Coronavirus

Cobranded travel credit cards — including some of the most popular and profitable in the payment card industry — are looking at darker skies because of COVID-19.

A national moratorium would be costly to lenders and servicers, but proponents say it's needed to help cushion the economic blow of the pandemic.

The actions include cutting the federal funds rate to between 0% and 0.25% and other steps to ease economic stress from the spread of the coronavirus.

The banks — including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup — agreed to stop buying back their own shares through the second quarter, saying they will focus on supporting clients and the nation during the coronavirus pandemic.

The actions include cutting the federal funds rate to between 0% and 0.25% and other steps to ease economic stress from the spread of the coronavirus.

The OCC and FDIC said banks should consider waiving fees, be flexible with loan repayments and that they would not be penalized if they close branches for precautionary reasons.

The biggest U.S. banks are once again preparing to show how they'll be able to withstand a severe economic shock in a hypothetical doomsday scenario, and they're eager to get on with it as a real one unfolds.

Banks typically don't offer loans to cash-strapped consumers, and are poorly positioned to start doing so on an emergency basis — unless the government steps in to help.

At least seven states have suspended K-12 classes, meaning many CUs with student-run branches won’t be able to operate those facilities as educational tools during that time. More industry events have also been called off.

From scams to watch out for to the role banks play in an SBA virus loan program, news about the pandemic's impact was everywhere. Also: As State Farm bows out, U.S. Bank seizes an expansion opportunity; CFPB sues Fifth Third for allegedly opening phony accounts; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Coronavirus concerns, along with the Fed's emergency rate cut and an erratic stock market, have forced most bankers to take pause and reassess potential deals.

Investment bankers have are trying to drum up interest from investment firms and hedge funds to provide tens of billions of dollars in financing to companies in industries upended by the coronavirus.

If banks are unable to weather the economic fallout from the outbreak, calls for more dramatic reforms could get louder.

The central bank will inject $1.5 trillion into the money market, including buying more longer-term bonds; JPMorgan says its CEO “is doing very well” as he recovers from heart surgery.

The agency will be tasked with providing $50 billion in loans to small businesses harmed by the pandemic. It is unclear whether the SBA will need help from banks and CUs.

Cash use will suffer because of this outbreak, and there are factors other than germs contributing to this trend. A growing work-from-home workforce will funnel more shoppers into digital channels, including ones they may have never tried before.

No-interest loans and overdraft forgiveness are among the lifelines banks are offering to consumers and small businesses whose livelihoods are being upended by the economic fallout.

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, said financial institutions "need to be investing in their communities right now, not investing in their CEOs’ stock portfolios.”

The central bank has been under increasing pressure to act as investors have been losing faith in the Trump administration's efforts to contain the economic fallout.

The increase in quarantined customers has forced food delivery companies to balance a potential boom in orders alongside the risk of spreading sickness to both customers and drivers.