Banking

The recent drought in deals means the company "may have to repace in certain areas" its investment banking unit has beefed up in for years, including energy, biotechnology and health care, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason says.

The bank has agreed to acquire Big Data Healthcare, a Texan fintech that automates commercial payments flowing to and from hospitals and medical groups. It's the latest example of banks' deepening health care investments.

About 40% of smaller firms applied for private-sector financing last year, which was up from 25% in 2021, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve banks. The results suggest a return to pre-pandemic credit needs, but borrowers now have different plans for the use of financing.

The new offering will allow consumers to finance purchases of gear, parts, maintenance and fuel for ATVs, boats and motorcycles. The powersports sector has enjoyed strong growth since the early days of the pandemic.

The San Francisco fintech made its name in refinancing student loans. Now it contends that a moratorium for federal student debt payments — put in place near the start of the pandemic — has cost it at least $150 million in profits.

In February's roundup of American Banker's favorite stories: An international African American sorority enters the credit union market; a deep dive into the ideology behind banks giving out free pens; and a rising number of financial institutions are facing a tightening of liquidity and more.

A new study finds that in the six months after a rate cap was imposed in Illinois, the number of subprime loans being made declined, and subprime borrowers reported a decline in their financial well-being.

The dataset, developed by Federal Reserve researchers, will give historians and students a far easier way to examine banks' performance between 1867 and 1904. The period was one of significant instability, which ultimately prompted the creation of the Fed.

The Dallas-based bank offered a more downbeat forecast than it did back in January, as rising rates have continued to put pressure on deposits.

He was chief executive officer and chairman of the bank, then known as BankAmerica Corp., from 1990 until his retirement in 1996. 

Car loans are among the bread-and-butter products for credit unions, but slowing demand and growing delinquencies are putting some pressure on the category.

The upstate New York company said in a regulatory filing that Daniel Reininga, who has been chief executive for 12 years, will retire on March 10, following a cybersecurity attack and an OCC crackdown.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown wants regulators to hold public meetings on branch shutdowns in situations where community members request them. His request follows opposition to a closure in a low-income section of Toledo, Ohio.

Executives have ramped up initiatives for educating members, staffers and directors on how to gain support from legislators.

Robert Hill Jr., who had been CEO of the company before it merged with CenterState Bank in 2020, will resign in April. The company says it's replacing his position with a nonexecutive chairman "as part of a broader, ongoing effort to enhance the independence of the company's board."

Banks, flush with money to lend, will keep upward pressure on inflation in 2023 and perhaps several more years as they lend out their bloated reserve balances.

SeaComm Federal Credit Union of Massena, New York, and St. Lawrence Federal Credit Union of Ogdensburg, New York, are planning to merge by the end of the year.