Bank technology

Bank of Nova Scotia's online platform will introduce its first credit card Tuesday, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

An initiative underway at Freddie Mac seeks to integrate new and existing technology to create a comprehensive suite of quality control tools designed to help lenders manage their mortgage repurchase risks.

The New York State Department of Financial Services on Monday gave a third virtual currency company the green light to begin operations in the state.

Swift CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt talks about how the global messaging network is looking to stay relevant to its bank members; the potential and limitations of blockchain technology; and his views on the startups looking to disrupt banking.

A California company called NEFT wants to provide the online meeting place where debt-laden borrowers get together with lenders and credit bureaus to negotiate repayment plans. Backed by some prominent investors, NEFT says it offers carrots to get all the parties to participate.

Kabbage is one of many nonbank lenders looking to partner with traditional financial institutions. But the firm is facing a tough sell with bankers who worry about the risks associated with ceding control of the loan-underwriting process.

Hackers did not steal banking or payments data from Experian, but they might as well have. Breaches like the one sustained at the company call into question the entire system of identification that banks rely on to open accounts and conduct other everyday business.

Compared with other recent breaches, the theft of 6,400 user email addresses and passwords on the American Bankers Association's website might seem like small potatoes. But experts said the attack — the first in the association's history — was still significant and could have implications for banks.

"Pricing will have to be changed," American Banker declared in 1977, "to help motivate banks to start such programs with their own customers."

While large banks are risk-averse, conformist and bureaucratic, marketplace lenders are inspiring the best and the brightest with their high-energy cultures.