Banking

The company has agreed to buy Preferred Bancshares in a deal set to close by mid-2019.

The company's expansion into new business lines could help offset recent declines in loan volume.

Flaws in testing may be real source of Wells Fargo's tech failure; BB&T-SunTrust deal throws talent and deposits up for grabs, threatens banking's middle tier; what JPMorgan Chase's JPM Coin means for Ripple and Swift; and more from this week's most-read stories.

"You can't meet customers at the headquarters," CEO Kevin Cummings tells his senior executives.

Credit unions tout their readiness to assist with a variety of life stages, but a loan product for one of the most difficult potential life experiences is virtually nowhere to be found.

HomeStreet Bank will attempt to sell its stand-alone mortgage business and portfolio of servicing rights, a move that comes amid growing pressure from an activist investor to exit home lending and concerns about declining demand and regulatory challenges.

The Small Business Administration should consider partnering with fintechs, which have the capacity to approve loans quickly, to help avoid the kind of application backlog the agency faced after the last government shutdown.

Katrina Skinner is set to take the helm permanently at Safe Harbor Services, a credit union service organization for financial institutions serving the legal marijuana industry.

The JPM Coin will be used to expedite payments transfers for its corporate clients; customers of Spain’s largest retail bank will be able to withdraw cash without entering a PIN.

The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web. Today: Amazon gains bank support in India; Facial recognition for ATMs in Spain; ATMs are declining in the U.K.; UATP and Conferma Pay offer virtual pay for flights.

They all agree that legislation is needed, but the two approaches being offered are exposing tensions.

The government-sponsored enterprises are going through a transition period. From proposals for rebuilding their capital cushions to tackling shortages in affordable housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a number of key challenges with wide-ranging consequences this year.

A group of state regulators has signed off on 14 recommendations, developed by the fintech industry, aimed at streamlining multistate licensing and supervision.

JPMorgan is prototyping its own digital currency to be used for cross-border payments and, later, other purposes. Will banks find this a palatable alternative to today's most well-known options?

Criticism of the National Credit Union Administration is unwarranted given the myriad of abuses banks commit.

While proponents contend the model could help reach the underbanked, there remain many arguments against it.

Regulators should clarify rules around deposit-advance products so that banks can serve consumers seeking short-term loans, like those affected by the recent partial closing of the government.

Since the collapse of IndyMac in 2008, the agency has frequently helped to shield depositors over the $250,000 insurance limit from losses. But it’s a policy that was never formalized, and it remains to be seen whether the agency’s new head, Jelena McWilliams, will follow it.

The time regulators take to decide on prospective deals has dropped sharply; a report says the cyberthieves were looking for info to help recruit spies.

Barclays, BMO, Citibank, Goldman Sachs and ING contributed to the online student lender, which last year made over $1 billion in loans.