Credit

Reliance on asset-based loans protects banks as retail chains flounder; average FICO score hits record 700 while the percentage of those with scores below 600 hits new low.

This is a good time for bank risk managers and bank regulatory examiners to evaluate the effects of a deepening retail crisis on the financial services sector.

Once focused mainly on growth, the New York-based small-business lender said it will lay off employees and cut other expenses in an effort to become profitable. The moves are a sign of waning patience among investors in the once-frothy sector.

Some investors have raised questions about the credibility of the firm’s leadership since credit card issuer announced that its loss reserves would surge this year.

The company's earnings fell 20% from a year earlier, reflecting $5 million in restructuring charges and a higher loan-loss provision.

Rusty Cloutier had been CEO of MidSouth Bancorp for 32 years. Energy-sector woes helped do him in.

The beneficial ownership regulation, meant to catch financial criminals, has produced data that is useful in making small-business loans, LexisNexis Risk Solutions says.

Readers weigh in on Wells Fargo investors reelecting state regulators suing the OCC, Wells Fargo's annual meeting, ultralow interest rates and more.

Many banks curtailed leveraged lending following the financial crisis, and for good reason. But we may be on the verge of a leveraged-loan comeback.

The era of exceptionally strong loan performance in the credit card business has come to an end, and the Riverwoods, Ill., firm is feeling the effects.