Banking

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal to restrict the use of arbitration clauses would allow it to seize enormous amounts of data from financial firms that could lead to more enforcement actions, according to industry lawyers.

Data through April released by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian shows a consumer credit default composite rate of 0.86% in April, down seven basis points from March.

Louise Walker, the head of First Northern Bank in Dixon, Calif., will be wearing an additional hat over the next year — chair of the California Bankers Association.

An appeals court panel has questioned whether Sallie Mae and SLM Corp. had actual knowledge of for-profit California Culinary Academy’s alleged scheme to prey on students and whether the lender perpetuated that lie to students.

For a more immediate payoff, community banks should focus marketing on older customers that are facing a new set of economic pressures.

One in five short-term auto title loan borrowers have their vehicle seized because they cannot pay the loan, according to a study released Wednesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that one in five borrowers who take out short-term auto title loans have their vehicle seized for failing to repay the loan.

Synchrony Financial, the credit card lender that was recently spun off from General Electric, is considering an expansion into small-business lending.

Technology leader BBVA Compass has been ahead of the pack in real-time payments, neobanking and fintech investing. Manolo Sanchez shares his vision for next steps: the bank's developing API marketplace and "Uberized" digital banking.

HCSB Financial in South Carolina recently raised $45 million from a group led by Castle Creek Capital Partners, showing that big investors are still comfortable placing bets on financial firms. The challenge for banks like HCSB will be to find ways to put that capital to work years after other institutions were able to start playing offense.

Following the scandal-tinged departure of CEO Renaud Laplanche, the company is contemplating drastic steps to restore the confidence of loan buyers. Scenarios that would have been far-fetched a short time ago — such as diluting shareholders and funding loans off its own balance sheet — are now under consideration.

BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., plans to cut 240 jobs and close 28 branches as part of its integration of National Penn Bancshares.

Six years ago the family that controlled Home State Bancorp in Colorado said they were in it for the long haul. But, after a methodical review process tied to estate planning, family members decided to cash in their holdings.

Harmony Bank in Jackson, N.J., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund. The $ 295 million-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it paid about $3.5 million to redeem roughly 3,500 shares of preferred stock.

Biscayne Bank in Miami, a community bank that focuses on serving high-net-worth individuals from the Caribbean and Latin America, has been named as an intermediary in the Panama Papers leak.

MuniServices LLC, a business of debt-buying giant PRA Group, will offer aspiring municipal leaders a chance to learn about strategic financial administration through a new certification program.

A recent story in American Banker reported that at least three banks are planning to launch new small-dollar loans products after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday lending rule becomes effective.

Requiring the bank regulators to disclose the numerical grades they give for capital, assets and other factors would subject them to the same market discipline they demand for banks.

Grant Bancshares in Natchitoches, La., has agreed to buy Tri-State Bank and Trust in Haughton, La.

The San Jose (Calif.) City Council is reviewing the best way to recover the overdue fines without also chasing people away.