CEOs on the hot seat. Banks fighting to stay independent. Comfortable players ripe for disruption from Amazon and others. It is shaping up as a riveting year.

Automating the loan application process is a potentially game-changing development that could put more car shoppers in control of which bank or credit union finances their purchase.

Investments in software can speed up decision-making and help traditional lenders better compete with fintechs for creditworthy customers who want their loans quickly.

Northeast Bancorp also expects the move to make it more efficient.

River Road Financial has agreed to buy Mississippi River Bank in a deal that will bring in a new CEO.

As consumers continue to migrate to banking apps, it may be tempting for banks to focus solely on improving that channel experience. But doing so would be making the same mistake as focusing only on cards or cash at the point of sale.

On Sep. 30, 2018. Dollars in thousands.

Organizers are planning to raise up to $25 million for Tandem Bank.

On Sep. 30, 2018. Dollars in thousands.

The coming year will bring a wave of data-sharing deals between banks and fintechs, increased bank use of automated advice, marked changes to financial jobs as a result of automation, and much more.

As consumers continue to migrate to banking apps, lenders may be tempted to focus solely on improving that channel. But new data suggests consumers aren't abandoning other platforms just yet.

Santander taps JPMorgan Chase exec Colleen Canny to lead retail network; can Trump actually fire Fed's Powell?; will 2019 bring long-awaited reform of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac?; and more from the past two week's most-read stories.

Following the departure last year of several top executives amid downward pressure on earnings, Diebold Nixdorf has named three people to fill its executive ranks.

Third-quarter results from the Michigan Credit Union League show hundreds of members are joining CUs in the Great Lakes State each day.

Slumping stock prices may force banks to press pause, but the need for low-cost deposits and scale could provide a spark later this year.

Stephen Raffaele has been the bank's president since 2016.

The accounts — which eschew paper checks and overdraft protection — appeal beyond the low-income customers they were intended for; lenders are embracing artificial intelligence systems to analyze more data to determine creditworthiness.

Readers respond to Wells Fargo's latest fine, weigh Sen. Elizabeth Warren's potential bid for president, consider how banks are preparing for climate change and more.

The Pennsylvania company has agreed to buy Forney Financial Solutions.

The agencies are weighing a plan to reduce the scope of residential real estate transactions requiring an appraisal, but appraisers have warned that the proposal could have consequences.