Banking

There's no tech solution in the world that can prevent cybersecurity attacks. To mitigate risks, however, banks can apply four controls after they first determine their risk tolerances.

A former NFL quarterback is set to become next chairman of MidSouth Bancorp in Lafayette, La.

The revelations at Wells Fargo are reminder to directors that when a bank's performance is too good to be true, it likely is.

The $4 billion-asset company said in a press release Friday that the notes will bear an initial fixed interest rate at 5.1%. The debt will mature in 2026.

Carolina Premier Bank in Charlotte, N.C., has hired Don Jackson from Community One Bank in Asheboro, N.C., as director of Small Business Administration lending, a new position at the bank.

The embattled bank is under pressure to claw back bonus pay from executives. Its decision figures to have ripple effects throughout the industry.

Digital has been seen as the death knell of branches, but banks like JPMorgan, B of A and UMB are among those making the case that branches can still set banks apart from rivals provided they get leaner and offer customers a blend of tech support and financial expertise.

Online lenders have to make diversity efforts before they can be viewed as champions of economic justice, said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., during a Friday panel on fintech held during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual legislative conference.

Banks that are heavily involved in commercial real estate lending may shy away from buying institutions with similar concentrations.

A federal regulatory plan detailing how to unwind a failing uninsured national bank provides some tantalizing clues for how the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency may craft a charter for fintech companies.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

A relatively soft summer for the banking industry softened even more in August, sending American Banker's Index of Banking Activity (IBA) to its lowest level since January.

The IBA Composite Index dipped to 53.2 in August from a 55.4 reading in July. The August reading is the second-lowest since the IBA was launched in 2012, topping only the 52.7 level posted in January of this year.

Nearly every one of the IBA's components linked to the lending business gave up ground in the month. Components that track loan applications and approvals moved lower both on the consumer and commercial sides of the business and barely held above the 50-point mark. (The IBA is a diffusion index and scores above 50 indicate expansion.)

Also noteworthy in the August data was a sharp decline in respondents' local business conditions. The score for that component, which has not flashed a contraction in the history of the index, fell to 51.0 from 56.5 in the month.

The IBA has now posted three consecutive relatively tepid scores. September's survey could resolve whether those reflect a seasonal swoon or the start of a more challenging period for the industry.

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Mixed messaging on fin tech doesn't just emanate from the halls of Congress. It can also be found at the regulatory level as well.

Unity Bancorp in Clinton, N.J., has registered to sell up to $50 million in securities over time.

The $5 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that due to market demand it increased the principal amount of the fixed-to-floating subordinated notes from $75 million to $100 million.

Nicolet Bankshares in Green Bay, Wis., plans to close six branches later this year following its acquisition of Baylake in Sturgeon Bay.

Ripple, a provider of distributed ledger settlement technology, announced Thursday it has raised $55 million in Series B funding from several of the world's largest banks.

F.N.B. Corp. in Pittsburgh has selected more executives from Yadkin Financial in Raleigh, N.C., to take on leadership roles for its new markets in the Carolinas.

Regulations proposed by New York State regulators provide stricter and more specific guidance than banks have received from the federal agencies, especially in areas like data encryption and multifactor authentication.

The scorcher at Wells is giving some community bankers an opening to differentiate themselves from larger institutions that seem fee-dependent or "too big to manage."