Banking

After extending its deadline for request for comment on cryptocurrency by a month, the National Credit Union Administration heard from credit unions and other organizations that want clarity on the boundaries the agency plans to set.

Wells Fargo beat analysts’ expectations for third-quarter profit, another positive sign for Chief Executive Charlie Scharf’s turnaround efforts, but expenses were higher than anticipated and loans fell.

Bank of America beat analysts’ earnings estimates as fees climbed at the company’s dealmaking unit, boosted by a record-breaking period for mergers and acquisitions.

Spending on cards continued to increase during the third quarter, while loan balances rose slightly and payment rates began to return to more normal levels. A top company executive expressed confidence that loan growth will pick up but said, “It’s going to take time.”

Cybersecurity teams are using scoring systems, standard formats and other tactics to prioritize the deluge of alerts they're receiving about commonly used programs.

The San Francisco bank reported a 26% increase in its third-quarter earnings, thanks to robust single-family, multifamily and commercial real estate loan activity in New York, Boston and its home city.

Even financial institutions that have updated their practices still don’t hit the basic benchmarks of transparency and fairness.

The Tampa, Florida-based credit union stuck to its roots in the railroad industry to select its new name.

By partnering with the London-based fintech, Andrews Federal Credit Union will enable members to send transfers to 80 countries.

Total loans increased 6% from a year earlier, driven by gains in the company's asset- and wealth-management arm and corporate and investment bank, though consumer and commercial lending fell. Fees from advising on merger and acquisition deals almost tripled.

Executives at Umpqua Holdings and Columbia Banking System said the deal could progress more slowly than usual because of a perceived approval backlog at the Federal Reserve. The two Pacific Northwest-based banks are seeking to combine into a $50 billion-asset company.

JAM Fintop's Banktech fund, which is backed by community banks, has invested in Monit, a small-business predictive analytics company. Two of the banks have expressed interest in using its product.

More banks are boosting salaries to lure and keep workers in a highly competitive hiring market, but the pressure is on to trim expenses elsewhere to offset the pay hikes.

Silvio Tavares, the former chief executive of the Digital Commerce Alliance, will lead the credit-bureau analytics firm.

Bank of America is giving businesses new ways to transfer money to their customers with the rollout of a system called Recipient Select.

Columbia Banking System would be the surviving holding company and retain its Tacoma, Washington, headquarters and the banking unit would be based in Portland, Oregon, and operate under the Umpqua Bank brand.

Banks, credit card issuers and debt collectors all supported the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s revised regulations. But they face a steep learning curve in complying with the rules, which take effect Nov. 30.

Laurie Butz, a senior vice president at another Wisconsin credit union, will replace longtime CEO Tom Young, who is retiring.

The Silicon Valley consumer lender first applied to become a national bank during the Trump administration. But the bid stalled amid criticism from consumer advocates and a leadership change at the OCC.

During the pandemic, the use of digital assistants by low- to moderate-income consumers has soared. One reason: Those seeking loan modifications or fee waivers see the technology as less intimidating than humans.