Banking

Affirm partners with Sixth Street to sell its buy now/pay later loans to the investment firm; Associated Banc-Corp promotes Steven Zandpour to deputy head of consumer and business banking; Visa Direct speeds up its money transfers; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The bank said it redeployed proceeds from the sale into high-yielding investments. It also said it would end an employee pension plan to curb expenses.

A close result was complicated by an hour-long adjournment of the New York-based company's annual meeting that angered dissident investors and left them mulling legal action.

The Canadian bank received approval from the Federal Reserve to increase its ownership stake in KeyCorp to up to 14.9%. The investment is expected to close by the end of this month.

The post-pandemic increase in consumers falling behind on their credit card bills seems to be tapering off. "For 2025, we're seeing a lot of stability in delinquencies," an industry researcher said.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule that would allow banks to either charge $5 for overdraft fees. Alternatively they can charge a courtesy fee to cover costs, or charge higher fees but send annual percentage rate disclosures to the consumer. Bank trade groups sued the bureau to stop the rule.

Orange Bank and Trust in Middletown says it will operate as a boutique commercial bank, focusing on small business, nonprofits and the borough's sizzling housing construction market.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Q3 Quarterly Banking Profile report highlighted net bank income falling 8.6%, but also showed slow delinquency growth in commercial real estate and core income metrics improving across the banking sector.

Banks that don't focus on credit cards for this market may find larger banks and fintechs are eating their lunch.

About $2 billion changes hands daily for the sale of new motor vehicles in the U.S., making auto dealers a prime use case for faster payments. So why aren't more using it?

The bank has hired an advisory firm to assess a potential sale, a capital raise or a strategic partnership after a prior merger fell through.

Misconceptions about the risks of private credit must not be allowed to affect important policy decisions about an industry that provides vital support to a vast swath of the American economy.

Institutions like BMO Financial Group and Bank of Nova Scotia saw earnings bogged down by increased loan loss provisions and higher tax rates.

A slower rate of price increases would boost the likelihood of an interest-rate cut that could expand loan demand and lower banks' deposit costs. A higher pace of inflation, however, could derail those catalysts.

The Honolulu-based bank is taking a $19.7 million pretax loss to rid its balance sheet of low-yielding investments. It joined a parade of banks that have made similar moves.

The industry should rally behind the Financial Data Exchange, which has stepped up to help develop standards and governance protocols for open banking in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman wrote that trade groups that sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earlier this year "are likely to succeed on the merits" of the case.

Banking South Korean companies has become a major pillar of the Los Angeles-based Hanmi's balance sheet, with a portfolio of loans approaching $1 billion.