Banking

VyStar Credit Union and Heritage Southeast Bank postponed to June 30 the deadline to close their merger. The $196 million deal, announced a year ago, was originally slated to close by December 2021.

Questionnaires sent to banks in recent months seek information about loans to same-sex couples, women on maternity leave and people with limited English proficiency. Industry executives and attorneys say the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may be offering hints about specific types of fair-lending cases it could pursue.

Democrats at a hearing on Capitol Hill contended overdraft fees hurt low-income consumers and should be reined in — with Rep. Maxine Waters proposing to make larger banks offer an account without such charges. Yet Republicans said eliminating the fees would drive some consumers toward predatory lenders and away from small banks.

The National Credit Union Administration issued only one prohibition order in March, barring Ashley Davis, a former employee of an institution in New Jersey.

The National Credit Union Administration’s effort to require succession planning has raised questions about whether the agency is micromanaging smaller institutions that may not be able to absorb the added cost of compliance.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce plans to cut the emissions intensity of its lending to the oil and gas sector by 2030, part of a plan to reach net-zero emissions from its operations and financing activities by 2050.

Esther George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, says changes in the office sector and monetary policy pose potential risks to property owners and their lenders.

Apple is developing its own payment processing technology and infrastructure for future financial products, part of an ambitious effort that would reduce its reliance on outside partners over time, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Thomas Kevin Miller will succeed Barry Nelson, who is retiring in mid-April.

In global news this week, Apple blocks Russia's Mir network; N26 gets hit with anti-money-laundering penalties in Italy; Santander brings new B2B payments tech to Brazil; and more.

The proposed combination of Vermont State Employees Credit Union and New England Federal Credit Union would create a $3 billion-asset institution. Some past leaders worry that the deal will erase one institution's local touch.

Moves by bank lobbyists to try to restrict credit union-bank mergers could wind up depriving many consumers of needed financial services.

Citigroup agreed to sell its India retail banking business for about 123 billion rupees ($1.6 billion) cash to Axis Bank, as the U.S. lender seeks to consolidate its operations in identified markets.

The $168 million deal would mark the third acquisition of 2022 for Seacoast and continue a years-long effort to bulk up via M&A.

Climate activists have forced votes this spring on whether big banks should move more aggressively to cut off their financing of fossil-fuel companies.

Corrie Rozell, who has been interim chief executive since January, will adopt the role permanently.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is accusing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of pressuring Equifax, Experian and Transunion into removing most medical debt from credit reports, a move he says would compromise lenders' ability to gauge risk. Democrats, experts who testified at a hearing Tuesday and the CFPB pushed back.

The acquisitive Massachusetts company said it would pay $146.5 million to acquire Randolph and its $800 million-asset subsidiary, Envision Bank.

By putting younger, more diverse talent in executive roles, CEOs of institutions such as Kaua'i Federal Credit Union in Hawaii and OnPath Federal Credit Union in Louisiana are taking steps to better represent the communities they serve.