Banking

Lendistry, a fintech community development financial institution, obtained a license that allows it to become one of the few nondepository lenders with access to the Small Business Administration's flagship lending program.

The Mississippi-based First says the deal would allow it to acquire key talent, bolster its presence in northwest Florida and expand into the Tampa area.

In global news this week, scammers target Revolut's program for Ukrainian refugees; Commerzbank applies for a crypto license in Germany; Nium merging with Socash; MyPinPad merging with SmartPesa; and more.

The first-of-their-kind measures, urging banks to move more aggressively to curtail new fossil-fuel lending, garnered between 11% and 13% of the vote at Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Those totals were less than climate activists had hoped to garner, but high enough to clear certain thresholds for resubmission next year.

M&T Bank in Buffalo, New York, named Peter D’Arcy head of commercial banking after completing its acquisition of People’s United Financial earlier this month. D’Arcy will take over from Gino Martocci, who is retiring.

Although small banks and credit unions are enjoying healthier loan portfolios, they are also bracing for potential setbacks due to higher interest rates and inflation.

More than two years into the pandemic, banks hit several turning points during the first quarter. On the positive side, commercial loan growth finally materialized, but there were also snags, particularly in fee income.

On Dec. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

On Dec. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

On Dec. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will conduct supervisory exams of nonbank fintech companies that pose risks to consumers as Director Rohit Chopra seeks to level the regulatory playing field with supervised banks.

The National Credit Union Administration took steps to increase hires of women, minorities and people with disabilities in 2021, making its staff more representative of the general population.

The Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act will help in the fight to eliminate financial disparities in underserved communities across our country.

The industry is preparing for a grueling federal rulemaking process to implement the Corporate Transparency Act, which was intended to streamline anti-money-laundering compliance. Analysts say the devil will be in the regulation’s myriad details.

Executives at the Alabama bank anticipated that some corporate deposits would start to leave during the first quarter as interest rates rose. Instead, deposits grew to a record $138.7 billion.

Lenders don't oppose CFPB data collection for small-business loans but favor changes that would minimize unintended consequences for borrowers, a Consumer Bankers Association official writes.

The Wisconsin company is the latest bank to plan cutbacks in the fees. Its fee income is projected to fall by about 2% from its level last quarter.

A recent survey suggests the public thinks banks outperform credit unions on digital offerings. One industry expert says the opposite is true.

A sell-off of technology stocks this year has helped dissuade firms from going public. But Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company, which counts many tech firms among its clients, says the pullback hasn’t spread to smaller startups and the venture-capital funds that finance them.

New guidelines proposed by the Federal Reserve last month do not go far enough to define who can get an account and how, according to a joint comment letter from several banking trade associations. The process has become contentious as more fintechs seek access to the reserve system.