Economy

GE Capital has formally asked the Financial Stability Oversight Council to review and rescind its designation as a systemically important financial institution, setting in motion a highly anticipated process that has not yet been tried by a designated firm.

Enterprise Bancorp in Lowell, Mass., has purchased the site of a former hotel that recently burned to the ground and plans to put a new branch there.

The payments pioneer is transforming its merchant cash advance into a business loan, a move that has significant legal and regulatory implications.

The DC District Court handed the insurance giant MetLife a big upset win when it struck down the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s decision to apply a systemically risky label to the firm, but with few other firms facing similar designation, the practical impact of the ruling is uncertain.

Huntington Bancshares has partnered with the owner of the NBA's Detroit Pistons to provide $25 million in financial support in Flint, Mich., in response to the city's drinking water crisis.

Bankers are fighting back against a plan that would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to invest in low-income housing tax credits, arguing they are critical for meeting Community Reinvestment Act requirements.

The ability to program value exchanges without risk of censorship, moderation or theft gives smart contracts a leg up in servicing users who lack a mainstream banking association.

Model legislation in the works would give state legislatures a template for regulating virtual currency businesses. The Treasury is lobbying against clear exemptions for firms that don't control customer funds.

The DC District Court on Wednesday ruled against the Financial Stability Oversight Council's designation of the insurance giant MetLife as a systemically risky nonbank, though the opinion behind the order was sealed and the reasoning behind the decision remains unclear.

MetLife beat back a U.S. attempt to label it too big to fail, which would've put America's biggest life insurer under tougher government scrutiny and forced it to put more money in reserves.

WASHINGTON — Congress should consider streamlining the financial regulatory structure and give the Financial Stability Oversight Council broader authority to respond to systemic risks, according to a Government Accountability Office report published this week.

The ambiguity over whether regulators favor risk sensitivity or simplicity in setting capital requirements does not help risk management efforts.

As online business lenders grow in number, size and prominence, a new trade group is being launched to represent their interests in Washington.

The subprime consumer lender currently rejects many of its personal loan applicants. It hopes to qualify more borrowers by offering cash to those who are willing to put their cars up as collateral.

A program recently started in New York helps entrepreneurs improve their business plans and cash flow before sending them to a bank. The nonprofit lender behind the program, meanwhile, hopes to boost small-business borrowers' credit scores and lower their rates.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams discusses the potential for new fintech products to make predatory lending easier, whether big banks need to be broken up, and the likelihood of another recession.

Restrictions on bank ownership act as a de facto poison pill, discouraging potential activist investors from challenging underperforming bank managers. Ease those restrictions and the market will do its job.

Five policy heavy-hitters issued a proposal this week to merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a single government corporation as a way to move beyond the conservatorships of the two government-sponsored enterprises.

Two senior GOP lawmakers are warning regulators against preferential treatment for housing advocates and nonprofits in sales of nonperforming, government-guaranteed mortgages.

Online lender StreetShares' strategy is based on the premise that borrowers are more likely to repay when they have a genuine personal connection to the lender.