Consumer lending

Klarna Bank, which advertises itself as a way to spread the cost of the latest brands and smartphones, is shelling out loans for milk and gas with cash-strapped customers looking for ways to cover basic necessities.

The online consumer lender touts its AI-based underwriting models as a key strength, but analysts say larger-than-expected losses on some of its loans are contributing to funding pressures.

Consumers welcome more generous forgiveness policies and the chance to have past defaults erased from their record, but they need assistance connecting the dots, financial services executives say.

The Singapore-based crypto lender that announced a freeze on withdrawals on Monday said it has signed a tentative agreement to be acquired by rival Nexo.

Klarna Bank is in talks to raise new equity at a valuation as low as $6 billion, a fraction of the $45.6 billion it commanded last summer as it became Europe’s most valuable startup, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Agencies supervising lenders should make it clear that the transition to less discriminatory algorithms won’t be used to punish banks for their previous use of older, less effective systems.

The buy now/pay later startup Zilch has raised a further $50 million, upping the total raise for its Series C fundraising to $160 million as it plans bolster U.S. expansion plans. 

Wells Fargo has historically underperformed its competitors in the credit card business. The Autograph card, which offers triple points for travel, dining and gas, is part of CEO Charlie Scharf’s effort to compete more effectively.

The U.S. Department of Education agreed to erase nearly $6 billion in student loans for borrowers who filed a class action lawsuit against the government after attending for-profit colleges that were found to have misled students.

JPMorgan Chase is laying off hundreds of home-lending employees and reassigning hundreds more this week as rapidly rising mortgage rates drive down demand in what had been a red-hot housing market.

Missed payments are rising among nonprime credits as higher prices on other goods leave consumers with less money to pay back their car and truck loans. The uptick may be a sign that the stellar credit environment for lenders is starting to turn.

In an NPR/Ipsos poll released Friday, 82% of respondents said they believed making college more affordable should be a bigger priority to the federal government than forgiving existing student debt.

To keep customer relationships "sticky," Langley Federal Credit Union will roll out a bill pay feature this summer that tries to mimic the advantages customers get by going directly to the biller site.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is scrutinizing “rent-a-bank schemes” that charge borrowers high interest rates, the agency’s deputy director said Wednesday. Consumer advocates have long pushed for limits on such partnerships between banks and nonbank lenders.

Credit unions enjoyed especially strong loan demand from car buyers — helping to push overall loan growth to twice the rate of what banks saw in the first quarter — following a lull stemming from pandemic-era setbacks.

The Biden administration’s continued extension of a student loan payment moratorium and the uncertain future of a debt forgiveness plan are causing confusion and uncertainty.

The American Bankers Association’s credit conditions index fell sharply, as economists foresaw dampening loan demand. The weaker outlook lines up with major bank CEOs’ increased worries over a possible recession.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ended the first “no action letter” agreement with a fintech that had provided immunity from regulatory actions.

Some of the riskiest loans given to millennials and Gen Z shoppers for clothes and electronics — and neatly repackaged for investors — are dropping in value.

U.S. consumer borrowing surged again in April, following a record jump a month earlier, fueled by rising prices and the continued strength of American consumers.