Banking

The loss of a key partnership with General Motors has left Ally Financial searching for new revenue streams. In the short term, the bank has ramped up its subprime auto lending, but to sustain its growth it must "get more out of customer relationships," says CEO Jeffrey Brown.

Many banks will need to invest in making their websites render nicely on smartphones after Google started to favor "mobile-friendly" pages in determining what content comes up first on its search pages.

First Community Bancshares, of Bluefield, Va., increased its profits slightly as legal costs and losses and expenses from selling foreclosed real estate declined.

Bank branches are continuing to lose their luster as consumers rely on online and mobile channels, according to a new report.

Regions Financial will pay a $7.5 million fine after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it charged consumers illegal overdraft fees on checking and payday-loan-like accounts.

Tom Swidarski, former Diebold CEO, has made a sizable investment in the bank technology equipment and services provider Bancsource, the company announced Tuesday.

Student advocates and lawmakers are renewing calls for loan forgiveness after Corinthian Colleges’ announcement Sunday that it will close its remaining campuses.

Debt sales are broken. Brokers, buyers and sellers offer books of debt that may be double- or triple-sold, lack documentation, or even be illegally originated.

The CFPB is purging the dark corners of debt collection and buying. It's a revolution that's been a long time coming.

Merchants Bancshares in South Burlington, Vt., has agreed to buy NUVO Bank & Trust in Springfield, Mass.

A step-by-step look at GE Capital's breakup plan and its likely aftermath, including recent comments by bankers who may be looking to buy various parts.

Digital upstarts are out to steal traditional banks' customers by taking the hassle out of everything from account opening to borrowing. It’s tough to compete with banks' resources and brand recognition, but these new mobile competitors are adamant that they can win on customer experience.

Here's our annual list of the most profitable 200 publicly traded community banks and thrifts, with an analysis of how they are managing to outperform peers. The ranking is based on three-year average ROE.

Even if you don't care about Bitcoin, you could use the technology that enables it. Companies like Eris and Factom are working on practical applications that banks would find handy, with use cases ranging from acquisitions to securitizations.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is urging banks to reevaluate how they use credit bureaus like ChexSystems, after his investigation found that inaccurate data reported by banks is preventing some consumers from opening checking and savings accounts. Three banks already have agreed to modify their use of ChexSystems in screening potential customers.

For all their talk, banks are still sorely lacking when it comes to creating a great user experience in their digital channels, as this unhappy customer can attest.

With the role of the chief financial officer being redefined since the financial crisis, we asked CFOs at banks across the country, from Stock Yards' Nancy Davis to Comerica's Karen Parkhill, about what parts of the job they most enjoy, which tasks are taking up more time now than in the past, where they wish they could spend more time and, finally, what they would tell themselves at the beginning of their careers. Here are some of their responses.

The German bank's massive strategic overhaul will include cutting key businesses and leaving 10 countries, but it plans to invest in the U.S. despite all the regulatory troubles it has had here.

With low rates tempting more home owners to refinance and relaxed down payment requirements spurring more home sales, bankers are more optimistic about mortgage lending than they have been in some time.

Another quick illustration of why bank customers and regulators are demanding that the U.S. move to a real-time payments system.