Disaster recovery

The OCC finds that Wells Fargo was not alone in its sales abuse practices (though it's not naming names); Fifth Third's Tim Spence is our Digital Banker of the Year; the CFPB acting director wipes out the agency's Consumer Advisory Board; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Hurricane Maria left behind a shattered Puerto Rico. Camille Burckhart and her technology team at Banco Popular found that they were uniquely positioned to help people rebuild. She has been selected one of our Digital Banker of the Year finalists for 2018.

With hurricane season just weeks away, bankers from coastal markets share the hard lessons learned after the storms that belted Florida, the Gulf Coast and elsewhere last year. Their advice can be applied in all kinds of emergencies.

Banks may need to do more to help small businesses after a hurricane, flood or other calamity as those firms tend to favor nonbank lenders after an emergency for a number of reasons, according to research by four regional Federal Reserve banks.

It’s still not business as usual, but the decision to unify its two brands — Popular Community Bank on the U.S. mainland, Banco Popular in the U.S. territories — under a single, simpler name is a welcome sign that Puerto Rico’s largest bank is moving forward after the devastation of Hurricane Maria.

Banks scrapped a plan to create a shared data bunker for customer data in favor of a backup buddy system. Some argue a move to blockchain should be next.

The House approved a five-year extension of the National Flood Insurance Program on Tuesday, but it remains unclear whether the Senate will seek to pursue its own bill. The program is due to expire Dec. 8.

Banks and their regulators quickly got back up to speed in markets hit hard by recent hurricanes, thanks in part to the lessons learned in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, a panel of regulators said Tuesday.

Debbie Meekins is running First Community Bank in Santa Rosa while simultaneously taking steps to rebuild her own life after her home of 19 years went up in flames.

Recent hurricanes and wildfires still raging in California are fresh reminders to bankers of the importance of emergency preparedness plans.