but operating expenses and an uncertain interest rate environment held it back from increasing outlooks.

The Los Angeles-based regional lender reported a quarterly net loss of $251.3 million, driven by a balance-sheet restructuring that included the sale of securities and certain commercial real estate loans.

Industry lawyers and recruiters share the key steps bank-based advisors can take to avoid litigation or lower legal exposure when moving clients to a new firm.

As consumers get more comfortable with the technology, they will want multiple checkout options beyond cards, creating a need for more digital wallets and account-to-account rails.

The technology giant's patents, which were built for banks and credit unions, will enhance the USDC issuer's intellectual property as more banks enter the stablecoin market.

Rather than replacing bankers, artificial intelligence is likely to amplify their impact: strengths as well as weaknesses. This makes investing in employee development more important than ever.

Dallas-based Texas Capital Bank will try for a second time to win shareholder support to switch its state of incorporation from Delaware to the Lone Star State, according to CEO Rob Holmes. If it succeeds, it will join a growing list of companies choosing the same path.

A 76-year-old PNC customer lost almost $400,000 to a scam involving gold coins and a fake bill for Norton Antivirus protection. Can the bank be held accountable for failing to help him?

The card network is cutting 7% of its staff, with management saying artificial intelligence-driven efficiency and faster technology development is part of the reason.