The agency issued a request for information to gather feedback about how institutions facilitate use of cryptocurrencies and other kinds of assets, and what factors regulators should weigh as they develop supervisory policies.

By becoming a bank, the digital-only challenger zigged when other fintechs zagged. Some of the short-term consequences of that decision — including heavy regulatory costs — are becoming clearer, but CEO Colin Walsh says the company is sticking with its long-term growth strategy.

The company, once known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, plans to launch the as-yet-unnamed platform by the end of this year.

The regional bank has renovated an office tower in downtown Buffalo, N.Y., to house 1,000 technology professionals it's hiring, retrain workers, collaborate with fintechs and overhaul everything from mortgage lending to fighting debit card fraud.

Large banks like Chase, PNC and U.S. Bank were seen as having more resources to devote to customer relief and upgrade digital channels that consumers came to rely on, according to a J.D. Power survey.

Ken Meyer, who will speak at American Banker's Digital Banking AI & Automation conference next week, says banks should be able to quickly catch up with big technology companies and financial services upstarts in the adoption of artificial intelligence without alienating customers or running afoul of regulators.

The Ohio regional took advantage of an unexpected boost in interest income in the first quarter to upgrade its digital platform and recruit bankers in wealth management, capital markets and Small Business Administration lending.

The company plans to shutter five locations, or roughly 12% of its network, next month.

The agency first sought feedback in February 2020 on how it could update its logo, but the process was suspended two months later amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Silicon Valley payments giant collaborates with incumbent banks. But its plan to launch a single mobile app where consumers will shop, make payments and manage their money is reinforcing long-held industry fears about the threat from Big Tech.