Banking

Four-fifths of the state's community banks have disappeared since the start of the 2008 financial crisis. The founder of the newly chartered Scottsdale Community Bank calls the market "drastically underbanked."

The moves, which are part of a multiyear strategy, are meant to focus resources in areas where the Spanish banking giant can earn solid returns.

Underwriting has become more lenient amid increased competition for corporate borrowers, and as Paycheck Protection Program loans are disappearing from banks' balance sheets.

The group is urging the board of directors to oust Hill, the chairman and CEO, and replace him with Greg Braca, the former CEO of TD Bank’s U.S. operation. In December, another investor launched its own campaign to drive change at the Philadelphia bank.

U.S. lenders issued more credit cards than ever last year, with a growing share of them going to consumers with lower credit scores.

The coronavirus and economic impediments have made it hard for credit unions to add members in recent years. Yet efforts to adapt to less face-time with customers, rev up auto lending and refine other aspects of their businesses are starting to pay off.

Wages, marketing spending and technology investments are all on the rise. While higher interest rates should eventually help tame inflation, it's not clear how quickly banks will be able to limit their spending increases.

Maria Tedesco, the bank's president, added the role of chief operating officer with a mission of unifying workflows from the back office to front end. This frees up CEO John Asbury to augment Atlantic Union’s fintech investments and scout for potential acquisitions.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is weighing whether to set a hard deadline for financial firms to halt new fossil-fuel investments, if they want their net-zero emissions targets verified by the United Nations-backed group.

January was a quiet month for traditional bank mergers and acquisitions, but some big-name firms still struck big deals. Here's a look back at the month's most noteworthy deals.

Toronto-Dominion Bank’s U.S. retail banking unit is eliminating charges for overdrafts of $50 or less, joining a parade of lenders revamping their fees amid criticism from politicians, regulators and consumer advocates.

Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has cautioned banks, credit unions and fintechs about fair-lending violations that may stem from reliance on artificial intelligence. His comments threaten to discourage financial firms from using the technology to crunch nontraditional data about borrowers, experts say.

Using its new designation as a community development financial institution, Kitsap plans to offer loans and low-cost mortgages to underserved consumers in its communities, including Native Americans and the elderly.

Six weeks after receiving a $237.5 million investment from the Treasury Department, the community development financial institution has struck a deal for Premier Bank of Arkansas.

On Sep. 30, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

On Sep. 30, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

On Sep. 30, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

Community bankers are excited that the Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates, which would make loans more profitable — unless rates rise so much they suppress demand.

Overdraft fees have been a reliable revenue source for decades, but the charges have fallen into disfavor amid regulatory scrutiny and competition from neobanks. Here's a look at the steps various large and midsize banks are taking to reduce or eliminate the fees, as well as their plans for what's next.