Financial institutions

The Biden administration will award $1.25 billion to hundreds of community lenders in an effort to speed the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Vice President Kamala Harris will announce on Tuesday.

The four largest U.S. banks face investor pressure to deliver the returns of smaller rivals, but they complain that the federal deposit cap and capital rules make that difficult. So they're pouring money into wealth management, payments and digital banking to seize more market share in existing businesses and fend off nonbank challengers.

The deal for the Salt Lake City-based home improvement lender, which Home Depot tried to acquire more than a decade ago, is part of a larger effort by Regions Financial to diversify its home lending business.

Adding Community Bankers Trust would help United fill a key service gap between its branches in Northern Virginia and the Carolinas. It's United’s 33rd M&A deal under CEO Richard Adams.

The funding requests break sharply with the Trump administration's calls to eliminate key housing funds and backing for community development financial institutions. The White House also wants to substantially increase the budgets of the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration.

The U.S. unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank plans to invest in CDFIs and specialized funds that serve Black, Hispanic and other diverse business owners in its East Coast territory.

The Treasury secretary previewed President Biden's budget by urging lawmakers to fund the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's establishment of a beneficial ownership regime.

With rock-bottom rates suppressing interest income, some buyers are looking beyond traditional M&A and striking deals for asset managers, insurance firms and other businesses that generate the bulk of their revenue from fees.

Cypress Trust in Palm Beach is poised to pull off a rarity: the conversion of a wealth management firm into a community bank. It’s simply another way to take advantage of the ongoing melding of the two financial services sectors, CEO Dana Kilborne says.

During a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Democrats largely praised the policy decisions of acting regulators named by the Biden administration and knocked their predecessors. But Republicans warned that moves to reverse Trump-era policies would leave financial institutions without a clear road map.