Banking

While Vista Bank is focusing on organic growth in Florida, it's positioning itself as a Texas buyer.

Ending the separation of banking and commerce would open the door to dangerous concentrations of power and influence, and would threaten financial and economic stability as well as access to credit for consumers and Main Street businesses.

Incentive pay for investment bankers at major firms is expected to fall this year by 13% from 2021 levels, according to a consulting firm's report. But stock traders may reap the rewards of market volatility.

Credit risk transfers, which gained traction in 2022 and 2023 as banks sought to manage their capital levels, may now become a solution for lenders looking to reduce their exposure to commercial real estate loans.

The Dallas-based company's broker-dealer arm, Texas Capital Securities, has also made several recent hires as it continues to expand its capabilities.

Customers expect fast loan approvals, CEO Brad Calhoun says, so the credit union now lets artificial intelligence decide who will get credit cards, auto loans and personal loans. 

The neobank reported a 47% increase in revenue in the first three months of the year.

Julian, the bank's onetime audit chief, recently agreed to settle with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a tiny percentage of the $7 million the agency had been seeking. In an interview, he spoke about the expensive legal fight and who bears responsibility for the bank's fake-accounts scandal.

Investors seemed to agree with CEO Barry Sloane's argument that strong earnings will outweigh a jump in nonaccrual loans.

While other European-based banks have retreated from the United States, Santander is doubling down by building out its nationwide digital-banking platform. "Unequivocally," said U.S. CEO Christiana Riley, "the opportunity … is so clear."

The credit union partnered with Bloom Credit to offer members a new way to build their credit score by sharing rent and utility payment data.

The last time someone decided to gut a major financial services regulatory agency, we got the Great Recession. DOGE cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could trigger similar pain.

The bureau's Tuesday afternoon announcement follows an earlier statement that it would walk back a rule that places buy now/pay later loans under the Truth in Lending Act's Regulation Z, a move that will ease compliance for fintechs that offer installment loans.

Eliminating overdraft charges is Stearns Bank's latest move to limit fees that its customers pay. CEO Kelly Skalicky says deposit service fees aren't a good business model.

The banking arm of Spanish giant Banco Santander plans to close about 4.5% of its branch network in the United States, according to regulatory filings.

Tokenization is a natural fit for the private credit market, and could help create new investment opportunities. But regulators must create clear rules of the road.