Banking

Bank of America plans to provide a premium package that includes speaking directly to analysts, attending conferences and meeting senior executives of major companies and policymakers.

Culture is key at Washington Trust, as it is at many of the 75 banks in our Best Banks to Work For rankings. Having a custom word to describe its community-oriented philosophy helps fuel conversations about it, and letting employees personalize the meaning (no scripts here) fuels a sense of empowerment and enthusiasm.

Nearly all branches in storm-affected areas were still closed a week after New Orleans' levees broke, but regulators and bankers went to work opening new emergency branches and taking other steps to get institutions operating again.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said his possible political ambitions did not affect the small-dollar rule, while declining to spell out if he was running for office.

The Pay It Plan It feature allows customers to create payment plans for individual purchases, similar to personal loans. The plans include a fixed fee and no interest.

The agency has a relatively new program designed to quickly get funds into disaster-stricken areas. The problem is that many bankers don't know it exists.

As Republicans policymakers pursue efforts to revamp the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and replace its leadership, state agencies are already preparing to fill any vacuum that might ensue if the CFPB steps back.

First Tennessee took a leap of faith to hire a young digital services company for its overhaul of mobile and online operations, and it says its decision has paid off.

By eliminating the friction of a cardless ATM, the utility value of the mobile wallet has just increased by an order of magnitude, writes Dan McKinney, co-founder and chief marketing officer at Finxact.

Big banks’ power and influence in Washington ensures that their interests are front and center. But they should spend more of their money on programs and services that engender trust with customers.

Following short-term disruptions from Harvey, Texas bankers expect a long-term lift to the local economy; Buffett’s company officially becomes the bank’s largest shareholder.

Welcome to the PaymentsSource Morning Briefing, delivered daily. The information you need to start your day, including top headlines from PaymentsSource and around the Web. Today: Apple partners to grow payments in China; Digiliti turns down offer; Singapore to form QR standards; Visa seeks mobile adoption in UAE.

Sure, personal loans have a long way to go to catch up in market share with other forms of consumer credit, but millennials are relying more heavily on them than their Gen X predecessors while paring back on credit cards and mortgages. Online lenders are a big reason, and banks are exploring ways to adjust to changing habits.

The Canadian bank blamed flat profits at its U.S. business, which includes Chicago-based lender BMO Harris Bank, partly on Washington gridlock that has stalled pro-business reforms.

Here’s a community bank that is growing goodwill with local residents — literally. The staff at an Independence Bank branch in Hopkins County, Ky., tends an acre of farmland before and after work, with their crops going to help feed the needy.

His Berkshire Hathaway exercised 6-year-old warrants to buy 700 million shares at an $11.5 billion discount.

The startup, which offered credit lines of up to $1,000, hoped to tap into the millennial generation's frustration with overdraft fees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s likely decision to pare back its final rule on small-dollar lending may help guard it against a congressional rollback and pave the way for bankers to return to the space.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, wrote a letter to CFPB Director Richard Cordray calling on him to clarify whether he is running for political office.

Can the internet giants peek at bank data, or eavesdrop on conversations with customers, sent over their gadgets? Here are the facts and the fuzzy areas.