Commercial lending

"We'll be taking steps to offset expense pressures," CEO Curtis Farmer told analysts after the company reported an 11% year-over-year jump in costs and falling profits.

The Rhode Island-based bank is bolstering its cash position in the face of worries about office loans, stricter capital requirements for regional lenders and the possibility of economic shock from overseas conflicts.

The Tennessee bank said a $72 million charge-off tied to a borrower in bankruptcy shaved 10 cents per share off its earnings. Management downplayed the issue, calling it "idiosyncratic," and emphasized that it was growing its loan portfolio.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Section 1071 data collection rule challenge will likely not advance past President Joe Biden's desk, and Republicans don't have the votes to overturn his veto.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office said it's reviewing whether 10 financial companies, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, violate a state law that punishes firms for restricting their work with the oil-and-gas industry because of climate-change concerns.

Higher interest rates, deposit flight and looming credit losses were roiling the banking industry a few months ago, but so far banks seem to be weathering the storm. That doesn't mean things can't get worse.

The movement of cash to money market funds from bank accounts will diminish lenders' ability to finance small and midsize firms, BlackRock Investment Institute said in a new paper. BlackRock and other money managers have spent much of this year readying to fill that void.

It's been a rocky few years for senior housing as the sector recovers from its COVID occupancy drop and its profitability takes a hit. But bankers see long-term opportunities amid an aging U.S. population and say their portfolios are healthy.

In a tough commercial real estate market, sellers are stepping up efforts to entice buyers before plummeting property values force them to accept deeper discounts. 

Regulators should consider whether additional investor protections are needed for the fast-growing market, Caroline Crenshaw, an SEC commissioner, said in a speech Wednesday.