Finance

Community Bank System in Syracuse faced claims it failed to properly pay some branch-level employees, making it one of a growing number of banks forced to confront compensation-related disputes in recent months.

The company was able release credit reserves because of actual and forecasted prices that boosted net income, CEO Priscilla Almodovar said.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr Wednesday downplayed the significance of recent turmoil at New York Community Bank, noting that liquidity and stability in the banking system is in "much better shape than it was last spring."

The lending fintech is increasing its reliance on third-party funding arrangements as its revenue slides. Analysts are wondering how much risk is embedded in the deals.

The government-sponsored enterprise financed 955,000 mortgages last year, down from the 1.8 million loans it backed in 2022.

The city's pilot program enables asylum seekers to pay for food and baby products — reducing government overhead while introducing newcomers to the local economy.

CEO Alex Chriss told analysts the company's AI-heavy product rollouts won't improve financial results in the near-term.

Just weeks ago, prospects seemed strong for bank stocks to regain ground after a volatile 2023. But renewed credit concerns stemming from issues at New York Community Bancorp, and the increasing odds that interest rates will remain high for months, have dampened that outlook.

Ant, the company that operates Alipay, saw its quarterly profit fell 92% as the fintech pioneer founded by Jack Ma struggles to revive a business wracked by an economic downturn and more than a year of regulatory scrutiny.

Bankers during recent earnings reports predicted lower deposit costs as 2024 wears on. But with inflation still elevated and the jobs market strong, the Federal Reserve probably won't begin lowering rates — and thus easing the drag on lenders' profits — until May at the earliest.