Banking

U.S. regulators are examining how consumers finance health care spending, looking at practices used by Synchrony Financial's CareCredit unit and its competitors. But Synchrony CEO Brian Doubles said he's "very proud" of CareCredit, while downplaying the unit's involvement in the medical sector.

The Pittsburgh superregional reported lower second-quarter earnings as net interest income tapered and deposits fell from the previous quarter. CEO William Demchak predicted further weakening of loan demand and NII through the current quarter.

The brokerage firm reported that during the second quarter bank deposits fell 31% from a year earlier. But executives suggested that the worst is now over.

Solopreneurs are the new engine of business growth in the U.S., and banks and financial services regulators need to recognize their importance.

Bank of America's second-quarter profit soared after its core Wall Street businesses exceeded analysts' expectations.

The Wildflower Foundation is seeking to raise $10 million for its Sunlight Loan Fund, which supports teachers who want to provide broader access to Montessori education. U.S. Bank recently closed on the inaugural commitment to the fund.

The companies are both tapping the U.S. investment-grade primary market, kicking off a potential deluge of fresh bank bonds in the wake of second-quarter earnings.

Scully, who founded and then eventually sold Howard Bank, will help the Rockville, Maryland-based Capital expand its footprint in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

An executive with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago pushes back on a BankThink article criticizing the Mortgage Partnership Finance program.

The New York megabank benefited duing the second quarter from strong revenue growth in its giant credit card business, which helped overcome headwinds in wealth management and investment banking. But executives indicated that the script could soon flip.

If regulators push forward with plans to strengthen capital requirements for banks with more than $100 billion of assets, the nation's largest bank says, the cost of credit would rise and more consumers could seek out nontraditional lenders.

Visa wants to expand in-car payments tech; Citizens Financial installs president to oversee growing California market; undergrads win banking competition and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

The bank's allowance for losses on commercial real estate loans jumped to $3.6 billion in the second quarter — up 64% from a year earlier. The negative forecast could portend trouble for smaller banks that have bigger exposure to the office sector.

The New Jersey institution has hired Jeanne Scungio, a veteran banker who ran First Republic Bank's New York operations, to oversee its expansion into the Big Apple.

The average credit union member had saved $286 less in March compared to a year earlier. That was the largest per-member drop in credit union history, fueled by rising costs of living and more aggressive competition.

Isabella Guzman, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, skipped a congressional hearing called to discuss the wide disparity in the level of fraud calculated by her staff and a parallel examination conducted by SBA's Office of the Inspector General.

Higher interest rates and larger card balances set the stage for an 11% jump in revenue from U.S. personal banking in the second quarter. That blunted the impact of a 78% surge in write-offs tied to consumer loans.

Executives now see Wells Fargo's NII rising roughly 14% for the full year, more than the 10% jump they had earlier projected. 

JPMorgan Chase's revenue soared to a record in the second quarter, boosted by the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and its acquisition of First Republic Bank.

The Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action in higher education has opened the door to challenges of diversity initiatives in the financial services sector, legal experts say. Internship programs for minority students could face scrutiny, as could efforts to increase workforce diversity.