Economy

Despite their own vast resources, some large banks are partnering with fintech startups to help them meet the needs of one of their trickiest market segments: small businesses

The best commercial lenders take enough interest in their clients to speak up when they see credit as not serving the long-term success of a company.

Eileen Serra, 61, the chief executive of the Chase Card Services unit, will step down in January and become an adviser to the company on growth initiatives, according to a memo Wednesday from Gordon Smith, JPMorgan's CEO of consumer and community banking.

Washington Federal is the latest bank to partner with a tech company in an effort to streamline online loan applications.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council is an enigmatic interagency body that has not provided enough rationale for designating certain insurance firms as a threat to the economy, the Republican leadership of the House Financial Services Committee said Tuesday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Calvin Hagins warned mortgage lenders about the regulatory agency's four exam priorities for next year: loan-officer compensation, steps taken to ensure borrowers' ability to repay, compliance with "Know Before You Owe" consumer disclosures, and marketing services agreements.

Small-business owners' optimism about the economy is dwindling, which casts a dark cloud over banks' lending efforts, according to a new survey conducted by Wells Fargo and Gallup.

Why a small bank like First Mid-Illinois ignored the conventional wisdom — 'Commercial banks buy property/casualty firms.' 'Private-equity will outbid you.' 'Leave the innovation to the big guys.' — and bought a retail health-insurance agency.

Ex-banker Frank Rotman, now a venture capitalist who focuses on marketplace lending, has a unique vantage point on the competition for small-business loans between banks and Web-based upstarts, as well as on both sides' strengths and weaknesses.

The upcoming release of the evaluations for the largest banks' resolution plans won't just reflect on the institutions themselves, but the regulators as well. Here's why.

Two independent mortgage banks agreed to settlements in the past week with the Justice Department for failing to meet Federal Housing Administration guidelines. The cases are a warning to nonbank lenders that they need to beef up self-reporting of deficiencies, and they remind large banks about the legal risks associated with FHA lending.

There are no easy fixes to Nationstar's myriad problems — including a plunging stock price and increased regulatory scrutiny — but Chief Executive Jay Bray says the turnaround starts with a commitment to improving customer service.

Banks face a growing risk of complacency given years of improved credit quality. They should periodically evaluate the status of loans and underlying collateral to make sure they proactively manage risk.

Issues with upgrading software and ensuring pricing accuracy to comply with the consumer bureau's "integrated disclosures" have been magnified in wholesale loan transactions.

Legislative proposals to reform the housing finance system have failed to garner enough support, but a surprisingly simply reform idea is in plain sight: deeper private mortgage insurance coverage.

Attempts to sneak provisions into a final budget deal may be sold as helping community banks, but many of the measures really help big banks and undermine consumer protection.

The mobile wallet is still a niche product, but many companies worldwide made big strides in bringing secure payments to handheld devices. Some of the most groundbreaking changes happened just in the past year.

Since consumers have been able to lock in historically low rates, the monthly payment on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been within reach for most borrowers. That could change with a rise in interest rates.

It used to be that chargebacks were just another cost of doing business. But with the e-commerce world growing by leaps and bounds, online merchants are experiencing a corresponding spike in chargeback rates that's eroding their bottom lines and jeopardizing their merchant accounts.

The availability of home loans for low credit score borrowers remains very tight by historical standards but there might be some loosening in 2016 if the Federal Reserve begins raising interest rates.