Economy

The leading Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee said Tuesday he was "optimistic" about lawmakers' making changes to improve the Dodd-Frank Act next year, while lauding JPMorgan Chase's decision to raise its minimum wage from $10.15 an hour to $12.

Attempting to impose the fundamental laws of a particular lending universe on another will lead to an eventual collapse of a particular firm or industry segment.

Charles Schwab Bank, BBVA Compass and Mechanics Bank are among the latest investors in a California microfinance firm that specializes in small-business lending.

The management team at Bank of the Ozarks knows it has a dependency on commercial real estate. But they assert that sound underwriting, and efforts to diversify, are what really matters when assessing risk.

WASHINGTON — The House approved a spending bill Thursday that would change the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and take away the Financial Stability Oversight Council's power to designate nonbanks as systemically important.

Turmoil in marketplace lending has less to do with loan quality and more to do with how lenders price loans to meet supply and demand.

Freddie Mac is on track to issue mortgage-backed securities via a common securities platform by the end of this year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Walmart Pay is the culmination of years of efforts that Walmart has put into building its brand as a trusted provider of payments. In addition to its new mobile wallet, Walmart has been involved in numerous innovative projects to help its customers move money.

Seven months after revealing its branded mobile payment app, Walmart is making Walmart Pay available in more than 4,600 of its stores throughout the U.S., with early figures indicating consumers approve of its "connected" app model.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the Banking Committee, has reportedly withdrawn as a potential running mate for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The number of customers who obtained 10 payday loans in 2015 outnumbered those who obtained just one, the California Department of Business Oversight said in a report Wednesday.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Daniel Tarullo acknowledged that capital requirements for smaller banks are too complicated, suggesting they could be retooled to be like earlier Basel Committee standards.

The scheme is used by borrowers who don't have enough income to qualify for a regular mortgage, so they apply for a higher-rate non-owner-occupied loan.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has opened the door to experimenting with front-end credit risk transfer transactions, but it is not wide enough for some market players.

While fintech companies are urging federal regulators to create a federal charter that would allow them to follow a single national standard instead of a myriad of state rules, such a benefit will almost certainly come with strings attached, including possible compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act.

American Express plans to debut an online loan platform for small-business clients this year, targeting territory occupied by startups like Square and On Deck Capital.

Merchants are facing consumer lawsuits stemming from the introduction of EMV-chip card security at the point of sale in the U.S., exposing the issues many stores must contend with now that they are held liable for fraud and chargebacks.

For the second time in six weeks, the online lender Avant is taking steps to reduce the size of its workforce.

Affirm's head of new markets, Brad Selby, says hidden fees and onerous compounding interest terms are trapping too many consumers in deep credit card debt.

Fannie and Freddie regulator's first report on NPL sales shows more borrowers avoid foreclosures when their loans are sold to investors.