Economy

His family got its start in banking by financing camel-caravan traders in the Ottoman Empire and eventually expanded its reach into the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

The agency's principals are scheduled to meet Dec. 15 to vote on a new definition for brokered deposits and on regulatory standards for industrial bank parents.

The consumer bureau's revamp of criteria for "qualified mortgages," a special regulatory class of loans free from liability, emphasizes pricing instead of a borrower's debt-to-income ratio.

The emergence of vaccines has boosted travel forecasts — and crude prices. The expected bump at the pump could help oil and gas companies get back on track with loan payments.

The Biden administration could curtail federal support for farmers, even with bankruptcies and requests for loan workouts on the rise. Banks are hoping that increases in crop prices and exports to China could help avert a credit crisis.

The automaker is reportedly planning to apply for a bank charter so it could collect deposits and grow its own auto-finance business. That could create more competition for Ally, which was spun off from GM in 2006 but remains a key lending partner.

Lawmakers need to create a coronavirus relief program targeting owners of smaller businesses facing more hardship than larger competitors that received much of the aid from the Paycheck Protection Program.

Executives from U.S. banks continue to play down near-term expectations, but they say customers are growing more confident ahead of the rollout of coronavirus vaccines, and that key commercial lending segments could drive an economic rebound.

Montecito Bank in California began streamlining originations after a natural disaster decimated its community in 2018. The move paid off when the COVID-19 crisis hit and the bank had to quickly step up efforts to help clients.

The economic fallout from COVID-19 has highlighted systemic concerns about commercial real estate exposure, business debt and short-term wholesale funding, the Financial Stability Oversight Council said in an annual report.

Webster Bank and Customers Bank are among the lenders that have turned to alternative data sources and automated loan reviews to assess business customers' ability to weather the coronavirus pandemic.

The Georgia lender has hired bankers away from Wells Fargo to build a new ag lending team that will look to capitalize on soaring lumber demand in its home state.

Lenders should be prepared to act quickly and decisively, leveraging the power of technology, innovative lending approaches, low interest rates and renewed commitment to small business funding, says LendingFront's Jorge Sun.

The Bank Policy Institute submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency requesting the agency's analysis used in crafting the plan.

In November, the Sierra Club singled out Bank of America as "the only major U.S. bank not to rule out financing for the destruction of the Arctic refuge" after its five biggest competitors updated their policies this year.

Though it is unclear why Rhinebeck Bancorp is looking to form Rhinebeck Commercial Bank, other mutual banks have pursued the strategy to work around a state law barring them from working with municipalities.

A new report from California shows that less-regulated mortgage lenders may be doing a better than banks of serving Black and Latino homebuyers. But consumer advocates say the data bolsters the case for tougher supervision of nonbanks.

More lenders and governments should partner with community development financial institutions to ensure aid reaches minority-owned businesses that are the backbone of many neighborhoods slammed by the coronavirus.

Global regulators are considering a universal stress test for climate change that requires lenders to use a 30-year horizon, a difficult and speculative projection of the energy industry that could harm bank financials.

The industry is asking for more time to comment on a regulatory proposal that aims to prohibit banks from denying services to oil and gas companies and other firms in politically sensitive industries.