Credit

The Cleveland-based regional bank continues to benefit from strength in investment banking, though concerns about stalled loan growth emerged as CEO Chris Gorman described demand as tepid.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal to eliminate medical debts from credit reports is under attack from debt collectors, which claim the rule will drive up litigation costs and drive doctors out of business.

The focus should be on the millions of Americans whose credit reports contain serious errors, and who are increasingly desperate for relief.

Banks and financial institutions face a barrage of lawsuits from consumers alleging they failed to investigate inaccurate information on a credit report. Industry blames the uptick in litigation on social media sites and the proliferation of credit repair companies.

Fifteen million Americans who owe a combined $49 billion in medical debt would benefit from a proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to scrub medical debts from credit reports and ban their use in underwriting decisions.

At an industry conference, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said he was open to suggestions on how to increase choice and competition to benefit mortgage lenders and borrowers.

Gaps in traditional means of assessing creditworthiness are being filled by new kinds of information, such as cash flow data. The result will be good for both banks and borrowers.

The VantageScore 4plus product pulls in standard credit file information while also analyzing bank account balance and other transactional data to create an adjusted score

The combination of two Pacific Northwest banks was supposed to create a regional powerhouse, but rising deposit costs have stung. CEO Clint Stein says he's "laser-focused" on making Columbia a top performer again.