Banking

Credit-card industry executives always insist that they face strong competition. But the battle between the nation's largest card issuers appears to have intensified in recent months, and it shows no signs of waning.

The profound disruption that has led to the rise of challengers like Apple, PayPal and Square can ultimately drive innovation across the financial services industry.

The county reportedly has written off more than $150,000 in debt and has had no success hiring an agency or law firm.

California Bank of Commerce in Lafayette, Calif., has agreed to buy Pan Pacific Bank in Fremont, Calif.

IMGCAP(1)]

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including banks' subpar shareholder value and how big-data advocates can better communicate with critics who worry about the technology's potential discriminatory effects.

Citi and Capital One are putting pressure on rivals such as Discover and American Express, while Wells Fargo is eyeing a bigger footprint in the business.

Competitors have been spreading rumors that JPMorgan Chase is quitting the field, the bank's CEO said in a wide-ranging question-and-answer session that touched on Bitcoin, China, and his retirement plans.

Two banks with labor ties — Amalgamated Bank of Chicago and United Business Bank in Oakland — are beginning to aggressively court commercial clients.

Community banks are hoping regulators' recent decision to drop certain items from call reports is just the beginning of supervisory efforts to streamline the forms to reduce their burden.

During the recent market volatility, apps that aim to lure non-typical investors into the market faced a problem with which all digital-only financial products contend: no office to visit for reassurance. Companies turned to emails, tweets and pop-up messages to try to replicate the soothing voice.

Fidelity Bank, a mutual in Fitchburg, Mass., that's merging with another mutual, has named Christopher McCarthy chief operating officer.

Studies are showing that companies predominantly led by women perform better than those led by men; worldwide trends are showing a continuing uptick in the number of women on boards, but they still account for less than 20% of directors.

Lenders and vendors found no bad surprises in the Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act integrated disclosure exam guidance, but it didn't clarify much industry confusion either.

The government’s cap on interchange fees has failed to produce savings for consumers. That’s why the Federal Reserve should avoid dictating prices in the private sector.

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 from our social media platforms.

In a series of internal documents that were reviewed by American Banker, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials repeatedly acknowledge its methodology could overcount the potential discrimination by firms, but say they prefer that to the alternative where bias is underestimated.

Merchants Bank of Bangor in Pennsylvania has tapped its chief operating officer, Tracey Smith, to become chief executive next year.

The Bank of New Mexico said that its chairman and chief executive will switch roles at the beginning of next year.

Brian Moynihan, Bank of America's chairman and CEO, told investors Thursday that revenue from fixed-income and equity markets should decline by 5% to 6% in the third quarter compared with a year ago. The Charlotte, N.C., bank will continue to have a higher efficiency ratio relative to its peers because of the high costs of paying financial advisers.