Banking

The auto lender is selling its credit card business and halting new mortgage loans, abandoning its once-broader ambitions. Ally CEO touted the move as "the power of focus."

Mercantile Bank Corp. in Grand Rapids achieved a 20% increase in deposits in 2024, an amount that was ample enough to fund robust loan growth and scale back reliance on costlier wholesale funding.

The New York Department of Financial Services has proposed several changes to overdraft fees including banning banks from charging more than three overdraft or nonsufficient funds fees per consumer per day.

The Dallas-based company expects average loan growth to be flat to up 1% from 2024, driven by the ongoing payoffs of commercial real estate loans, executives said.

Frontwave Credit Union said it would acquire Community Valley Bank in a deal that would expand its footprint in San Diego and nearby counties. It comes on the heels of a record year for CU-bank combinations.

CEO Richard Fairbank told analysts executives have their "microscopes" out for any signs of trouble, but consumers remain "in a great place."

The Cleveland-based parent company of KeyBank is forecasting net interest income growth of about 20% for 2025, even as it predicts that average loan balances will decline by low-to mid-single digits year-over- year.

The Indiana-based company grew fourth-quarter loans and profits in part because of an acquisition in Nashville, and it expects to bulk up further with a deal in Minnesota's Twin Cities that was among the largest announced in 2024.

The Chicago-based bank, which failed Friday in the first bank failure of 2025, caused a $28.5 million hit to the Deposit Insurance Fund. The FDIC was appointed receiver and Millennium Bank will assume all deposits.

The Providence, Rhode Island-based company launched its private bank in 2023 after a spate of bank failures left holes in the market. "It's not like I'm asking anybody to wait for delayed gratification," CEO Bruce Van Saun said Friday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said American Honda Finance Corp. inaccurately reported 300,000 borrowers as delinquent who had paused loan payments during the pandemic.

President Trump has promised to reduce banking regulations, a form of indirect tax or "bank tariff," that will help the banking industry. But, he also plans to impose new tariffs on imports that may adversely impact agricultural and manufacturing industries and thus their banks.

The Alabama-based regional bank reported stronger earnings on a bump in capital markets fee revenue and lower expenses, but its total loans declined and its charge-offs increased. It expects only modest loan growth this year.

The super-regional bank plans to invest in talent, technology and certain locations in 2025, while keeping its expenses in check, to achieve the promise of the merger that created it, CEO Bill Rogers said.

The Connecticut-based bank outpaced the industry's muted loan growth last year. CEO John Ciulla said he expects further growth, citing business clients' "decidedly positive" bias.

Equifax agreed to resolve allegations that it failed to conduct proper investigations of consumer disputes, ignored evidence and allowed previously deleted inaccuracies to be reinstated on credit reports. The credit reporting bureau also shared inaccurate credit scores and data about consumers with lenders.

The investment banking giant has been the subject of regulatory probes regarding the way it vets prospective clients. So far, that's not driving away potential clients, executives say.

A midweek rally followed robust bottom-line results from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and several other large banks. But further interest rate cuts may be needed to sustain momentum.