Bank technology

From exposés of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's wrangling with auto lenders to analyses of the banks' technological experimentation and retooling, these are American Banker's most popular stories of 2015.

A lot of bank boards have a big knowledge gap when it comes to technology. A recent Accenture study found that, of 109 large banks globally, more than 40% did not have a single board member with a technology background. And the situation is even more worrisome at small banks.

The blockchain could move from testing to reality, APIs are likely to expand, and more functions will move to the cloud as banks look for ways to fend off fintechs in 2016.

Banks claim bandwidth and security concerns led to interruptions for personal finance apps, but institutions still resist a more secure and efficient portal.

After defeating an expert in Japanese chess, this computer program's next task is to figure out if you can make the payments on a new mortgage.

The 10 most popular BankThink posts of 2015, based on audience page views.

Opportunities abound, in affordable housing, capital raising, consumer lending and more. We aim to get you thinking about how new developments on many fronts could affect your business as you plan for the coming year and beyond.

As debt collection abuse cases rise in prominence and regulators ponder new rules, it's time to give the idea of a national debt registry a closer look.

Relations between banks and providers of personal financial management tools have soured of late amid reports that some banks block PFM sites' access to their customers' information during peak traffic periods. Aggregators say they are working to address banks' concerns, but they also are urging banks to invest in more server capacity to keep pace with customer demand.

Several organizations, such as Swift and The Clearing House, announced faster payments initiatives this year. Those initiatives will likely play critical roles in 2016 in helping the Fed plot ways to modernize the U.S. payments system.