Banking

Global Financial Support, a student financial aid company, is facing a CFPB lawsuit for allegedly tricking consumers into paying for sham financial aid services and falsely indicating it was affiliated with government and academic institutions.

Banks have added so much capital in the past several years that they're better protected from declines in real estate values than they were before the financial crisis.

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Now the question is: will online portals become a significant source of financing for U.S. small businesses, or will red tape get in the way?

The New York company took investors on a roller coaster ride over a dozen years, with issues that included a CEO's death, another leader's ambitious M&A strategy, and an ill-timed effort to upgrade outdated technology.

Whether it's regulation, cyber threats, vendor backlog or just plain inertia, U.S. banks still lag their overseas counterparts when it comes to mobile adoption.

The $815 million-asset company said in a press release Friday that it will close locations in Ilwaco and Ferndale in western Washington.

October saw the three main card networks invest in bitcoin-related companies, which comes on the heels of major banks exploring the use of bitcoin and blockchain technology to solve some industry pain points.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Pittsfield, Mass., has agreed to buy a unit from Parke Bancorp in Washington Township, N.J., that focuses on Small Business Administration loans.

The administration apparently intends to leave office without addressing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's capital bases and therefore the tight credit conditions.

KeyCorp, Ohio's second-largest bank, has agreed to buy First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in a $4.1 billion cash-and-stock deal that extends the company's reach in upstate New York.

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Sandy Spring Bancorp in Olney, Md., has appointed executives from the technology and legal industries to newly created seats on its board.

Lending Club rebounded to profitability in the third quarter as revenue growth at the nation's largest marketplace lender outpaced an increase in operating expenses.

Antonio Weiss, a counselor to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, called Thursday for greater transparency in the pricing of online small-business loans.

Great Western Bancorp in Sioux Falls, S.D., reported higher quarterly profit on loan growth and improved efficiency.

October saw the three main card networks invest in bitcoin-related companies, which comes on the heels of major banks exploring the use of bitcoin and blockchain technology to solve some industry pain points.

The auto lender has changed the way it calculates its closely-watched provision for credit losses, a move that added to third-quarter profits and raised questions about the transparency of its loan book.

Cybersecurity expertise is helping more women get board seats, as is the British government; MUFG Union's Stephen Cummings calls for faster progress on the diversity front; JPMorgan's Eileen Serra announces a new mobile wallet called Chase Pay; and Deustche's Susan Skerritt shares some leadership lessons.

Webster Financial in Waterbury, Conn., has promoted its head of commercial banking to president of Webster Bank and its holding company.