Banking

The proposal to streamline the Small Business Administration's signature program and expand the number of available lending licenses would benefit underserved communities.

The volume of bank acquisitions — either by credit unions or community banks — has dropped considerably so far in 2023. Experts, including prospective buyers, cite a combination of ongoing regulatory and economic pressures.

The regional bank started making moves to protect deposits last year, which prevented steeper declines during a volatile first quarter, CEO Tim Spence says.

The Dallas-based bank expects some of the recent deposit outflows to return in the future.

Although the Columbus, Ohio-based regional emerged from the recent crisis relatively unscathed, management was still taking steps to shore up its balance sheet, including forgoing stock buybacks to strengthen a key capital metric.

The Cleveland-based regional bank said that its net interest income fell 10% — and profits declined by an even larger percentage — as it paid more to retain depositors. Still, CEO Chris Gorman said the company is "well prepared to handle the deposit challenges in front of the market."

Letting consumers share their VantageScore data with crypto lenders is expected to help them get a better deal on crypto loans. 

The Charlotte, North Carolina, company plans to fold the online consumer lending platform LightStream into its broader consumer business. On top of a recent pullback in bond trading, it may also make further reductions in its mortgage business and occupied real estate.

Paying higher rates to customers should help stem deposit outflows at the Salt Lake City bank. But it's expected to contribute to a projected 7% drop in net interest income during the second quarter.

Ping An Insurance Group is seeking a more abrupt break off of the bank's more profitable Asian operations, while HSBC has pledged a slower pivot to Asia while paring its presence in Europe and North America. 

The run on Silicon Valley Bank was blunted by delays in wire transfer executions. FedNow will make bank runs much more efficient at draining deposits.

The Providence, Rhode Island, expects NII to decline 3% for the second consecutive quarter now that it's paying more to prevent a further slide in deposits and tightening lending standards in anticipation of a mild recession.

Reacting to a sharp uptick in charge-offs, Synchrony more than doubled its provision for credit losses during the first quarter to account for further shocks along with healthy loan-portfolio growth as more consumers revolve credit card balances.

During its first-quarter earnings call, the Detroit-based company's CEO said it is seeking to "protect the house" by dialing back the pace of car-loan originations and seeking to attract more super-prime borrowers.

Executives at the Minneapolis bank responded to a research report that highlighted the decline in a key capital ratio after an acquisition last year. They don't plan to raise capital but aim to generate more of it from earnings in coming quarters.

Executives and financial strategists are considering derivatives as a hedge against rising interest rates.

The Phoenix bank provided behind-the-scenes details of the fallout from March's banking crisis, when it lost $8 billion of deposits in a single day. The company's share price closed up 24% on Wednesday after executives vowed to reassess its capital and liquidity strategy.

The Gardner-based institution hired Mark Hettinger, who worked the past 19 years at First Alliance Credit Union, as its new chief executive.

The head of the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks argues that the special lien status of Home Loan bank advances, created by legislation in the 1980s, is largely irrelevant in today's marketplace.