Economy

There's still a month left in the federal government's fiscal year, and the Small Business Administration's 504 program is perilously close to hitting its congressionally mandated funding limit for new loans.

Dave banking app originally created to do away with overdraft charges has taken the industry by storm. It's on a mission to advance financial opportunities for all Americans. Join Penny Crosman, Executive Editor of American Banker and Jason Wilk, CEO and Co-Founder of Dave as they talk about how this app is changing the way people manage their money and what’s in store for the future of one-stop-shops for finances.

Shareholders in the troubled Mexican nonbank lender Credito Real will vote on proposals to sell the company’s U.S. operations at a meeting on Sept. 10.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Trump administration had been preoccupied with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s capital position. Acting Director Sandra Thompson has shifted the agency’s focus to affordable housing and fair lending.

Institutional independence is a big part of what makes the Federal Reserve work. But quantitative easing, new forays into climate and digital currency and a blurring of the line between monetary and fiscal policy might make that independence harder to maintain.

The ranks of depositor-owned banks have been dwindling for decades, but meat distributor Charlie Cumming has a plan for starting one that will serve organic farmers. Can it work?

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated income inequality in America, and that has implications for banks and other lenders. Among those suffering most: renters, front-line workers and minority small-business owners.

Community banks have played and will continue to play a key role in supporting local economies across the country. Join us in a lively conversation with Dennis E. Nixon, President & CEO of International Bank of Commerce (Laredo, Texas) & Chairman, International Bancshares Corporation and Eddie Aldrete, Senior Vice President at International Bank of Commerce as we discuss: (1) the need for bankers and the business community to become involved in political issues. From minimum wage and issues that affect small businesses to regulatory issues that directly affect the banking industry, banking and business leaders need to be thought leaders in the public conversation and (2) how bankers can play a pivotal advocacy role in the free trade process.

The regional Fed bank said it was making the move “due to the recently elevated COVID-19 health risk level in Teton County, Wyoming.”

Bankers are hopeful that the rebound in oil prices and a spike in natural gas use are precursors to more borrowing. But banks are maintaining above-average levels of reserves in case the delta variant stifles economic momentum.