Economy

The accelerating pace of branch closures is partly due to industry consolidation, according to the community reinvestment group that authored the new report.

The Columbus, Ohio, company says it has delivered on M&A promises before, and many observers say its deal for rival TCF Financial is an opportunistic move in its bid to build a Midwestern powerhouse. But others questioned whether Huntington's cost-cutting and profit expectations are too optimistic.

The Amarillo company is buying First National Bank of Tahoka, continuing the industry’s consolidation in the state.

The deal would create a $168 billion banking company in the Midwest and be the latest in a string of regional bank combinations.

The Boston-based firm has been informally working with an adviser to review strategic alternatives for State Street Global Advisors, including a merger with a competitor, people familiar with the matter said.

The Boston community bank and a fintech called Monit have developed an app that helps small-business owners forecast their cash flow and how certain events could affect them.

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.