Economy

There is too much customer and regulatory inertia for banks’ business model to become irrelevant overnight. The real danger is banks will fade out of the picture over time.

With traditional mortgage lending opportunities becoming increasingly scarce, banks in Seattle and Portland are loading up on jumbos, diving into multifamily and reviving dormant bridge loan programs.

Green Bancorp has pivoted from the troubled energy-lending market to SBA loans, which are appealing to more small banks because they can be sold at a premium and are getting more support from Washington.

Apologies to those yearning for escapism, but it is hard to escape turmoil — in financial services, in the economy and in civilization — in this year’s reading list. That said, these weighty topics promise to stimulate the mind: How AI will disrupt employment; dystopian imaginings and real-life histories of societal shifts; the necessity of collaboration; bitcoin’s path from obscurity to relevance; the need for leaders to make sacrifices; and more. Recommendations are courtesy of American Banker readers, editorial staff and BankThink contributors.

Enabling peers to compare notes will help ID management specialists at regional, midtier banks who face the same requirements as large banks but command smaller operating budgets, IDPro’s founder says.

It may be a bigger challenge than financial institutions realize to avoid the cannabis sector, which includes a whole host of ancillary businesses from agricultural supply sellers to real estate developers.

Readers criticized a credit union securitization proposal, weighed in on scaling back the CFPB’s complaint database, debated the need for banks to examine gender-based salary comparisons, and more.

While overall activity remains slow, sellers — particularly those flush with core deposits — are fetching premiums not seen in years.

Lindsey Argalas will push innovation throughout the Spanish bank and encouraging collaboration across businesses and markets.

Bank of America plans to lift its dividend above a level that Warren Buffett said would compel him to convert preferred shares into the lender's common stock.

The largest banks announced plans to distribute capital back to shareholders after the Fed gave passing grades to everyone following this year’s CCAR stress tests.

Under Steven Bradshaw, the Oklahoma bank is engaging employees as never before by investing heavily in training and development. Don't think customers haven't noticed.

Wells Fargo aside, the industry overall should be pleased with the results of our annual survey of bank reputations. One key insight: Displaying strong ethics is an effective way to improve what people think of your bank.

Seeking to stay below $50 billion, the regional is selling its origination and servicing businesses.

The refusal by top U.S. banks and credit card companies to respond to investor concerns about gender inequity is in contrast with progress by U.K. banks.

Mexico's decision to reduce imports of soybean meal, corn and chicken has put more pressure on certain farmers, while creating another situation for lenders to monitor.

On March 31, 2017. Dollars in thousands

On March 31, 2017. Dollars in thousands

Though regulatory rigor has improved post-crisis, it would be hubris for the Fed to believe it has found a magic formula that will predict with accuracy how any of the big banks will truly perform in the next downturn.

The following are some of the noteworthy things we heard at American Banker’s Digital Banking 2017 conference held earlier this month in Austin, Texas.