Economy

The government-sponsored enterprises' risk-sharing deals are being hailed as an innovative approach for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offload credit exposure to private markets. But their growing popularity is raising questions about how these transactions should be reported in financial statements.

BancAlliance, a network of community banks that has been snapping up loans from LendingClub, is weighing whether to suspend purchases on the online platform after the company said it's overhauling internal controls.

The pervasiveness of consumers' credit problems highlights why the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's upcoming short-term lending rules should avoid unintended consequences.

The payment giant's technology chief says he has an eye on bitcoin, the blockchain and the fintech competitors that have flooded the payments arena — and vows his company will consider partnering with some of them and can beat the rest.

The distributed ledger technology has an answer for updating every core function of the antiquated financial system.

Recent speculation that Comerica is on the block has sparked a conversation about how regulators would vet the sale of a SIFI.

Small-scale financial services companies such as storefront lenders and local money transmitters which use technology should have a choice of whether they are regulated by a state or federal regime.

Say what you will about these companies' longevity, were it not for the likes of Lending Club you wouldn't see banks like Wells Fargo introducing expedited loan products.

Can't anybody get along … for even five minutes? JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon called community banking leader Cam Fine a "jerk" on cable television. Fine responded by blasting megabanks for their role in the financial crisis.

Citigroup is testing Bluetooth beacon technology in a pilot that gives customers cardless access to branch ATMs after business hours, among other services.

First Connecticut Bancorp in Farmington has committed to making $5 million in small-business loans over the next year.

To expand the reach of its global e-commerce services, Ingenico ePayments is building up a vast network of connections to merchant acquirers, hoping to gain a competitive edge as the demand grows for omnichannel payments.

Key factors point to marketplace lenders rebounding from their recent setbacks and continuing their growth.

If alternative small-business lenders don't get engaged in the regulatory dialogue, they risk letting a few bad apples determine their fate.

It is imperative for regulators and lawmakers to approach the online small business loan market with care and an understanding of how these lenders expand access to credit.

State officials in California have asked top online lending firms a series of probing questions regarding their compliance with laws and regulations dealing with referral fees, bank partnerships, fair lending and other sensitive issues.

We should all understand now that pure gain-on-sale marketplace lending businesses, like LendingClub, are inherently unstable.

The abrupt resignation of the firm's founder and CEO, under a cloud, seems likely to fan investors' growing fears about the marketplace lending sector. It could also hasten regulatory scrutiny.

The Consumer Mortgage Coalition is arguing that the bill has serious flaws by allowing private insurers to undercut pricing on federal flood insurance policies by offering high deductibles and exclusions to homeowners with mortgages guaranteed by the government-sponsored enterprises.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta just hired a lending team that will take its SBA lending operation to the next level. The moves comes as the SBA reports a record number of 7(a) loans.