Banking

Some midsize banks found ways to widen margins, and Texas lenders said weakness in the energy sector has had little effect on the broader Texas economy. But can those trends hold up?

The cybersecurity climate is already an all-hands-on-deck situation, so one more threat – even one prompted by one of America's loudest voices – may not matter.

President Obama called for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be eliminated, but Democratic policymakers attending the convention in Philadelphia appear resigned to the fact that Congress is unable to act on housing finance reform.

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., reported higher quarterly profit that reflected a couple of one-time gains.

Hedgeable sees the peer-to-peer business and personal loans as an alternative to fixed-income investments that are traditionally offered through exchange-traded funds.

"Nobody really paid attention" when the technology for algorithmic portfolio management and investment advice was developed five years ago, says Gauthier Vincent of Deloitte. But now that robo startups are all the rage, retail banks want in.

Nearly all publicly traded equities and a majority of bonds are owned not by the investors themselves but by a little-known entity called Cede & Co. This attenuation of property rights creates systemic risk, but an effort is underway to transform the system.

Brent Beardall, who has been with Washington Federal since 2001, was named president of the $14.8 billion-asset company and its primary banking unit and retains his job as chief banking officer.

United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., reported higher quarterly gains spurred by fee revenue.

As if high default costs haven't been challenging enough for mortgage servicers, a growing number of seriously delinquent loans are Federal Housing Administration products, which require significant upfront investment to resolve.

Suffolk Bancorp in New York, which recently agreed to be sold to People's United Financial, discouraged several suitors from bidding due to concerns about concentrations of commercial real estate loans at those banks. The disclosures highlight the challenges that banks with heavy CRE exposure could face — as buyers or sellers — if they want to do deals.

Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., reported higher quarterly profit because of loan sales and increases in other fees.

BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., reported lower quarterly profit that reflected a still-elevated loan-loss provision.

First Commonwealth Financial in Indiana, Pa., has agreed to buy all 13 branches being divested by Huntington Bancshares as part of the approval to acquire FirstMerit.

More than 40% of consumers with complaints about debt collections say they were asked to pay debts they didn't owe. There are a host of reasons for the problem, including inscrutable legal disclosures.

Banner Corp. in Walla Walla, Wash., reported higher quarterly earnings as it continued to benefit from a recent acquisition.

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday reported higher than expected quarterly profits due to loan growth from a recent acquisition.

First Interstate BancSystem in Billings, Mont., reported higher quarterly profit tied to loan growth and increased fee income.

One of the ostensible selling points of blockchain technology is its potential to bring greater transparency to financial markets. But this feature has turned out to be a bug for the institutions that would use the technology.

Deposit growth and loan sales gave Flagstar Bancorp's second-quarter profit a lift. The $13.7 billion-asset company said its net income in the three months rose 2.1% to $47 million, or 66 cents a share, compared with last year's second quarter.