Bank technology

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice on Tuesday released guidelines for the implementation of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, prompting some industry skepticism as well as renewed privacy concerns.

Gary McAlum, USAA's top security executive, discusses what he sees as a false choice between security and convenience, his company's progress in getting users to adopt biometric authentication, and the need for a holistic approach to security.

A senior Bank of America tech executive has migrated about 20 blocks south in New York (from Bryant Park to Madison Square Park) and into a very different world, offering platform-as-a-service to banks and other customers.

SunTrust is turning to fintech to help it provide better payments solutions to its business customers. The approach is novel because so much of fintech innovation centers on overhauling retail banking.

For the second year of their Financial Solutions Lab competition, the Center for Financial Services Innovation and JPMorgan Chase are looking for companies that would help people prepare for and weather financial shocks.

Community bank executives need to focus on these three areas in order to embrace change and cater to younger, tech-savvy customers.

Bank of Missouri knew that using new technology was important in making its business processes more efficient. But its IT team also knew that it had to get buy-in from the employees actually completing the steps as well to see real results.

Bank of Prairie Village in Kansas went through a core conversion last year. Its chairman hopes that his sons, who are set to take over the bank eventually, won't be afraid to embrace new technology since they've experienced the scariest of all bank IT projects.

Banks' in-house venture funds tend to favor mature fintech companies, but BBVA's establishment of an outside fund should help the bank get in on the ground floor with early-stage companies.

A cybercrime ring that reportedly stole $1 billion from banks around the world last year is back, using different tactics. For one thing, it's more often going after banks' corporate customers, making its activities harder for banks to detect.

Inspired by marketplace lenders, Live Oak Bancshares created a largely digital product that can make a credit decision on a small-business loan within 48 hours. The product, which combines human decision-making and automated credit scoring, could go national as early as next year.

U.S. Bancorp has hired John Steward as president of its retail payments solutions division.

Disruption in credit scoring is healthy, but the new models touted by marketplace and other alternative lenders are still untested, especially about how loans will perform in a downturn.

The Madrid-based bank announced Thursday that it will invest $250 million in Propel Venture Partners.

Lending Club reported record earnings in the fourth quarter thanks to soaring loan demand.

Frandsen Financial took the industry's plan to allow faster payments as a call to action. It invested in automation software, which allowed employees previously bogged down with manual tasks to focus on more meaningful duties.

Rather than replace aging servers and add an on-site backup system, The Eastern Colorado Bank moved its IT infrastructure to the cloud. While some bankers fear outsourcing such systems, the community bank has had a hosted core for several years.

Banks are coming up short in trying to keep pace with other more advanced app providers, but emulating these five steps taken by nonbanks can help drive mobile engagement.

Several big banks have promised their customers cardless ATMs this year, but customers of the $1.2 billion-asset Avidia have been able to get cash without taking out their cards since last summer.

Orrstown Bank launched several innovative Web initiatives in 2015, including a SMS two-way texting platform and a Zillow-like feature that displays housing listings on its Web presence.