Credit quality

Additional data such as college major enhances the ability to provide credit to thin-file consumers. But could it create other issues?

The Alabama bank's provision for loan losses rose 59%, but it still reported an 8% increase in 3Q profits thanks to stronger margins and fee income.

Many institutions have delayed planning for a big change to reserve accounting despite a belief that they should start testing systems and methodologies next year.

Huntington executives are surprised that chargeoffs are still so low and say they're prepared for things to get worse, yet they remain aggressive in auto and other categories. The juxtaposition is a sign of the times for lenders.

As more loans go bad across the credit card industry, the Riverwoods, Ill.-based company boosted its provision for loan losses by 51%.

The store-branded credit card issuer reported that more borrowers fell behind on their payments in the third quarter. Still, net earnings were stronger than expected.

Martin Chavez reminded analysts Tuesday that while the Wall Street firm may be new consumer lending, the executives leading the unit are all veterans of the sector.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called for bipartisan action against Equifax during a Senate floor speech on Tuesday, criticizing the credit bureau for waiting several weeks after a massive data breach to reveal it to the public.

Efforts to persuade regulators to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use alternative credit scores would stifle competition between the credit bureaus and FICO and do little to expand access to credit, according to industry analyst Chris Whalen.

In the coming year, bankers in Puerto Rico will need to keep an eye on how steep cuts in government spending will affect the island’s consumers, says José Rafael Fernández, CEO of OFG Bancorp.