The U.S. division of HSBC Bank has added Apple’s iMessaging feature to its suite of customer service channels. Instead of waiting on hold, customers can trade texts with an agent.

Big banks call for blanket forgiveness of PPP loans under $150,000; Wells Fargo struggling to stay under asset cap amid pandemic, CEO says; banks are getting aggressive — and creative — to boost profits; and more from this week's most-read stories.

The challenger bank OakNorth has been peddling its lending platform to U.S. banks for a year. When it saw COVID-19 on the horizon, it retooled to include a ratings system predicting how borrowers will be affected by the pandemic.

The quarantine and Citi's shift from hardware to software tokens have led to a 300% spike in commercial clients' opening of accounts online as well as increased digital banking use.

Digital banking has ramped up during the coronavirus lockdown but customers will seek somewhere to go as cities reopen. A branch could provide that safe haven.

David Howard's leadership of the OceanFirst digital strategy and innovation team that has developed a robo adviser, an Alexa skill and other cutting-edge tools earned him recognition as one of American Banker's digital bankers of the year.

The mobile bank raised $241 million in its Series D round of funding, and expects to receive approval from regulators to become a nationally chartered bank this summer.

Tyrie has advanced Bank of America’s virtual assistant Erica and rolled out easier-to-use digital products that resonate strongly with customers. Those achievements have earned him recognition as one of American Banker’s digital bankers of the year.

Many of the cultural changes instituted by Hisham Salama, one of American Banker’s 2020 digital bankers of the year, have led to a more agile tech team and higher customer satisfaction scores.

It took a global pandemic to get many baby boomers to bank online. Lenders have taken notice.