Consumer lending

Wells Fargo & Co. customers accused the bank in a lawsuit of forcing them to pay for unnecessary auto insurance that drove some of them so far into a financial spiral that their vehicles were repossessed.

The bank forced hundreds of thousands of auto loan borrowers to take out insurance they didn't need, putting some into delinquency; a Russian man is arrested and charged in $4 billion money laundering scheme.

Wells Fargo's campaign to rebuild customer and shareholder trust just hit another bump, as the bank said it may have pushed thousands of car buyers into loan defaults and repossessions by charging them for unwanted insurance.

Financial regulation is too complex and needs to be retooled to improve access to credit, President Trump’s nominees to two top banking regulators told Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Valley National's latest acquisition would make it a much bigger player in Florida and provide a platform to write more auto loans. Both markets present attractive returns but high risks.

Lustig, Glaser & Wilson often harassed the wrong consumers, demanded amounts that were not owed, bullied consumers into paying from exempt income, and failed to obtain legitimate documentation of those debts, state officials said.

The Detroit company is capitalizing on other banks' retreat from the auto sector.

The Riverwoods, Ill., company is trying to assure Wall Street that its higher chargeoff rates signal a return to normalcy, rather than a cause for alarm.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is likely to finalize its small-dollar rule by September ahead of Director Richard Cordray's widely expected departure.

The new Explore Visa card is seen as a "bridge" to more traditional banking services, said Regions' head of retail products and payments.

The Salt Lake City company also benefited from increases in investment securities and several large loan recoveries during the quarter.

MPOWER Financing announced a deal Tuesday with Bank of Lake Mills in Wisconsin that will enable the Washington, D.C.-based company to lend to students in all 50 states.

TCF executives were peppered with questions about the quality of $345 million in auto loans recategorized as held for investment in the second quarter, as a result of the company’s recent move away from loan sales and securitizations.

Double-digit growth in loan volume offset a decline in fee income at the Honolulu company.

Net interest income rose 7% and margins widened 17 basis points at the Wayzata, Minn., company.

Auto risks mounting. Mortgage market tightening. Are there any good risks these days in consumer lending? Regional bank executives insist partnerships with online lenders, unsecured personal loans and other niche efforts can work if done properly.

The Rhode Island bank plans to build out its fee income capabilities, expand C&I lending in the Southeast, renegotiate vendor contracts and take other steps to produce expense cuts and revenue enhancements of at least $90 million.

Increased dealings in direct consumer lending and guaranteed student loans offset a decline in mortgage-related income. A lower loan-loss provision also helped the bottom line.

The McLean, Va., lender, which has substantial exposure to subprime consumer loans, also added to its provision for credit losses.

LendKey, whose software helps financial institutions make student, auto and home improvement loans, closed a Series C round led by a fund whose investors include more than a dozen banks.