Built to respond to borrowers' questions about mortgage deferrals, the bot created by Salesforce is evolving and in the future could conduct transactions, handle a wide range of queries or help with emergencies.

Theorem is marketing its first-ever securitization of unsecured loans. It uses machine-learning technology to gauge the risk of default, a growing concern during the pandemic recession.

Somerset Trust in rural Pennsylvania has partnered with RoamHR, a financial platform that assists the self-employed, to add tax-withholding help for contract and temporary workers to the bank's services.

Many will need to ramp up security protocols and reconsider which services require a high-tech versus human touch.

As more consumers do business online, some deposits are being unfairly categorized as brokered, inviting burdensome regulatory scrutiny.

Spinning off its digital bank will allow Pennsylvania-based Customers to beef up its commercial lending and buy other banks. BankMobile, meanwhile, plans to pursue more white-label relationships and perhaps explore its own acquisitions.

The digital bank would be sold to Megalith Financial, allowing Customers to focus on commercial lending and letting BankMobile expand more aggressively.

The digital bank, founded by a former Western Union president, offers tools to help low- and moderate-income people access their wages early, pay bills and engage in other financial services activities for a monthly fee.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced some branches to close, but demand for in-person advice remains strong.

A new report from Access Softek showed at least one in five members are likely to reduce their branch visits once the pandemic ends, though the risk of consumers leaving their credit union entirely may have declined.