Consumer lending

The U.S. government wants to intervene in JPMorgan Chase's fraud lawsuit against Frank founder Charlie Javice, asking a federal judge to halt pretrial information exchanges until she has been tried on criminal charges. 

The challenger bank and fintech lender will use its first acquisition to expand its point-of-sale financing strategy into another vertical.

Credit metrics are deteriorating as more cardholders fall behind on their payments. But bank CEOs detect few causes for alarm, saying they plan to stay in growth mode since most consumers have stayed current.

Valarie Ivester, assistant vice president of indirect strategy and development for Greater Texas Credit Union, has helped update strategy from the start of the pandemic through the recent chip shortage.

Executives of the regional bank say they are zeroing in on its most profitable business lines and moving away from one-off customer relationships that don't generate as much revenue.

The Cincinnati bank said that it plans to reduce originations in the segment by 15%. It is leaning into businesses that provide an opportunity to build deeper customer relationships.

Several community banks noted an uptick in problem loans in second-quarter earnings reports. Small lenders should brace for more of this, industry observers noted.

Some credit unions and banks are taking a step back from the U.S. auto lending market, but Ally CEO Jeffrey Brown said the overall sector remains healthy. Though credit is weakening, the loans that the company is making are bringing large returns.

U.S. regulators are examining how consumers finance health care spending, looking at practices used by Synchrony Financial's CareCredit unit and its competitors. But Synchrony CEO Brian Doubles said he's "very proud" of CareCredit, while downplaying the unit's involvement in the medical sector.

Higher interest rates and larger card balances set the stage for an 11% jump in revenue from U.S. personal banking in the second quarter. That blunted the impact of a 78% surge in write-offs tied to consumer loans.